Horses as individuals have meant a lot to her through the years. “Sometimes I’ve felt that however much you love a particular horse, it’s not until they’re gone that you recognize how much you did love them because you miss them so much,” she observes. “I read something once—so it’s not really an original thought of mine—by Collette; she said, ‘It is the image in the mind that binds us to our lost treasures, but it is the loss that shapes the image.’ It’s lovely, isn’t it?” It is apparent that animals, including those she doesn’t own, are a cornerstone of her life. Asked to mention a high point, a memorable time, in her life, she shies away from personal family moments and cites instead a recent encounter with a horse. On a day in October, she and Charlie were invited to Banstead Manor Stud, where the Thoroughbred stallion Frankel, rated the world’s best race horse, had recently finished his first season at stud. Shirley was entranced. “He was so gentle and kind— everybody would love to meet him,” she says. “We wanted to stand and gaze at him all day because he had this air of greatness. You can feel this incredible power coming from him, but he is so confident in himself that he doesn’t need to show it.” She marvels that they were able to go into the stall with the stallion, scratch his back and play with him, which while a common practice in Arabians, is decidedly not in Thoroughbreds. She came away from the visit with a renewed respect for the way the horses were handled at the stud farm. The racing business at that level is a large financial investment, she concedes, but that is not wholly the reason for the careful, considerate management of the horses. Many of the horsemen are second or third generation (or more), she argues, and their regard for the horses is built-in. “They would be horrified [at our industry] because people don’t show the respect to the horse that they should,” she reflects. Pushed for an example, she replies, “It’s the slyness of just giving a quick look [in the show ring] to see if anyone is watching, and then flicking the whip very hard and sharp across the hind legs to the other side, where basically no one can see it. That’s a mean action isn’t it? It’s like some people know the value, but not the worth.” Pilarka (Palas x Pierzga) 16 | A r AbiAn H orse Times
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