These Foals Make A Fitting Tribute

Each spring, breeders breathe a collective sigh of relief when their healthy and happy foals start hitting the ground. But about nine days later, they begin to worry again, facing the choices that come with breeding their mares back and looking to the future.

This spring was no exception for many sport horse breeders, although for the breeders whose foals were the result of the Chronicle's Auction for Aiden in late fall 2002, there were even more reasons than usual to rejoice (see ''The Chronicle's Bulletin Board Pulls Together To Save A Life," Nov. 28, 2002).

This time, they were particularly happy because the money they'd spent on stallion services benefited Aiden Hawk, of St. Petersburg, Fla. Aiden, now 2, is the son of Lisa and Joey Hawk and was diagnosed with a rare, non-heritable, liver condition called biliary atresia shortly after birth. Lisa, a member of The Chronicle of The Horse's online bulletin board community, had shared the news of her pregnancy with thousands of other posters on the site, and she soon shared her despair over her ill son.

And her fellow bulletin boarders offered their support immediately. By October of that year, Gail Rogers of Brantford, Ont., had, literally, conceived an online stallion auction, offering a service to her stallion A Fine Romance to get it rolling. Quickly the concept grew, and by the time it was finished, breeders had donated services to more than 40 stallions, and people who didn't have stallions or mares were participating in a concurrent merchandise auction.

Erin Harty, the Chronicle's bulletin board moderator, organized the stallion-service auction, and Emily Daignault, an active member of the bulletin board, led the effort to organize the merchandise component.

Together, the two auctions raised more than $50,000, and Aiden received a liver transplant on Dec. 21, 2002. The funds raised were deposited into an account with the American Liver Foundation, which helped the Hawks pay for expenses not covered by their medical insurance.

Aiden's recovery hasn't been easy, though. In fact, he spent more than 200 days in the hospital in 2003 and gave his medical team and family quite a few scares. But, said Lisa, "One day his tests just came back normal. And they've stayed that way ever since. In fact, he's now a normal little boy, and we've not had a single day in the hospital in 2004."

Bring On The Foals

Diane McBroom, of Floyd, Va., was thrilled when she welcomed her foal, a warmblood-cross by Hall Of Fame out of a Thoroughbred mare, in early February.

"While I saved about $400 on the booking, I would have continued bidding even if the cost had exceeded the regular booking fee," said McBroom. "Being able to help Aiden was my primary goal. Getting the breeding to Hall Of Fame was the bonus."


McBroom's foal, a filly, was born a solid liver chestnut. Considering the coloring, McBroom quickly gave her the barn name Olivia. In a comic gesture, however, McBroom decided to give Olivia the show name Wardrobe Malfunction as she was born the night of the Super Bowl half-time show involving singer Janet Jackson.

"I thought it was fitting that she came out that color--liver chestnut--considering she didn't receive any of the pinto markings we'd hoped for by breeding her to Hall Of Fame," said McBroom.