Moses Finds a Jockey- Worth a read(tu)

Charley Offut almost died when the gun went off in his hand. He had been thinking about dying. There really wasn’t much more to live for and everything in his life seemed pathetic. But when the old tabby cat landed on the hood of his car with a solid thump, the gun went off and shot a hole in his roof. Charley’s ears were ringing, his hands were shaking, and his nerves were shot. The cat simply sat there and stared at him. He practically jumped out of his skin when there was the sharp rapping of a ring on his car window and he dropped his gun. It was Geezer.

Quietly, Geezer stood outside Charley’s car and took it all in. He saw the dirty clothes in the front seat, the empty bottles on the floor mats, worn jockey boots, two riding helmets, an old horse blanket, and a soiled pillow in the back seat. Crumpled Daily Racing Forms were tucked in everywhere. He looked at the bullet hole in the roof of the car and said nothing. Charley tossed a pair of jeans over the gun and rolled down his window.

“Mornin’, son, I have a horse for you to ride.” Charley sat stunned in his car. Now most men would be asking questions, lifting an eyebrow, or at least asking him if he was okay. Geezer reached out to pet the silver tabby. “I see you have met Moses.” Just then, there was a bit of a commotion over at the security shack. Geezer yelled, “It’s okay, Milt, I’ve got him. Nothing to be concerned about.” Milt looked hesitantly at Charley and Geezer, shrugged his shoulders, and reluctantly turned away.

Geezer turned to the man standing behind him and had a quiet conversation in Spanish. There was a nod or two toward Charley, but that was it. He turned back to Charley and smiled. “Son, why don’t you come with me? We can talk about this horse I want you to ride.”

Charley didn’t realize how spent his soul was until he tried to stand. No food, bad alcohol, and a night of bad decisions had taken their toll on him. His last few races had been disasters and he didn’t think he could face it anymore. The Turf writers had a field day with him, and social media had screamed his name repeatedly: “Charley OFF-It, Charley Awww-ful” as they discussed his plummeting race record and some innuendos about his future. His legs wobbled a bit as he started to head to the barn. Moses jumped off his car, rubbed Charley’s jeans and boots for a minute, and turned around and stared at him. With his tail held high, he scampered ahead of Geezer and Charley to the barn.

Inside the barn, Charley stood still for a minute, and tried to take it all in. He knew the old trainer had quite a history of winning stakes races, a Kentucky Derby, two Belmonts, and several Breeders’ Cup races. But it had been a while ago and the barn was going through hard times. That didn’t seem evident at all when Charley walked in the door. There was a peacefulness emanating from the barn. Morning workouts were over; the horses had been bathed and now were munching hay quietly in their stalls.

Geezer motioned to his office and Charley stepped inside. It was austere but homey. Charley noticed a hand-painted sign saying “Welcome to the Promised Land” hanging on the wall behind Geezer’s desk. There were two chairs, one with a blanket on it, a desk, and to his surprise, a laptop. Charley went to sit down when Geezer motioned him to the other chair. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but that chair belongs to Moses.” Right on cue, the cat jumped onto his chair, turned around to get a better view of Charley, and purred. Charley noticed that Moses had his own leather collar with an engraved brass nameplate.

Charley was nauseated, but he was curious what horse the trainer might have in mind for him. Just then a golf cart rolled up and a tall man in a cowboy hat gently stepped into the office. He looked at Charley with a caring smile and nodded at Geezer. “Charley, Mike here is going to take you to the hotel across the street. You can clean yourself up, get some rest, and we will bring you some food. Come on back here tomorrow morning and we’ll put you to work.”

Charley found himself in the golf cart whizzing out to his car. It turned out that Mike was the track chaplain, and Charley felt a little guilty because he had not sought Mike out before. Mike was a friendly enough guy, always zipping around in his golf cart. Charley braced himself for a ton of questions but surprisingly, there were none.

When they got to Charley’s car, he noticed Manny, the groom who had been at Geezer’s side this morning, was standing there. Manny lifted his head up and nodded. Charley stared as he realized Manny had just repaired the bullet hole with a little Bondo. Mike turned to him and said, “How about you grab your clothes and I’ll get the laundry; you’re probably not hungry but here are a couple of protein bars, cookies, some aspirin and Tums. I’ll drop you off at your room. Check in with the lobby later today and they will have a sack lunch for you. Here’s my card and phone number and you can call me at any time.”

Charley was too tired to care anymore and was grateful that someone else was making decisions. He watched the chaplain throw his dirty clothes into an old bag. The chaplain didn’t blink when he saw the gun but reached down and put it also in the bag. “You don’t need this right now, okay?” They rolled across the track parking lot to the “no-tell motel” across the street. It was the kind of place that was pretty snazzy in the ’60s but had fallen on hard times. Mike said that Geezer kept several rooms there for his staff. The rooms were clean, the lobby had hot coffee, and it would be a quiet place to sleep.

Charley couldn’t remember the last time he had slept in a bed. He took the longest hot shower of his life. He was numb. He knew he couldn’t think straight but that there was something for him to do tomorrow. He ate the protein bars and cookies and turned off the lights. He didn’t dream, he didn’t toss and turn; he slept hard through the rest of the day.

Early the next morning, there was a rap on his door. Charley opened it up expecting to see the chaplain but instead it was Geezer’s exercise rider Pony Girl. “I was told to come get you—let’s go.” Kind of brusque, kind of sharp with a bit of attitude, but she handed him a coffee and a smile. Charley had seen her working horses at the track and was intrigued. He hopped in her truck and noticed it was as immaculate as her jeans and turtleneck. She had seen him at the track, but this was the first time she had seen his hair without it being matted down in a condition known as “helmet head.” She liked his tousled brown “bedroom” hair and his often-gossiped-about hazel eyes.

They pulled up to the barn and Charley slipped out of the truck. It was as dark as could be with the promise of a beautiful sunrise, but there was no time to pay attention to that. Charley could see his breath as he looked for Geezer. Moses ran between his legs and Charley almost tripped on him. The cat danced as he led him around the corner. Geezer was standing there with a track vet looking at a horse. Moses darted in and out of the stall with glee and Charley realized that there was also a goat in the stall. “Charley, this is Our Miss Vidalia and Pico De Gallo, her goat.” Charley knew who he was looking at. Vidalia was notorious at the track as unmanageable. She was a real mess during morning workouts; terrified during gate work. She had returned from her last two races without a jockey. Charley swallowed hard and hoped this wasn’t the horse Geezer wanted him to ride. “Tell ya what, son. She has a bit of a fever so we’re not going to work her today. I have a few other horses you can ride this morning and then come by the office and I’ll tell you more about her.”

The morning was pleasant enough. Yesterday morning was beginning to feel like a distant dream that didn’t really happen. It was easy to fit into Geezer’s barn. He was accepted. It was as simple as that. Moses kept an eye on him, though, and followed him relentlessly. Finally, Charley reached over to pet him and Moses stood on his hind legs with his paws in the air asking for more. Charley couldn’t help but laugh at the old cat wrangling some loving from him. He scratched him behind the ears and was rewarded with a deep-throttle purr.

Suddenly Charley smelled food and was hungry. He stepped outside the barn and there was a whole spread of food on the back of a truck. The groom named Luis smiled and handed him a plate. There was that old tug of war between eating and keeping his weight down, but Charley knew that he needed food in the worst way and decided it would be okay to eat. Besides, no one had been asking him to ride. He was in more than a slump. He too had a “reputation” and hadn’t worked in ages.

Moses was sitting on the back of the truck getting treats and hugs from everyone who came by. He was known for eating Cheetos, which probably contributed to his tubby tummy. Charley smiled as he watched Moses work the crowd until Geezer said, “Enough.” It was a quiet afternoon as the track was on a break. Geezer smiled and signaled Charley to come spend some time with him.

When they settled into the office, Geezer said, “Moses and I found Vidalia loaded onto a trailer going to a very bad place. She didn’t want to leave her goat and was tearing up the trailer. They were happy to sell her to me. She’d been owned by a local restaurant owner and had been pushed too fast. She had a bad experience in her first race when she reared and was cast underneath the starting gate. She just needs to find her way back to trusting people. Pico her goat is very protective. Slowly we are discovering what makes her run. She hates to be whipped, doesn’t like blinkers. She hates to be boxed in. She can be extremely nervous and is prone to hives. It takes time to get to know her and unfortunately her last rider moved to another track. I think you two could make a good team, and I want you to spend some time with her. She’s not ready to race now, but we’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, you can stay at the hotel the rest of the week until Chaplain Mike finds a place for you to stay. You can work here—I’ve got some other horses for you to ride. Is that okay with you?”

Moses jumped onto Charley’s lap and was rubbing his arm. He stared at the cat and stared at Geezer. “I was thinking of moving to another track, but I’ll stay for a while.”
“That’s all I’m asking, son, just give Vidalia some time to get to know you and let’s see what you two can do together.” Moses settled in and kneaded Charley’s shirt smugly. It was quiet and no one spoke for a while. Geezer stared at his laptop and made a few grunts. He smiled and said, “It seems that Moses has his own Facebook page. He’s very popular.” He swung the laptop around and showed him. Charley saw that Moses had a slew of friends and hundreds of photographs. There were pictures of Moses all around the barn, napping on top of Pico and doing his “dance” for Cheetos. There were pictures of the infamous trip Moses took to the paddock and how he managed to slip into the winner’s circle picture to the thrill of the crowd. Moses had even posted this morning that he was enjoying playing games with the cute new jockey in his barn and there was a picture of him and Charley.

Charley sat up slack-jawed and stared at the computer. “It’s not me, son, but I suspect Pony Girl runs his Facebook page. Damn cat has more friends than some of the famous jockeys here.” Moses turned over in Charley’s lap, showed him his fat tummy, and requested a belly rub. “I had no idea Moses was so famous, sir.” Geezer smiled and said, “Well, he’s always been quite the cat. He’s brought every person here into my barn, even had to have that darn goat.” He smiled again and left it at that.

Charley went over to spend some time with Vidalia. Just like a sentry on duty, Pico was sleeping across the stall. Even though the filly was still a maiden at four years old, it was obvious Geezer believed in her talent. She needed to gain a little weight but she could be striking. She’s blessed with good conformation. She’s tall for a Thoroughbred; a lovely dark gray with a silver/black mane and tail. She has intelligent eyes and a startling white blaze down her lovely gray head. She stared at him inquisitively. Pico was protective, but Charley stood quietly and talked with both of them. He got them some carrots and was pleased as both Vidalia and Pico nodded their heads in approval.

Charley walked over to the hotel and enjoyed the sun on his back. He had decided to take a nap then go for a run. He kept thinking that it might be time to start taking care of himself again, and that meant healthy food and working out. If he was going to ride for Geezer, then he needed to pull himself together.

Day after day, his world became quieter and less stressful. The stigma that surrounded him eased as he was seen working for Geezer. He rode his horses in the morning and hung out in the afternoon. Geezer taught him how to mend tack, make liniment, and rub legs. He started helping Geezer with records and paperwork. He and Moses found different ways to entertain each other, and once when he was on his afternoon run, Moses surprised him. Charley was so intrigued that he followed Moses behind one of the older, unkempt barns. There in a back stall was a three-legged feral kitty known as Lulu with a litter of kittens. Moses looked so proud that Charley knew immediately that they were his kittens. He also knew ¬better than to intrude. Lulu was definitely a bad-ass kitty. Obviously Moses was also brave.

Thanks to the chaplain, Charley now had a place to live within walking distance to the track. He cleaned up his truck and tossed all the old bottles into a recycling bin. His body was responding to daily exercise and his heart was responding to the people he was working with. There was daily flirting with Pony Girl, some teasing with the grooms and hot walkers, and always great lunch entertainment by Moses.

One morning, Charley came around the corner and bumped into Pico. It was finally time to take Vidalia for a morning workout and both Vidalia and Pico were fussing. She didn’t want to leave Pico behind and was doing a little nervous dance. As Geezer gave him a leg up, he pulled the whip out of Charley’s pocket. “You won’t want this son, she doesn’t take to it and I don’t advise it.” Pico grabbed the whip out of Geezer’s hands and comically shook her head with it. He could feel lots of eyes on him and the filly as they approached the track. Pony Girl took the two of them out and gave Charley a wink as she let them loose. Vidalia was scared. He realized that she needed some time to get to know him and he was a patient rider with kind hands. He could feel her trembling and leaned forward to reassure her. As Geezer said, this was going to take time; lots of time.

Charley discovered that she liked it best if he sat quietly when he first got on her. No legs in the stirrups, he just dangled his legs. Charley also discovered that she liked to just stand at the track and take it all in. She was intelligent and needed time to check everything out. He accidentally discovered that she liked humming. Normally, her ears were pinned back and her head tossed no matter what he asked her. Charley started humming to her and was surprised to see her ears perk forward. He kept humming until they found a rhythm. It was a big step forward. Geezer smiled when he reported she liked humming.

The next day, he discovered an old radio had been set up in her stall. Both the goat and filly seemed to be quite content. Moses was sleeping next to the radio and stretched one paw out, languorously, to say hello. That afternoon, Charley found some time to spend on a friend’s computer. He immediately went to Moses’ Facebook page and laughed at the barn pictures. Moses was very photogenic and his followers loved him. Moses “posted” most of the backside’s gossip as it happened and he had a very active Twitter account. Geezer was getting annoyed that fans of Moses were starting to show up at the barn to take his picture. Fans were also showing up at the track in “We Luv Moses” T-shirts.

Charley decided to check out Geezer on Wikipedia. He had heard about some of the big races but didn’t know about all the hard times. The trainer was a survivor and had suffered great heartbreak during his lifetime. His wife had passed away after they lost a daughter to drugs and a son to suicide. All of this had happened after Geezer had been flying high with his Derby and Belmont wins. His barn had been one of the hottest barns in the nation. Charley thought about the day they met. The old guy didn’t judge him. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t pry. He simply opened the car door and asked Charley to come with him. How did the old guy decide to keep going after losing his entire family? He thought about the people surrounding Geezer; the chaplain, the grooms, hot walkers, and Pony Girl. He smiled as he thought about Moses. Geezer said that the old silver tabby had brought everyone in the barn to him, and Charley certainly had experienced that. Geezer was a survivor and the cat had found family for him.

Slowly but surely, trust was being built. Between him and the filly. Between him and Geezer. Between him and the barn. The meet was going to start next week and Charley was going to ride some races for Geezer. He was proud and excited. But at the same time, he dreaded the trip from the paddock to the track. Racing fans were not happy with his last season and expressed their displeasure loudly. He tried to put on his game face, but it wasn’t easy to ignore the loud heckling as he rode by. When he first started racing, he always ran from the jockeys’ quarters to the paddock with a smile on his face. He was living the dream and thought it was a matter of pride to be the first out to greet the connections. As his slump worsened and the heckling increased, he was often the last jockey out of the room. Running the gauntlet of angry fans to hop on a horse that would probably lose because he was on board.

Could he get back to his old self? He was once an “up and comer” but it seemed like a lifetime ago. It had been ages since Charley had a mount, but there was a flicker of hope when Geezer said he would be riding for him this season. Vidalia still had issues, which included being saddled and loading into the starting gate, but Charley was making progress with her during the morning workouts.

In the next month, Charley rode a few races for Geezer and the heckling was brutal. Geezer ignored it and never said a word about it. His only instructions to Charley were the same: “Ride your race, son. Ride your race.” Now what the hell did that mean? Charley sometimes got mad when Geezer said that because he wanted to know what the old man wanted. There were several thirds, a hard-fought second, and one glorious first where Charley felt like he had won his first race. Somehow Moses had slipped over again for the win portrait and the fans were thrilled. Track management wasn’t too happy, but the marketing department was discussing a Moses “giveaway” day of a cat plush animal since the videos on his YouTube channel were going viral. He was the unofficial track mascot with his fans showing up with Moses T-shirts, sweatshirts, signs, and jewelry. Moses was now sporting spiffy bandanas to match various owners’ silks in his photographs.

One evening, Charley and Geezer were sitting in the office. Moses was going through an elaborate bathing ritual that they both were trying to ignore. Charley finally said, “Geezer, I’m sorry about your family.” Geezer lifted his eyes to Charley and said, “Thank you, son. A lot of years have passed but it still hurts. I should have known that family was more important than winning, but I learned the hard way. I don’t have the answers to the whys and it hurts to think of what might have been. So now I try to be helpful to those in their time of need.”

Charley thought for a minute. He realized that no one knew Pony Girl’s name. She always wore long sleeves and leather braided bracelets even in the summer to cover the scars on her wrists. He knew that one of the grooms had been in a shooting “accident” and walked with a limp. He knew that other members of the barn were active in the track’s AA meetings and several had an addiction in their past.

“How did you meet Moses, sir?” Geezer answered, “I didn’t meet him, he found me. It was after I lost my wife. She never recovered from losing our son and daughter. Those were dark times and I found comfort in a bottle. I was sitting here one night knowing that if I could just finish the bottle, I wouldn’t have to think about life anymore. This scraggly-ass tomcat waltzed in the door and jumped up on my desk. I had a bag of leftover Cheetos from lunch and he was pulling them out one at a time. I started to laugh and he jumped on my lap, rolled over, and demanded tummy rubs. I think I passed out but when I woke up in the morning, he was by my side staring at me. I decided if he could stand a night with an old man with sour whiskey breath, then we would see where the day brought us. He hasn’t left my side since. The next day, the chaplain showed up to check on me, saw the cat, and said, “Looks like he found the Promised Land—a real Moses,” and the name stuck. The chaplain and Moses helped me clean up and now I keep an open barn for people in need. We just wait for Moses to find them for us.”

He paused and said, “It’s time to race our girl. I think she’s ready and it’s going to be on the undercard of Sunday’s stakes race.” Charley fidgeted a bit and smiled. “Well, okay then, let’s see what she can do,” and reached over to mess up the area where Moses had just groomed.

Charley was feeling great the day of the race. He and Pony Girl were continuing their daily flirting and it looked like there might be a possibility. His boots were polished to a high gloss out of respect for Geezer. He was light on his feet as he rounded the corner to the barn in the early morning darkness and was startled to see a crowd outside Geezer’s office. He turned around to see a hatless chaplain running to the barn and the track vet pulling up in a pickup. It was quiet and then he heard one word: Moses.

One of the horses was banging around in his stall and they had brought him out to walk. Moses had always been careful, but the horse was upset and managed to kick hard enough to hit Moses. He was in the office with Geezer. When the track vet and chaplain showed up, everyone stepped aside to let them in. Charley could see Geezer was covered with blood. Moses was limp in his arms, his head draped across Geezer’s elbow. Geezer was speaking very quietly and the vet shut the door. Pony Girl was crying and Charley sat down hard on a bale of hay. He bit his lip hard to keep the tears from rolling down his face. The crowd stood vigil and more people from the backside started showing up. Somehow it had been already posted on Facebook and Twitter that Moses had been injured.

Finally Geezer stepped outside his office and shook his head. The chaplain hugged Pony Girl and offered comfort to the others. Geezer closed his office door without looking back and said, “Okay, we have a big day ahead, let’s get going.” The barn went back to work and Charley reported to the jockeys’ quarters. He was pretty numb. It was supposed to be the best of all days; now he didn’t know if he could even make it around the track.

The jockeys that normally ignored him swung by and said, “I’m sorry, man.” Charley was racing in only one race today so he kept to himself. When it came time for him to head to the paddock, he was surprised at the size of the crowd until he remembered there was a stakes race that afternoon. He ran up and met Geezer. Geezer had changed clothes but Charley grimaced when he saw that there was still blood on Geezer’s sterling silver belt buckle and turquoise rings. Vidalia managed to be saddled without too much resistance. She turned her head and looked at Charley. He tried to master his emotions and went over and ran his hands over her neck. He whispered, “I’m going to need your help today; I’m a bit of a mess.” With an affectionate rub, she nodded and stood still. Vidalia had filled out and her coat glistened in the warm California sunlight. Track photographers were noticing her for the first time and even visiting photographer Barbara Livingston was shooting pictures of the filly.

Geezer gave Charley a leg up, looked him in the eye, and said, “Ride your race, son. Ride your race.” He braced himself for the heckling and noticed it was dead silent. The Moses fan club was standing at the fence crying. He heard the word “Moses” being murmured throughout the crowd. One guy started to heckle him and the handicapper known for his stylish hat told him to “shut up and be respectful.” Charley tied a knot in the end of his reins and played with his goggles. He kept biting his lip but the tears were dripping to the edge of his goggles. Vidalia was on her toes and he kept his legs quietly out of the stirrups.

They met Pony Girl on the track. Her mascara was a mess and they didn’t talk. She brought Vidalia to the gate without incident. Their eyes met and Charley nodded. Vidalia was calm for Charley and didn’t need any extra help entering the gate. She shuddered once but relaxed under his touch. He could hear the track announcer in the background and thought he heard something about Moses.

It was time. Time to pull the trigger. Vidalia was ready. Charley needed to focus on her needs and her race and bring her home safely. As he leaned forward and buried his head in her mane, he remembered something. Moses had shown him his kittens. Charley knew then that he would stay with Geezer, ride Vidalia, and take some time this summer to tame the feral kittens. There was a black one for Pony Girl, a butterscotch kitty for the chaplain, and a fat tabby kitten for Geezer. But first, he had a race to ride on a horse that has just as much potential as he did. As the track announcer intoned, “Field sent on their way,” Charley smiled, started humming to Vidalia, and rode his race his way.

Author: Julie June Stewart
Vancouver, Washington

Julie June Stewart was not only a first-time participant in the THOROUGHBRED TIMES Fiction Contest, she also was submitting the first fiction story she ever wrote when she entered “Moses Finds a Jockey” in advance on the tenth biennial contest’s deadline last year. Stewart, a resident of Vancouver, Washington, completes the all-female trifecta of finishers in this year’s Fiction Contest.

Stewart works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as an airspace coordinator after natural disasters. She is good at the job, so good she says people refer to her as the “Airspace Goddess.”

“My government career is amazing,” Stewart said. “I’ve worked very hard and am considered one of the nation’s leading experts when it comes to airspace coordination for disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, volcanoes, and even the Deepwater Horizon spill. I never know where I am going to end up and have to always be ready for any kind of disaster response. But through it all, I have continued my love of horses.”

The love of horses, and a personal experience that she will never forget, brought her to write “Moses Finds a Jockey.”

Stewart lost her brother, James Michael Stewart, shortly before Christmas in 1998 to suicide. The loss was devastating to her and her family. She annually takes time off from her job on December 15 to remember her family, including the recent deaths of a sister and her mother. In 2011, she felt the urge to write.

“I’d never written a fiction story before, and thoughts, ‘What the heck, I’ll give it a try,’ “ Stewart said. “ ‘Moses Finds a Jockey’ blends all that I love into it. It is a tribute to my brother and my Dad. I hope that anyone who ever contemplates suicide can realize that there can be a better tomorrow. It’s my goal that my writing can someday help people not commit suicide.”

The joy of writing the story has encouraged Stewart, who is a contributor to the New York Times’ popular racing blog section “The Rail,” and she hopes to expand the storyline in the near future.

“I’m thinking of expanding it into a book because the characters won’t leave me alone,” Stewart said. “As for Moses, he is my beloved muse and he is inspiring more stories. I am very excited about this next adventure in my life.”