The story of a sign that took 14 years to install

14 years, 7 months, and 29 days. That's how long it took from the official inception of After the Races to the day we installed a sign. Up until very recently, After the Races has been operating on rented properties, most of which had restrictions on signage. In addition to that, they just weren't ours. After the Races purchased its farm in December of last year, and since moving in this March we have been working to make the farm our own. Previously a lesson facility, the sign for the old business was removed, though the blue signposts remained. Staring at that empty space it only felt right to have a sign made. Before we even began searching for an artist, one unexpectedly came to us.

One of our volunteers, Carolyn, is an equine veterinarian in Delaware. She saw her coworker Amy's artistic skills at work when Amy designed stall signs for others in the office. After 5 years of volunteering, ATR has become Carolyn's home away from home, and she felt led to ask Amy her thoughts on designing a sign for ATR. Amy very quickly and generously offered to help! Amy was not aware of After the Races before taking on the project, but says she's since become addicted to looking at all the horses as they come through and get adopted. She really wanted to create a sign that ATR could be proud of and put a lot of time and energy into creating a design that would clearly identify the farm while also giving a glimpse into the heart of ATR. Amy started work on the sign in May, and it was completed in August. She says it took longer than expected as she ran into issues with wood and adjusting design choices but the result was worth the wait!

With the help of volunteers Jeff and Linda, the sign went up on August 29th. I was more emotional than I expected when I stepped back to view it, but the sign was confirmation that ATR has finally found its forever home, and an affirmation that all the work we've done to rehabilitate and rehome over 980 horses has been worth it. Our home was paid for by endless blood, sweat, and tears over 14 years of struggles and growth spurts and even once very nearly being homeless. In spite of it all, ATR has not only survived but thrived, due to the hard work of volunteers and staff as well as the support of partners, donors, adopters, and our ever-growing After the Races family. If you're reading this, I suspect you've almost certainly played a part and I want to take a moment to say thank you for keeping this dream alive and helping carry it into the future.

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A note of thanks: I want to take a moment to very specifically thank Amy Dietz for volunteering her time, expertise, skill, and materials to bring After the Races' sign to life. You certainly created a sign ATR can be proud of, and I could not be happier with it. An additional thank you to Carolyn Smith for working with Amy, for taking her the old sign, and for delivering the new. Thank you to Becky for helping paint and restore the original signposts - they look so much better in red than blue! And thank you, Linda and Jeff, for helping me hang it. We did a great job!

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A note on meaning: Every creative piece, especially one meant to capture the essence of the idea of a large thing, invites perception and interpretation. For those who are curious, I’d like to share a bit about the sign’s design. The shape and size fit perfectly with the existing posts, which we repainted to match ATR’s colors of red, white, and black. Amy was painstakingly detailed in creating clean lines and lettering, and her care shows in every inch of the completed sign. Many will ask why we didn’t use our logo. The simple answer is that it was designed for print, not as a roadside sign. Also, logos can change over time, and it's not impossible our logo will be reworked in the future to fit more formats. Amy wanted the design to carry a bit of heart (literally and figuratively). Carolyn suggested featuring the silhouette of Jayburger, ATR’s longtime resident since 2011. Jay has helped countless racehorses readjust to herd life (including stallions), taught countless volunteers how to handle and care for a horse, "interviewed" many prospective employees, and been a safe mount for those who needed it. For many, Jay has been the heart of After the Races, so it's fitting his chestnut-red silhouette is front and center.

The other two silhouettes honor Thoroughbreds less known to After the Races lore, but without whom After the Races would not exist. One was a horse that came into my life at an impressionable age and led me to discover natural horsemanship, and a very kind, intuitive, psychology-based approach to horse training that continues to serve me to this day. He also carried me through difficult teenage years when I struggled with undiagnosed depression, giving me purpose when I needed it most. A few reading this may remember him. His name was Miner. The other is a graded stakes-winning steeplechase horse I was privileged to ride while he was still racing. Not long after starting ATR, he retired with a career ending injury and was offered to me. After a full recovery, we hacked endlessly around Chester County and jumped anything in our path. We often returned to old haunts to gallop, clocking 40 mph regularly even into his teens. He was my partner in eventing and one of the nicest quality horses I will ever ride in this lifetime. He took me over my first corner fences and every prelim-level obstacle at Fair Hill. His movement was beautiful and effortless, and left an impression on all that saw him at work. I know I could never, and will never, be able to afford to purchase a horse of his quality and talent, and I always felt incredibly lucky he was given to me. I share all this so that when you read I had to sell him in 2014 to save my life, you can appreciate what it cost me. It's a story I'm not ready to tell, but rarely a day passes that I don't thank him for the life I still lead, even as I grieve the loss of his presence in that life. His name was Best Attack. Some may not appreciate the sentimentality behind the design, though I believe it stands on its own as eye-catching and unique to ATR. For me, though, it beautifully reflects how just three horses can shape not just one life, but the mission of an organization that would go on to change the lives of nearly a thousand horses, and the countless number of people who come in contact with them.

Thank you, Amy, for the beautiful sign and for the heart you put into creating it. I could not be more proud.