Margaret Smiddy

I sold Ocelli for 12k, yesterday he ran 3rd in the @KentuckyDerby & won 500k. And gues what? I'm celebrating. Because of what this means for everything we still have. Ocelli's brothers just became a lot more valuable. His mom Zalia is now a queen. The bloodline we've been building for years just got validated on the biggest stage in racing. One horse running 3rd at @ChurchillDowns does more for your breeding program than a decade of "he has potential" conversations ever could. But there's a bigger lesson here. Everyone passed on Ocelli because he had a "weird gait." Moved different. Didn't fit the template. Turns out that weird gait was elite. Top 3 in the world elite. The market constantly undervalues things that don't fit the mold. In horses. In real estate. In people. The ones who move different aren't always broken. Sometimes they're just built for something the rest of us can't see yet.

📍 SF Bay Area Carol & Hubert are a 10-month-old brother and sister pair who would love to be adopted together. They're both so sweet and fun! Now that they're big kittens, nobody wants them. Can you share to help them find a family by their 1st birthday? 🩷

@brollbenny @4thandEleven Any rowing coach who met you would immediately try to recruit you

@4thandEleven Seriously

I'm smaller now than I was when I joined the Army and it feels/looks weird. I now look like that annoying officer who runs marathons despite never being an officer and despising running.

On this first week between the #KYDerby and the Preakness, I want to welcome all our new followers! To read more about me, please read this fabulous article by @PyroisMedia for @ABRLive americasbestracing.net/lifestyle/2015… We invite as many from the public as possible to join our family at @freshstarttblc to learn about the horses we retired after racing, help support those horses and do more to expand our world as we can. We're constantly innovating behind the scenes to create a world that interests all of us, whether we are already involved with horses, or have a curiosity or fear of them, yes, fear because if you're fearful, come here to learn that horses may not be as scary as you think, as the horses have lives far after and beyond racing, which are magical in many ways. And it's invigorating to share it. Be a part of the magic! Join our family! Please consider donating to our 501(c)(3) charity FreshStart Thoroughbred Lifecare. We advocate for a comprehensive retirement plan that provides lifetime care, rehabilitation, retraining and a future for thoroughbred race horses who need someone to love them and a pasture they can call home. To donate using credit/bank cards or Zelle visit freshstart-tblc.org or via Paypal, use this link: Donate.freshstart-tblc.org/gahq

@OPTester_Chris @AugustLemons I’m reading When it all burns by Jordan Thomas. It’s fantastic

@AugustLemons 10 so far. I need to find some new ones because I only have 1 on deck after I finish the one I have right now.

So far I’m at 13 books read for the year. What’s everyone else at?

@GloriousAllianc Nileist: what is she going on about? Hackleton: 🙄

Hackleton read the riot act by K for piling manure under his hay mat. Nileist listening intently, not believing the riot act is not for him.

In 1970, a horse dealer named Harry Plenge bought a fiery-eyed, swayback gelding for $500, the going price for dog meat. No one expected much from him. His name was Frank "The Entertainer," and he looked like his best days were long behind him. That same summer, my dad bought him for me. I was a frail, sickly girl whose severe asthma kept me indoors more than out. Frank wasn't much to look at either, ribs showing, back swayed, spirit seemingly broken-he was mad, bucking off everyone who tried to ride him. But something magical happened between us. Two years later, in 1972, that same "worthless" horse carried me into the show ring and emerged as a National Horse Show Champion and ESHBA Horse of the Year. A broken-down horse and a fragile girl with bad lungs, we weren't supposed to amount to much. Years later, after RA, Parkinson’s, a stroke, and Spinal MRSA… I’m still here, still fighting, still proving them wrong. A broken horse and a sick girl became a lifetime story of second chances, healing, and what love, faith + grit can do. It wouldn’t be the last time God gave me another chance. ❤️

@1JLVSTW Good morning ☀️

Gooooood morning! Got some choring to do then spending the day with these two. Hope you all have a fantastic Sunday!

@CBeasmoreSports 😳

GREAT WHITE flipped his rider over ahead of the Kentucky Derby and has been scratched from the race. Unexpected turn of events at Churchill Downs. 🤯

@GloriousAllianc Did that post on my phone without my reading glasses 🤷‍♀️

@msmiddy Margaret.... "its"?

My and Red's pick for the 2026 #KYDerby is So Happy!

@GloriousAllianc Me too

@ndkirschmann @BradDuplessis Yep. Sometimes sharing is overrated

Not going to lie. After the shock wore off, the part of me with a BS in Microbiology immediately thought, “Oh. rod-shaped and gram positive.” 😂

@OPTester_Chris 🤦‍♀️

Working on a Saturday and then, BAM, 🤯

This is my official kids book reveal “I LOVE BEING ME!”! This is the first book of my LEADERS OF THE NEW COOL series. As a librarian I want kids to feel empowered to be themselves and to forever love READING. I have my co star Bizzy the 🐝 featured as well!

@SkinnerPm After your law school finals are done of course

Oh MeanCat is not gonna like this. We had a new gate made for the back. It’s not orange yet. And Theresa is saying it won’t be. She wants it blue like the front door. Says she’s “over the orange”. I shushed her hoping MeanCat didn’t hear. I’m painting it orangey, I want to live

@SkinnerPm Compromise with orange flowers near the bottom and a blue “sky” leading to the top?

@OPTester_Chris REI

It’s either this or I eat my weight in chips and salsa. What shall I do?

@feederofcats 🥺 RIP sweet boy

We lost Bertie last night. More words on our Instagram. instagram.com/p/DXzgra-mJBd/…

I’m doing something special for the culture this month. All May…I’m offering Hip Hop Storytime read alouds for just $75. Children’s authors, if you believe in your book, let me amplify it through my storytelling. Lock in at 3kingvisions.com