A heart
for horses, Frank Lovato Jr, is an extraordinary equestrian. From an early age
Frank was obsessed with becoming a jockey. At the age 0f 13, Frank left his
family to follow his dream. Frank lived in horse barns, sleeping on tack room
floors, taking on inferior stable jobs, just to find his place on the race
track. After 3 years, he began his apprentice jockey career. In 1980, Frank
received the coveted Eclipse Award - Jockey
Apprentice USA.
Now
retired as a jockey, Frank continues to be an advocate to educate a horse racing
nation. Besides being an equestrian, he is an author, innovator, entrepreneur,
radio host, musician, and much more. Through his many horse-related programs,
Frank shines in the world of horses….
Welcome Frankie!
Q: When
was your first encounter with a horse?
A: I was
way too young to remember, I think I was 2 years old the first time I kind of
remember; was at a farm where a trainer that my dad (who was also a jockey) was
riding for was having a small party. I remember them bringing a horse out and
letting me sit on it in the yard. I actually can kind of remember feeling
exhilarated. Other then that, I remember going to the track during the morning
training hours with my dad and once training hours were over, there were some
trainers that would let me ride their stable pony (life size guide horse for
the Thoroughbreds) around the barn's shedrow.
Q: You
grew up around horses and the race track. What was it like?
A: Yeah,
was not the farm life, unfortunately which instead of having a horse, I had a
bicycle which I use to pretend I was riding races on. My dad was a professional
jockey. We lived in suburb areas close to race tracks. I kind of had a normal
childhood except I was so obsessed with becoming a jockey that I left home in
New Jersey where my dad was riding at the early age of 14 to go live and work
on a Thoroughbred farm in Ocala Florida to begin my training to become a
jockey. In those days, it was quite acceptable to start racing professional at
16 years old, and that was my goal. My parents did try and slow me down, but
like I said, I was obsessed with this jockey stuff since a very early age.
Q: Was
your mother a rider, too?
A: My mom
was not really a horse person at all. Was great at shopping though! My mom was
always a great ear though as she had to hear me say, "I want to be a
jockey" 9 zillion times before I was 10 years old. She tried her best to
talk me out of it but was not possible.
Q: What
is it like to ride a racehorse?
A: Since
all I ever knew was riding Thoroughbreds, once I retired from racing, I have
been able to spend lots more time around other breeds. Really not so different
and since Thoroughbred’s is all I know, I think I prefer Thoroughbreds! I do
think that Thoroughbreds can get a bit of a reputation, but they are just
horses and depends, like any horse, how they were brought up and worked with. I
think some of them make amazing partners if someone would give them a chance!
 |
Arlington
Park. This was my last winner before I retired from racing.
Q: Where
is your favorite track?
A: I rode
mostly the New York circuit for most of my career; Belmont, Aqueduct and
Saratoga. Beautiful and historical facilities, but I fell in love with
Arlington Park which was the track I rode over the last few years of my career
during their summer meet. I loved it for the track itself, and the atmosphere.
It seemed very festive and inviting from both my side and fans. Management does
a great job there for everyone!
Q: What
happened in the race when you had a spill and broke your leg?
A: It
actually was in the post parade warming up for the race. The filly I was on
could really run, I had just won on her the previous race, but she was very
difficult to ride and get to the gates. Racing wise she was easy to ride, but
the post parade, she threw a fit and flipped over on top of me. It happened in
a split second, I could not avoid her.
Q: Of all
the horses that you've ridden, do you have a favorite?
A: That
is a very tough question, there are so many horses I loved and meant lots to my
career. There was this one horse that I won the West Virginia Derby on back in
1980 or 81, his name was Johnny Dance. Anyway, he was so lazy to ride in the
mornings, like an old cow horse, but at the races, he gave his all. Was the
coolest horse ever.
Q: What
is the Equicizer?
A: The Equicizer is a tool I developed to help
me rehabilitate from my racing accident where I sustained a badly broken leg.
It helped me regain the strength and flexibility I needed to make it just back
to riding period and then it did more then that. It made me a better rider then
ever before. It's a non-motorized spring loaded mechanical horse. I still
manufacture them and now for all riders under the sun. It's a way to train,
exercise and rehab safely and works for any rider, even for non-riders it
offers a great safe exercise, great for the core and even people with
disabilities can use very effectively!
Q: What
is Stampede of Dreams?
A: Stampede of Dreams is our therapeutic
riding program that my wife Sandy and I founded. Because of the Equicizer, we have met some amazing
people over the years that inspired us to start our own program. Stampede of Dreams (also known as SOD) is in our 5th year, a 501c3
non-profit that is a certified PATH-International (Professional Association of
Therapeutic Horsemanship) program. My wife Sandy is the program director and
also a PATH Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor. We are located in Norwalk
Ohio. We have an amazing staff, board of directors, volunteers, and of course
student riders! http://stampedeofdreams.org
Q:
Describe your daily routine....
A: Well,
now that I am retired as a jockey, I primarily focus on the Equicizer business. I still manufacture
them by hand and build them for riders all over the world. Along with that, I
also founded my own organization called Jockey
World, which is non-profit educational organization I mostly created to
help our young racing fans who wish to work in the racing industry; learn
properly about the business. I create some career building tools such as Jockey Camp, media such as YouTube
videos, the Jockey World (internet) Radio Show, Jockey Camp is an annual event I host that is open to anyone. All
these areas I provide my experiences and knowledge that helps offer a better
foundation of knowledge and path they can follow to get them started. Jockey World also offers any fan of
horse racing to learn really what horse racing is all about for the better
enjoyment of the sport. So with these two businesses, I stay very busy, usually
7 days a week building and maintaining Equicizers
and horse racing education!
Currently,
I am working on a huge project called 365
Days of Racing Terminology. A video series that me and my star Jockey World student Kayla Jarvinen have
created and committed doing a video for everyday of the year for 2013. Each
video covers a racing term. These terms are from my Racing Terminology Booklet I created a few years ago. This project
is an unprecedented effort to educate racing fans and bring more attention to
my mission with Jockey World. So my
days are pretty full! www.jockeyworld.org
Q: In a
nutshell, what does it take to be a jockey?
A:
Definitely a different breed, of course you have to be small, but that is just
a tiny piece, you have to be fearless, hard working, resilient, patient,
tolerant, willing to work 7 days a week for nothing for a chance to someday
win, athletic, and most of all, lucky!
Connect
with Frankie…
“There are those
meant to lead, others meant to follow,
then the rest of us that are just meant
to ride.”
Frankie Lovato
 |
Elusive
Road after an allowance race win.
|
.png)
.png)
.png)
2 comments:
Great interview with a wonderful man! Thank you!
oloxhibGreat interview Frankie! It's wonderful that you have so many venues to get the word out about all the good you and Sandy do for "wanna be" jockeys, novice riders, horse lovers and those with special needs.
You two are a great team doing great things, and I'm proud to know you!
Post a Comment