Crissy Wilson Tadlock photo
ArabianRacing.org
It was a very special Tevis Cup this year for Race-bred Arabians and the Mero family! Join us in congratulating Jay Mero on winning the coveted 100-mile race on her mare Ozark Kaolena SWA, as well as her daughter, Reyna Mero, for her second-place finish on Chndakas Eklipse SWA. The next day, Chndakas Eklipse SWA was awarded the Haggin Cup as the top-10 finisher with a horse in "most superior physical condition." Though that’s not the only family tie! Both mares are three-quarter sisters, as they share the dam FMR Ozark Eklipse and are by sires by Dormane—"Lena" by Kaolino and "Clippie" by Chndaka.
Lena raced an impressive 19 times from 2015 to 2017 with a 2-0-1 record and earnings of $13,151 across Texas, Colorado, California, and Delaware. Clippie raced 6 times at Delaware Park, though never hit the board.
We were lucky enough to catch up with Jay about her Tevis Cup and the two Race-bred mares that brought them home. “Lena was a rockstar from the get-go," she said. "There was nothing to make in Lena. All I needed to do was condition her for what needed to happen. She is so polite, but yet very hot!” This isn’t Lena’s first Tevis. In fact, she’s completed the race four times, winning the Haggin Cup in 2021, the same year Race-bred Arabian Treasured Moments won the first of her two Tevises.
You might think that Lena and Clippie are similar, but Jay tells us, “They’re two very different creatures.” Clippie is a bit more calm and less of a leader on the trail, but in the last couple of years the mare has come out of her shell and even led through portions of the day.
"Any 100-(mile race) is a series of problem solving,” Jay says, “though the day started out weirdly perfect.” A veteran of the race, she had yet to experience a race going so smoothly, so they went with it, going faster than they typically would with the mare’s best interest at the forefront. Though they were doing so well, Jay and Reyna never had to pull their tack, adding, “They never lost their motors.”
Of course Jay was proud of her accomplishment, but in speaking to her, we could hear her beaming through the phone about how Reyna handled Clippie’s recovery, “I didn’t tell her how long to stay at Franciscos. Clippie was passed to go, but she knew she had to stay a while longer and went when she was ready.”
When asked what sets Race-bred Arabians apart, Jay tells us it’s their mind and heart. In fact, she nearly gave up the dream to win Tevis, as the competition has become so fierce and the horses are pushed so hard, “A win is never worth bringing in a horse looking like it worked too hard,” Jay says, “When I would ask her if she could keep that pace up, it was always like, 'Sure! I got this!'” And that was apparent in Clippie’s performance as well, as she and Reyna took home this year’s Haggin Cup!
So many congratulations to the Mero family and we can’t wait to continue following their journeys!
Ozark Kaolena SWA’s maiden victory on the track:
https://fb.watch/tTaLK8T_Ax/
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