May 8 - Kitten's Joy

Ken and Sarah Ramsey raced him and even stood him as their only stallion for a while at their farm before he later stood at Hill ‘n Dale. Kitten was Ken's nickname for Sarah, and thus, Kitten's Joy is a tribute to her.

The Boxer, the Kitten and the Rabbit:

So, how does the aircraft carrier the USS Boxer figure into this story? Ken served on the USS Boxer for a while and raced a horse by that name. Up at Saratoga USS Boxer was racing and won. Joe, a friend of mine via Dave Whelihan said that his father served on the USS Boxer so, we headed over to the winner's circle to congratulate Ken and introduce Joe. I had painted Kitten's Joy for the book, A Brush With Greatness, and had a quote from Ken but we have been playing rabbit getting it sold. Playing rabbit is when the chase ends up in the bushes. Ken is good at the game.

Right there in the winner's circle at Saratoga, I noticed that Michael Blowen was standing there as well, and I knew Ken had been a good supporter of Old Friends. So, I told Ken the paintings were $______ and if he did it right now, I'd give $1,000 to Old Friends in his name. Finally, the rabbit came out of the bush.

To finish the chasing rabbits’ story, I told Michael that I could write the check or give him $1,000 worth of the books, A Brush With Greatness, at the wholesale price. Michael was more than happy to put the book in the Old Friends gift shop and quickly doubled the money. Tricks are for kids and sometimes grownups like to play too, especially when everybody wins.