One afternoon in the Polish countryside a family and their plow-horse, Kasztan, were strolling along a quiet road. Six-year-old Julie Anna Prusak sat in front of her five-year-old cousin Szczepan, Polish for Stephen, as they rode on the horse’s bare back.
With Prusak’s uncle Tadek holding the lead rope, the children were enjoying the ride when they began to hear the faint sound of a motor. Over the hill, a motorcyclist with a roaring engine and no intention of slowing down faded into view. Prusak grabbed a handful of mane and Stephen latched his arms around her as the motorcycle darted past.
Instinctively, Kasztan broke Tadek’s grip of the lead rope and fled from the noise. Knowing the fall was a long way down, the children clung to the horse. It was about 100 yards of rush before Kasztan finally settled down to eat some grass. From that moment on, Stephen swore to never sit on a horse again, but for Prusak it was just the beginning of a lifelong passion.
Today, Prusak can either be found at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, working as a technician in the analytical chemistry section, or in the arena riding and training horses.
For nine years, Prusak dreamt of competing in the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover. This year that dream became reality.
Learning how to ride
Prusak was born in Chicago, but she grew up on a small farm in rural Poland. There, her family planted crops. To make divots in the ground, they led Kasztan, which translates to Chesnut, through the fields as he pulled a plow. Prusak said she took every chance she got to climb onto the horse, even in the open pasture without a halter or bridle.
“My mom would get so mad at me,” Prusak said. “I would always sneak on when she wasn’t looking.”
Prusak was in elementary school when she and her mom moved back to Chicago. Despite their financial situation, Prusak and her mother were determined to further her interest in riding. Her mother found a horse barn 15 minutes away from where they lived and Prusak began lessons. There, Prusak assisted with barn chores in addition to riding the more difficult, overlooked horses when they were available outside of lessons.
Longer strides and higher costs
Prusak began her riding career participating in the hunter and jumper disciplines. As she progressed in her skills, her passion grew more costly.
“My mom is a single parent,” Prusak said. “If I wanted to do any horse stuff, I had to fund it myself.”
In 2013, Prusak purchased her first horse, Bello, for $500. She saved up the money she earned from babysitting for a family, who acknowledged her passion for riding, to fund Bello’s care and needs. In a gesture of support, the family gifted Prusak tack and supplies, ensuring that her new journey got off to a strong start.
In college, Prusak maintained three jobs to pay for living expenses and her horse hobby while simultaneously studying animal science at Iowa State University. However, she was forced to put an end to competing because expenses were piling up. Her dream to eventually enter the Thoroughbred Makeover competition was placed on hold.
Finding Nemo
Nine years later, Prusak’s circumstances fell into place, and she finally set her sights on entering the competition. In September 2023, Prusak purchased Too Much Crown, a 4-year-old Thoroughbred nicknamed Nemo.
When previewing Nemo, Prusak was surprised with his calm demeanor. In the stall adjacent to him, was another retired Thoroughbred racehorse exhibiting anxious behavior stereotypical of the breed.
Even though warmblood breeds, such as Dutch Warmbloods, Hanoverians and Holsteiners, dominate the horse show world, the Thoroughbred Makeover, aims to prove that a well-loved and well-trained Thoroughbred can be just as successful in the sport despite their reputation of being more spirited. The competition tasks trainers with retraining retired Thoroughbred racehorses and transitioning them to second careers off the racetrack.
Just keep swimming
As Prusak began training with Nemo, she continued to notice atypical behaviors in him she theorized were related to pain. Following several veterinary consultations and exams, Nemo was diagnosed with overriding dorsal spinous processes, ORDSP, otherwise known as kissing spines, in March of 2024. Kissing spines is a disorder in which a horse’s dorsal bones of the thoracic vertebrae have improper spacing in between one another causing pain and discomfort.
With an expensive surgery as Nemo’s only hope of rehabilitation and competing, Prusak was ready to surrender her dream. Thankfully, a friend of Prusak’s led a fundraiser to help offset the cost of surgery.
“I don’t know how all these good people around me have come about,” Prusak said. “I am so blessed to have them.”
Following a successful surgery, Prusak began the recovery process. For six months, Prusak spent her mornings before work, lunch breaks and evenings performing rehabilitation exercises and treatment on Nemo. By the end of summer, Prusak had completed Nemo’s recovery. With the competition in October, she spent the next three months training him to compete in the dressage and freestyle events.
“My goal was to go to this horse show,” Prusak said. “…but even if I couldn’t go, I already won because I got this horse healthy.”
Culminating her journey of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, Prusak and Nemo traveled to Lexington, Kentucky for the competition. Deriving inspiration from his barn name, Prusak choreographed a freestyle routine based on the movie “Finding Nemo”. Donning a royal blue slinky and stuffed fish on his head resembling the character, Dory, Nemo and Prusak, who wore an orange jumpsuit representing the movie’s protagonist, Nemo, executed a nearly flawless performance.
“Throughout the competition, I had zero expectations,” Prusak said. “I just wanted to enjoy my horse and to ride him to the best of my ability to just show that kissing spine isn’t a career ending diagnosis.”
Prusak and Nemo were awarded first place in preliminary freestyle and second place in the finale. Adding to their wins, Prusak was named the top amateur rider in her division. Rounding out their time in Lexington, Nemo won Top Louisiana Bred Thoroughbred and finished 45th in the dressage category.
“He made my dreams come true,” Prusak said. “I can only hope I can give him the best life this horse deserves.”
For more information on TVMDL, visit tvmdl.tamu.edu or call the College Station laboratory at 1.888.646.5623.
