It’s taken me weeks to write this article, chiefly because writing about AmDubai Racing Stable and the two people at its core is a far-more complicated task than merely whipping up a profile of a Trainer and his/her horse.
Anyone who can answer the questions,Who/What/When/Where/Why/How can write a profile.
But Trainers Seth Benzel and his partner, Trainer Joanna Patejuk aren’t surface people. To write about what they’re doing–why they’re doing it–and their five-year plan requires a tool that I”m going to call a soul microscope. I don’t want to tell you just what they’re doing, but Where, and Why.
And my observation is that the Where and Why are deeper than that which merely meets the eye, or the pages of a turf magazine…
In the brief space of 27 days, I’ve gotten to know Seth Benzel and Joanna Patejuk in a way that feels like forever. I have no idea what they think about me, but there’s something so inviting, genuine and real about these two people that the warmth invites you in. From the first Hello, you are drawn in–perhaps through their four piercing eyes. It may be their honesty, integrity or the fact that they’ve very open about their plans and dreams–and excited to share them with people who may catch their shared Vision.
And I love people with Vision. Vision is directly connected to Hope, and to Dreams.
And the heart that has no Dreams is dead.
I quote often my favorite, brief poem by Langston Hughes:
“Hold fast to Dreams
for if Dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly…”
On the outside, horse racing may look like it’s a very complicated business, and on the surface, it is. But underneath that business–at the very foundation–is the Hope and Dream of taking God’s most perfect animals and helping them find their own, individual destinies as race horses. Any Trainer/owner/other who’s in this business strictly as an investment or because they want glory–should go away. Invest your money in something else, if that’s how you feel.
True glory in horse racing comes only from the deep roots of a soul connection to The Horse, and the Dreams that are forged between that animal and her/his handlers. If an owner doesn’t have that connection to their horse–I ask respectfully that they get the Hell out.
Invest in Microsoft or another cold, hard, soulless commodity.
Seth and Joanna are visionaries of the highest level, first because they DO have that soul connection to The Horse. They see the potential in a horse, and they know that that animal has a destiny to fulfill. They can read horses, and know what’s best for that creature–and they care, deeply.
I write this as one who’s observed thousands of people involved in this sport, for over 50 years. I’ve seen carpetbaggers, braggarts and ne’er-do-wells, alike, come and go. I know who’s genuine–who cares first for The Horse, and who doesn’t give a damn. (And you who know me know that The Horse is always my first concern. Everything other than The Horse is secondary to me.)
So here we have two people who connect to The Horse, and who have observed the fact that The Horse truly is the only real International Language. They know that a person who loves horses in Mongolia is, at his core, the same as an American who loves horses. And in France, Australia, Hong Kong, Alaska and Dubai. The Horse is the only important foundation builder of the international horse racing community–and the strength of that otherworldly animal is what binds all our hearts and Dreams together as one.
Their love of The Horse, in concert with their observations about the Big Picture possibilities because of The Horse–have given them a Vision, and that Vision led to a Plan. Their Vision is so (seemingly) simple that it still makes me wonder why no one else saw this before this moment. But in every generation there’s a Visionary, a soul who sees the future differently, and acts on it.
Others catch on, and soon the Vision of one is the Reality of many.
Seth and Joanna are horse racing Visionaries. Once the rest of American racing catches onto their idea–and realizes the Wisdom of this Vision–virtually everyone will follow suit.
Allow me to tell you something that may seem at first blush to be unrelated, but which indeed is at the core of this Vision: Besides being a loving and caring Thoroughbred Trainer, Seth is an abstract artist. Yes, Seth created this breathtaking work of art, a piece that took me aback when first I saw a photo of it:
When Seth’s not mucking stalls; giving baths and brushes or playing with a horse–or doing all the “fun” paperwork of being a Trainer–Seth is painting. Remarkable works that spring up from his soul, and find their ways onto canvas. Really, I did gasp when I saw this horse painting because immediately it gave me insight into this most-unusual, insightful Trainer.Seth paints abstracts. He thinks abstracts. With that knowledge, it’s easier to understand how AmDubai Racing Stable was foaled with the creative horsewomanship of Joanna.
(Seth, as you probably know, was Assistant Trainer to both Bill Mott and Todd Pletcher for five years each. (I met him when he was Assistant to Pletcher, several years ago.) Then Seth went out on his own, and his own way led him eventually to Dubai.)
There he met Joanna–a former steeplechase jockey in Europe, who was working as an Assistant Trainer in Abu Dhabi at the time of their introduction. (She is a horsewoman at her core. Her experience in Europe and Asia provides insights lacking in most American barns.)
Well, one thing led to another, and a concept was foaled–a Vision was born. So here’s the thing, in a nutshell: AmDubai Racing Stable is in residence in both Dubai and the United States. Seth and Joanna–and their horse(s) divide their time and training between the two countries.
If you’re not a horse Trainer, that may not sound unusual. But oh, it is.
They are very much part of the culture and community of Dubai, just as they moved seamlessly through the Saratoga Clubhouse crowd this August. When they’re in Dubai, they’re Home. When they’re in the U.S., they’re Home. In Dubai, they’re treated as peers, friends, colleagues–and treated very well. They’re neighbors, part of the training community in the otherworldly desert city.
I’m sure that the good people of the Dubai horse racing community and Meydan are just as enamoured of them as am I. Ibid., everyone who spent time with them this summer in Saratoga fell for them as well. It’s not a statement of politics at all, that they have become part of that international community at Meydan–it’s merely a business move, and an emotional connection that they feel toward their colleagues and friends there.
By being part-time residents of Dubai, Seth and the Poland-born Ukrainian Joanna represent American horse racing very well. Seth, being the only American Trainer who has a residence and stables in Dubai, is an ambassador for American racing, and I think that’s wonderful.
You can’t be an ambassador for American racing if you fly in on Thursday–race on Saturday night–and fly back out on Sunday. But being in Dubai–learning Arabic phrases, enjoying their food and company–Seth and Joanna give a bright, beautiful face to the American racing community for our friends in the UAE.
More American Trainers should start working to establish themselves in the UAE, and in other nations where there’s superb racing. Seth and Joanna are leading the way–someone’s got to be first, so the path has been forged.
Now it’s up to the American Trainers to see the Wisdom in this abstract thinking, and to follow suit.
Sure, it’s never been done before. But it’s being done now: that’s called, pioneering. (But the fact that it’s never been done before does not mean that it’s not a good idea.)
In fact,it’s a brilliant idea.
Obviously, the racing entities in the UAE want Americans to race our horses there. They do all they can to make their track, stables, training facilities and hospitality second-to-none. (Wild guess: why do you think they switched to dirt from the artificial surface?)
Dubai does all it can to court American Trainers and horses–now, instead of flying in for a few days at the end of March, perhaps other Americans will do as Seth and Joanna do: be in residence for the entire Dubai Racing Carnival, which next year will run from January 8th through its culmination on March 28th. (Dubai World Cup night.)
Now–I know, I come across as being UNAmerican, a lot, when I criticize American horse racing’s long-held traditions. But I think that if a traditions is ridiculous or should just Be Gone–we’ve got to point out the problems, and create new traditions.
(Think about it: cannibalism is a tradition in some cultures–but not everyone involved in the transaction benefits from it.)
One of those silly American horse racing traditions is the belief that, damnit, we’re America–the world should come to us. So we put on a big ole weekend of racing–call it the Breeders’ Cup–and invite horses and their connections from around the world to participate.
And that, in and of itself, is a good idea.
But the problem is that American Trainers don’t set up housekeeping in other countries, as have done many international Trainers here in the U.S. (Think about the English, French, Dubai, etc. people who create farms, stables and racing organizations here in the U.S.) They’re willing–happy–to come to the U.S. to become part of our racing community–to be part of the American racing family.
But Americans stay home, here on good ole U.S. soil, unless they’re compelled to fly to Dubai for a few days to race one of their horses in one of the races on Dubai World Cup night.
That, to me, looks like carpetbaggers. Sweep in–maybe win a big prize–fly back out and party back home.
Now, the good people in Dubai–as well as Hong Kong, France, the U.K., Australia, etc.–are happy when an American horse finds her/his way to their race tracks, most definitely. They welcome us with open arms.
And I’m sure that it’s nice to be treated like royalty, just because you brought a horse a few thousand miles.
But would you rather be just a tourist, or a local–a respected member of the community?
Between the Internet and jet air travel, the world becomes smaller by the day.
There’s no reason why American horse Trainers shouldn’t grow the guts to set up shop in countries like Dubai, and work to create even-stronger bonds with our peers around the world.
I believe with all my heart that Seth Benzel and Joanna Patejuk–together, AmDubai Racing Stable–have created the model for horse racing’s future. The U.S. must to go to other countries and become part of those communities, if American horse racing is to have any credibility, at all, in the 21st Century.
By establishing themselves in Dubai and setting the example for all American Trainers, AmDubai Racing Stable has taken that first step for all y’all. Follow the Leaders, American racing–AmDubai has tested the water, and the water is warm, welcoming and friendly.
Thank you–rather, Shukran–Seth and Joanna, for taking that step for us. I look forward to seeing American racing soar into the 21st Century, because of your brilliant Vision and example.
xo
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P.S. Recently I did a video interview with Seth and Joanna, for Talk of the Track. Check it out. (Don’t look at ME, please…gaze instead upon their collective loveliness…)
😉
