by Carol Hodes, for the SBOA of New Jersey

Manalapan, NJ — Retired racehorse Independent Act, aka Indy, will make a personal appearance Monday (June 17) in honor of the Monmouth County Library’s celebration of the Month of the Horse.

Indy and his owner, Suzanne D’Ambrose, will be available to meet the public, starting at 5:30 p.m., prior to the panel discussion hosted by the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, located at 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan, N.J. The panel on the role of the Standardbred industry in Monmouth County begins at 7 p.m.

Tom Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, will be one of the panelists for the event on Monday.

Joining Luchento on the panel will be Harriet Honigfeld, administrator of the Farmland Preservation Program, Monmouth County Planning Board; owner-breeder-attorney Sam Landy, president of the Open Space Pace & Festival; and Dr. Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers University. Moderating the panel will be Dr. William Sciarappa of Rutgers University, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Independent Act, a 12-year-old trotter who retired from racing six years ago, has earned many awards for hunter, pace, western showmanship as well as appeared in parades and made personal appearances.

Weather permitting, he will be available to meet and greet the public from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the library grounds.

“Indy is known as the Ambassador of Standardbreds by many of my friends, since he enjoys meeting the public, especially children,” said D’Ambrose, who teaches law enforcement for the Monmouth County Vocational School District. “We have been members of the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey since 2009. We were the color guard for the Open Space Pace Parade in Freehold last September and will be doing this again for this year’s Open Space Pace Parade on September 21.”

D’Ambrose has volunteered her services with the Standardbred Retirement Foundation for 10 years and is an equine message therapist, operating as FreeMotion Equine Massage of Howell, N.J.

Information booklets and coloring books provided by the United States Trotting Association will be available for free at the library event.