My trip to visit Monarchos

" And here comes Monarchos! " , I am sure every horse fan recognizes this phrase from Monarchos's derby win! After watching this race on youtube, and reading the book about him " A Horse of A Different Color", I became a HUGE fan of Monarchos and dreamed about meeting him, and feeding him peppermints. Well.... my wish came true in 2010!!! In 2010, while I was in Kentucky for my high school graduation present, I was told I would get to visit Monarchos at his new home, Nuckols Farm located in Lexington KY. I was nervous, but more excited because I was going to meet a derby champion, after all! On the day of my tour, it was pouring rain... I mean POURING!!!! It was also kind of cold, and the weather didnt faze me because I was going to meet him, snow rain sun or in a storm, I was going to meet him no matter what.

We arrived at the farm and I was instantly greeted by wide open pastures, white fences with horses grazing in the downpour. We arrived at the main house, and was greeted by our tour guide , the owner of Nuckols Farm. He was very friendly, and led us to where Monarchos was currently residing- his barn. He stood there staring at us, ears erect as to say " Hi , nice to meet you". The old man entered his stall and attached a lead rope and brought him out into the rain so we could see him up close. I was amazed by his beauty, size and his attitude. He didnt act like stallion, in fact he acted like a puppy dog, sweet and well behaved. The old man then gave us a bag of peppermints, and asked if we wanted to feed him. I approached him , peppermint in hand and he gingerly licked the mint off my hand, being careful to not bite my hand or smother my hand with his tongue. I put my hand on his mane and stroked it gently, taking in the feeling and smell of hay . I had never been this close to a stallion and it felt amazing to be touching a derby winner. I even layed my head on his neck and gave him a kiss, he didnt flinch at all. I took my camera out ( or my camera on my phone) and began snapping pictures and he bagan to pose and at one point he even smiled. Before he was returned to his stall, the old man went behind Monarchos and snipped a piece of his hair for us, and I still have it in a safe place , because it is very special. I actually sniffed the hair and it smelled like him, it smelled like freshly cut hay and it was very wirey. I left that day feeling special, happy and I hope I will get to meet him again, because he really is sweet and beautiful.

The pictures, or some of them are posted at the very top!