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Completely OT - My Brother Dave

57pbass

By 57pbass
in Low Down Lowdown

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57pbass

57pbass

Posted
Posted

Sorry for the OT but I had to share this ...

After years ( 30 ) of battling the demons of drug addiction and a very bad explosion my younger brother Dave has finally found something he loves to do and has focused his life on horse training instead of drugs and all the associated problems.

 

You can see the pics if you go to Belmont Park web site and tpye in his name...

 

In additon to this being a great day for him - my Mother,sister and yours truly where in the winners circle with him..it was a great day for our mother...

 

There is hope....

 

 

David Prine's Long Road Ends in the Winner's Circle

By Jenny Kellner | May 24, 2008

 

 

 

David Prine

 

photo by Adam Coglianese

 

 

For David Prine, just being alive was something of a longshot. Nearly killed in a gas explosion in a Louisville, Ky. kitchen in 1999, paralyzed on one side and unable to speak, Prine endured years of physical therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, and several surgeries as he slowly learned how to walk again, and talk again. The only life he knew that of being a chef was gone, replaced by a legacy of suffering, trauma, and pain.

 

Somehow, the long and tortuous road to recovery led him to the racetrack, where he toiled as a hotwalker, blacksmith helper, and groom. But on Saturday, Prine found himself someplace hed only dreamt about in the winners circle at Belmont Park, having saddled his first winner as a trainer with his very first starter, a 4-year-old New York-bred maiden named Halation, who returned $146.

 

Unbelievable, Prine kept repeating. Its unbelievable.

 

Three years after the accident, perhaps stirred by the memory of having worked as a hotwalker while in high school and wanting to reconnect with horses, Prine enrolled in Ted Landers course at Belmont Park on the principles of caring for thoroughbreds. He attached himself to a couple of blacksmiths. He procured a job working for trainer Steve Jerkens and also assisted Landers, himself a groom turned trainer. Along the way, Prine attracted the attention of Lois Engel, who in 2003 had purchased a farm in upstate New York with the intention of breeding and racing Thoroughbreds.

 

I met him about 18 months ago, when he was helping out Ted, said Engel. Spending time at the barn and watching him, you could see he had this sixth sense for dealing with horses. I would ask him what he wanted to do, and hed say, Someday, Id really like to train horses.

 

By December, 2007, Landers was ready for a break. And Engel knew exactly who she wanted to take over training her horses.

 

We wanted to give David the opportunity, she said. This is what he was meant to do.

 

With her support and that of several trainers, Prine began studying for the state exam to get his trainers license. It wasnt easy. Although he knew about horses, because of his brain injury, reading and writing remained a challenge. But with the same perseverance he demonstrated in coming back from his devastating injuries, Prine was able to master the requirements and pass the test with flying colors.

 

Three weeks ago, he received his official license. And in Saturdays fifth race, Halation came roaring from off the pace under Jean-Luc Samyn to win a seven-furlong turf event for New York-bred maidens.

 

Its amazing, said Prine, who Sunday will send out Volmoose, another New York-bred maiden. When I was in high school, I thought about veterinary medicine, but I always had a flair for cooking, so I went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and became a chef. I worked at Tavern on the Green, the National Tennis Center, other places.

 

Then, after the accident, I didnt know if I would ever have another chance. Id always had a rapport with animals, so it seemed natural to work with horses.

 

These days, Prine, who lives pretty much on Social Security, takes the Access-A-Ride from his apartment in nearby Glendale to Belmont Park, where he spends most of his time in the back of Joe Lostrittos barn at Belmont Park. Stabled there are three of Engels horses, including Halation and a filly named Mercys Image that he spoils rotten. Drawing on his background in the culinary arts and his own ideas about nutrition, the horses are fed three times daily at 3:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and routinely feast on Prines special blend of hay.

 

Theres alfalfa in there, and timothy its kind of like a mesclun salad, and they love it, said Prine, who, chef-like, refused to divulge the exact recipe. Theyre pretty happy horses.

 

Prine hasnt given up cooking for people, either. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he spent a month in the galley of the Spirit of New York, where he joined with other chefs and prepared food for the recovery workers at Ground Zero. On the backstretch, he cooks for the Anna House annual Christmas party and volunteers his services to other backstretch organizations as well.

 

In all, says Prine, its been an amazing journey.

 

Ive had a lot of setbacks, he said. So to be where I am is pretty amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.danielprine.com

 

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Bottomgottem

Bottomgottem

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It's great to read a story like that.

 

I'll bet that working as a blacksmith's helper did wonders for regaining his coordination. That's hard and tedious work even if you aren't fighting a disability. Particularly if you are (I assume) shoeing horses.

 

Kudos for David Prine.

My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace
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Jode

Jode

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Fantastic. Who says there are no second acts in life? This is the epitome of "God's not done with me yet."

 

Laugh-out-loud line of the story for me:

 

"Its kind of like a mesclun salad, and they love it." :D

"I had to have something, and it wasn't there. I couldn't go down the street and buy it, so I built it."

 

Les Paul

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Chad Thorne

Chad Thorne

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57', please tell David that neither my wife nor I have any problem believing he can communicate with his horses. We often feel that we can sense what our sheep, dogs and even chickens are feeling. I think many people who care for animals would say the same.

 

 

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