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[RC] WC Freiheit The Real Winner Not Mack (long) - Don Huston

        This thread was originally started by a guy who was amazed at finding in the record book that "Mathew Mackay-Smith riding WC Freiheit (aka Fred) won both the Tevis and the Old Dominion 100 miler in 1995...both in the same year." Then he wanted to know more and asked "Does anyone know if this feat has been accomplished by any other rider/horse team...in the same year?" And in his search of the records he noticed and remarked that "UNFORTUNATELY, WC Freiheit completed 1 fifty mile race after this feat, (in September of that same year), and then, though campaigned, never completed another.
        Anybody wonder why? Well a Ridecamper answered that question with this uninformed post and I quote "The horse wasn,t that amazing, it,s the rider that is amazing. Matthew made it happen, with alot of planning, work, & determination and of course luck. The horse never did anything impressive before or since." That is a truly twisted "it's all me" perception. The actual record shows that Fred had never been pulled during his first 3 years in the book with 12 rides. To top it off the last 3 rides were all FIRST PLACE finishes with one of them a 100miler! Obviously the Ridecamper never bothered to check the record before trashing Fred's reputation but Mack sure did and was very impressed and bought the horse that would take him to glory.
        Then another Ridecamper invents an excuse for Macks behavior regarding selling Fred after Tevis and I quote "Matthew Mackay-Smith liked to bring new horses along and prove them in endurance, then sell them and start another, rather than stay with one horse for many years." When referring to Fred, this is completely unfounded. Fred was at the top of his form when Mack bought him. This horse didn't need any proving, he was strong and had never been pulled. Mack started racing Fred on Aug 8,1992. By Aug 20,1994 Fred still had never been pulled and had completed 6 rides, the last 3 were 100milers and all TOP TEN. Not very impressive according to some Ridecampers but obviously Mack knew Fred was a champion and rode him that way.
        This brings us to the race for glory starting May 13,1995. 4 weeks before winning the OD, Mack gave Fred a warm up by blasting the Biltmore 100miler in 11 hours and Top Ten. On June 10,1995 Fred won the OD 100miler in 16 hours. Then 9 weeks later after a 3000 mile trailer ride and also pre-riding the entire 100 miles of Tevis (minus the river crossing) on Aug 12,1995 Fred won the Tevis 100miler in 14 hours and still had never been pulled. This was an incredible feat that had completely drained the indestructible Fred but nobody was paying attention.
        So now there was Fred standing in Auburn, the champion of Tevis and The Old Dominion when Mack made a terrible decision. He sold Fred for a rumored $10,000. So why is that so terrible? Because this new buyer had no bond or compassion for Fred; all he saw was the glory that this seemingly indestructible horse could bring him just like Fred did for Mack. Do you think this buyer knew what Fred had really been thru? Do you think he knew what Mack had been doing to keep Fred sound? Do you think he would spend $10,000 and then just let the horse stand around? Well the record book gives us another clue. Hal Hall took Fred to a race 4 weeks after Tevis and put the finishing touches on the now exhausted champ that broke him down bad enough to where Fred was out of commission for 3 years. Obviously Hal acted as if the horse was fine because after all Fred had never been pulled so why the hell should he rest? What is so tough about a few 100milers and a trailer ride right? A Ridecamper agrees and posts this quote "First of all, there was no reason to suspect that the horse had been "damaged" at all. Two major 100-mile one-day rides a month apart, even with a long trailer ride in between, are well within a good horse's ability. What arrogance! How the hell do you know? Your ignorance of the damage those 3 (not 2) hard and fast 100mile races did to Fred is the same as Hal's. Do you have a crystal ball? Do you know that Mack himself did not use a crystal ball? Mack knew that Fred needed a good rest between major campaigns and so did the owner before Mack, because the record shows that Fred always got 7-8 months off between campaigns to heal up. Good protocol to keep a champion in good form but after this magnificent final campaign Fred never got that special treatment he so desperately needed. Giving Fred 7-8 months off right after Tevis would have been the best and it was a previously proven protocol but that $10,000 was just pushing the new owners' dreams of glory way too hard. I'm sure Hal felt bad about breaking the champ because he and his wife spent 2-3 years trying to put Fred back in championship form with some success.
        Finally we are at the last glimmer of hope for the champ. On June 20,1998 Fred made a grand come back finishing First Place in a 50miler that was intended to be a warm up for more Tevis glory for Bob Oury and a return on his $10,000 but on Aug 8,1998 Fred was pulled at Tevis. In 1999 he valiantly raced 3 more times including Tevis but was pulled on all 3. After 1999 there are no more records that I can find for the previously indestructible champ. There is a rumor that Fred is in Montana munching grass in a big field. That would be very nice if Fred actually got to enjoy some retirement.
        What is the point? you ask. Well this mismanagement of a champion that resulted in prematurely ending his career has been lurking in the background for 10 years. I would hope that AERC has or will design a rule that will help to moderate this buying and selling of horses at races if the sale might lead to mismanagement or injury to the horse. My position is not about trying to hurt Mack's or Hal's reputation. They just happen to be the players in this classic story of what can happen when the rider who has benefited the most from racing a horse is not held responsible for the condition and good health of that horse after the race because he sold it!
        This next Ridecamper speaks much better than I of "responsibility" and I quote "the opportunities granted to us as we enjoy our horses, are balanced by the responsibilities we must accept in the care and use of those horses. There is no safeguard we can implement that can assure a horse's protection from his ill-guided rider. Education is the key, and hopefully some will trickle down to this individual before harm is done. Ultimately the responsibility of the welfare of the horse rests squarely on the shoulders of the rider. This means that some horses out there will always be at risk, to the degree that there will always be those few who are unwilling or unable to accept that responsibility. The horse is truly in this thing with us. In a very "me" oriented world, one of the most honorable aspects of our sport is the fact that we are almost forced to set our ego aside as we campaign our horse, if he is to have a healthy career, and certainly if he is to have a long one."
        In honor of the indestructible champ WC Freiheit "Fred" who was never pulled for 6 years and during that time completed 15 50mile rides averaging 9th place and 7 100mile rides averaging 5th place including winning both the OldDominion100 and Tevis100 in 1995. A very distinguished record and the real winner not Mack.

Don Huston