2 minute read
AN UNSUNG HERO
AN UNSUNG HERO
In the winner’s circle, Sean Clancy, Sheila Fisher, Annie Clancy and Robert Dove with Kitty Dove obscured, Ashley Randall holds Potus with Graham Watters up and trainer Jack Fisher, far right.
Photo by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo.
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Ashley Randall has been around horses all her life growing up in the Green Spring Valley area of Baltimore County, with parents who worked for Hall of Fame rider Charlie Fenwick, one of only two Americans to win the iconic Grand National Steeplechase in England in 1980. Now, at age 32, she’s an assistant trainer and a groom for Maryland-based trainer Jack Fisher, and there she was on race day at
Ashley Randall leads Graham Watters and Potus from the paddock to the post.
Photo by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo
the International Gold Cup with two of her barn’s charges winning races on the card. Randall, one of many unsung heroes behind the racing scenes, was up at 3:30 a.m. that morning, fed the horses at 4 and an hour later was behind the wheel driving a six-horse van for the two-hour drive to Great Meadow in The Plains. Then it was a full day of brushing, braiding, bathing and lots of hot walking, including taking great care of Potus, owned by Riverdee Stable’s Sean and Annie Clancy of Middleburg and the winner of the second race. “I love these horses, it’s all I ever wanted to do,” Randall said. And it obviously shows.
Under the rules of the Virginia Racing Commission, all horses must be stabled in a designated fenced and guarded area.
Photo by Leonard Shapiro
After a photo in the winner’s circle, Ashley leads Potus back to the stable area.
Photo by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo
Potus, by Lemon Drop Kid out of Place of Honor, is owned by Annie and Sean Clancy of Riverdee Stable and trained by Jack Fisher. En route to victory in the $30,000 Virginia Equine Alliance Maiden Hurdle, the four-year-old brown gelding sails over the liverpool.
Photo by Doug Gehlsen of Middleburg Photo.
Groom Ashley Randall cools Potus out.
Photo by Leonard Shapiro
