More than 300 horse-and-rider teams are getting ready for the Retired Racehorse Project's $100,000 Thoroughbred Makeover competition, which will be held in October in Kentucky.
Only five will be appearing in Makeover preview exhibitions later this month in the Bluegrass State, and one of those invited duos is from Aiken.
Jordan Pruiksma and her 3-year-old bay gelding, Fullback, will be demonstrating how a Thoroughbred transitions from racing to a new career during the prestigious Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. They are scheduled to perform with the four other teams April 24 and 25 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
"To be able to ride my horse and show him off while Rolex is going on in front of thousands of people is the chance of a lifetime," Pruiksma said. "It isn't every day that an exercise rider - who has to work in a restaurant at night to make ends meet - gets invited to go to Rolex. I am so excited."
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, who is the ruler of Dubai, bred Fullback. The gelding's father, Bernardini, captured the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes in 2006 and was a champion. Fullback's mother, Stellar Jayne, won three Grade 1 stakes races.
In 2013, Fullback came to Aiken to be broken and prepared for racing. Pruiksma, who has been an exercise rider for Sheikh Mohammed's Darley operation locally since 2011, spent a lot of time with Fullback and got to know him well.
"The minute I saw him, I fell in love with him," Pruiksma said. "When I would go into his stall and put his bridle on him, he would wrap his neck around me and give me a hug. He was very, very quiet and very laid-back. He never even bucked when I was on him."
Because Fullback didn't have a fiery temperament, Pruiksma thought he might not be a successful racehorse, so she sent a message to Darley's Kentucky office offering to provide him a home if he didn't make it to the winner's circle or show much promise.
Fullback only ran twice, finishing fifth in his first start and fourth in his second outing last year.
"He came up with a little bit of a sore knee after his second race, and they decided to give him some rest," Pruiksma said. "My boss, Tim Jones, emailed them and wrote, 'Jordan wants this horse if he's done,' and he arrived here just a few days before Christmas. It's a huge thing that Darley gave him to me because I never could have, in my life, afforded to buy one like him."
The Thoroughbred Makeover contest offers classes in various disciplines, and Pruiksma entered Fullback in the eventing, dressage and show hunter categories. She has been training him for the Makeover since January.
"He's been amazing," said Pruiksma, who keeps Fullback at Josh and Amber Jackson's farm, Jackson Creek. "He has been extremely willing to do anything that I ask. It couldn't be going any better."
Pruiksma plans to leave Aiken with Fullback to travel to Kentucky for the Rolex exhibitions April 22. They will return April 26.
"My plan is to do some dressage flat work with him during the first demonstration to get him used to the crowd, because the atmosphere is going to be very electric," Pruiksma said. "Then, in the second one, we'll probably pop over some little jumps."
Fullback competed in his first show April 5 at Full Gallop Farm and won.
"It was at the lowest level in the combined test, but it was an introduction for him," Pruiksma said. "He got a score of 27.5 for dressage, and he had a clear round in jumping. I don't want to push the eventing thing right now because he's so young, but I think he could become a good hunter soon because he has really nice conformation and is so calm."
Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard.