Shirts (and sweatshirts) from Equine History 2018 available here. Inspired by the CalPoly Pomona Bronco statue!

Bronco Statue-The Bronco Statue at the Bronco Commons at Cal Poly Pomona January 22, 2013.

     Mariachi Los Broncos was one of the first college mariachi groups in the United States. After a two-decade hiatus, a new generation of Mariachi Los Broncos de Pomona took the stage in January 2016 under the direction of ethnomusicologist Dr. Jessie M. Vallejo. Mariachi Los Broncos de Pomona is Cal Poly Pomona’s premiere mariachi ensemble. The ensemble studies a variety of Mexican musical genres (e.g., son jalisciense, ranchera, corrido, bolero ranchero, huapango, etc.). They will serenade us Friday during lunch

     Our business meeting will be Sunday December 2, 2018 at 9 a.m. at the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center, as part of the Equine History 2018 conference. Please find the agenda here. Ideas and visions of the future of EHC are invited and welcome from members and the interested public. 

     In the final weeks up to #EqHist2018, we are running a series of posts to highlight our fabulous sponsors. Today we’re looking at Exhibitor Labs. They generously donated a bottle each of Quic Silver and Quic Braid to our silent auction.

    In the final weeks up to #EqHist2018, we are running a series of posts to highlight our fabulous sponsors. Today we’re looking at Cowboy Magic. They have generously donated a detangler and greenspot remover– key items in most groomers’ kits– to our silent auction.

All month long we will be featuring speaker’s abstracts for the upcoming Equine History Conference: Why Equine History Matters.

“Future Perfect: The Thoroughbred in the Post-Genomic Era”
Brian Tyrrell, University of California, Santa Barbara

With $15 million of funding from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at the Broad Institute and contributors to the Horse Genome Project sequenced the genome of Twilight, a thoroughbred mare owned by Cornell University. The Horse Genome Project promised insights into curing some of the 90 genetic illnesses horses share with humans, but almost immediately after the sequencing of the genome, commercial firms sold the science as predictive. Thoroughbred breeders, long obsessed with genealogy, began reading DNA forward instead of backward. Building off Elizabeth Finkel’s elaboration of biologist Eugene V. Koonin’s “postmodern synthesis,” I argue in this paper that genomics became a universal language for a globalized breeding industry and that genomic breeding promised certainty for a fundamental unstable enterprise. In the 1980s, breeders, particularly those from Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, paid astronomical sums for Kentucky bloodstock. Wall Street bankers created syndicates and hedge funds for investing in thoroughbreds, and the market expanded to create the Bluegrass Bubble. Genomic testing emerged as a solution to a crisis of overproduction. The story of the molecular breeding suggests a relationship between risk and a resurgence of genetic determinism. Genomics promised insulation from the vicissitudes of biology and economy. While good horses still bred poor runners and the market behaved irrationally, the discourse of genomics gave the illusion of security.

     In the final weeks up to #EqHist2018, we are running a series of posts to highlight our fabulous sponsors. Today we’re looking at Straight Arrow’s Mane ‘n Tail. They generously donated a set of their famous shampoo & conditioner to our silent auction.

All month long we will be featuring speaker’s abstracts for the upcoming Equine History Conference: Why Equine History Matters.

“Take the Limits Off”: The D. Wayne Lukas Collection at the Kentucky Derby Museum
Chris Goodlett, Kentucky Derby Museum

     In the spring of 2017, Thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas announced that the Kentucky Derby Museum would be the permanent home of his racing collection. At approximately 1,300 items, the collection documents the career of an innovator among Thoroughbred trainers. Lukas was the first trainer to have a true coast-to-coast racing stable with large numbers of horses and staff persons, a move that received both praise and criticism from the industry. His methods have, so far, produced 14 Triple Crown victories, 20 Breeders’ Cup wins and 26 world champion Thoroughbreds. He has mentored some of the country’s top trainers, including Todd Pletcher, Dallas Stewart and Kiaran McLaughlin.

     A study of the D. Wayne Lukas Collection provides material evidence of the changes in Thoroughbred training that transpired in the latter part of the 20^th century. Among the questions to be considered are as follows: what were the characteristics of Thoroughbred training prior to Lukas, how did Lukas innovate and change modern Thoroughbred training and what have these changes meant for the current state of the sport and industry? Additionally, from the public history perspective, how does the Kentucky Derby Museum interpret and communicate these stories to its audience.                               

     In this presentation, Chris Goodlett of the Kentucky Derby Museum, will share images from the Lukas Collection and discuss the new 2,200 square foot exhibit that will open in the fall of 2018.