Secretariat Dancer & Bud

In 1973, Lynn Kirchner was an exercise jockey at Aqueduct and Belmont, where she met Secretariat and his groom Eddie Sweat. In 1993, she became the proud owner of Secretariat Dancer, a 1986 son of Big Red who she brought home to Carbondale, Colorado from the racetracks of Florida.  Dancer had the same look in his eye and sense of playfulness that his father had displayed and he happily settled into the life of a beloved trail horse. Like his father, he loved to run. Later, Lynn acquired a “cousin” named Valentine Dancer, who had Bold Ruler and Northern Dancer in his pedigree. Nicknamed Bud, he and Dancer became inseparable companions.   Their bond was so strong that when Dancer died of laminitis, just like Secretariat, on September 24, 2001, Bud laid down on his grave and refused to eat.  He joined his friend on October 20 and together they rest in peace by a river and the meadow they loved to run in.