Maymont Farm gets new neigh-bor with addition of horse Lorna

Maymont welcomed a new horse recently to Maymont Farm. Lorna, a retired thoroughbred mare from Maryland, comes to Maymont through the Equine Welfare Society (EWS), a horse rescue organization based in Keswick, Virginia. She joins Artie and Dani, retired carriage horses and longtime Maymont residents, in the pasture at Maymont Farm, which also houses cows, goats, sheep, pigs, alpacas, chickens, ducks, and a Sicilian donkey.

Lorna, a bright chestnut mare who stands a stately 16 hands tall (64 inches from the ground to her withers), was born in 2011. She had a brief career as a racehorse and broodmare under the name Count My Blessings until she was retired and placed with EWS.

Lorna’s pedigree includes the legendary Secretariat, the Virginia-born-and-raised 1973 Triple Crown winner, as well as other notable Kentucky Derby winners, Northern Dancer and Swaps. Longtime horse racing fans might note a resemblance in her coppery coat and white star marking to another of her great great-grandsires, Alydar, who was famous as the archrival to 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed.

While Lorna can no longer support being ridden, she has proven to be an excellent pasture-mate at EWS. She is already proving to be a good companion for Artie, 18, and Dani, 29.

“Lorna seems to enjoy her new surroundings and her new companions. She is a natural at posing for photographs and seems to know when cameras are pointed in her direction,” said Parke Richeson, President and CEO of Maymont Foundation. “Maymont is happy to give her a new forever home.”