As promised, here is the completed panel. It's now up on the grid on the Mural Mosaic Le Cadeau du Cheval site, where the mosaic is coming together, piece by piece! Below is the accompanying text for the panel.
The Queen’s Plate: the longest continuously-run sporting event in North America, and Canada’s most prestigious race. In 1991, a royally-bred filly named Dance Smartly was victorious. Bred and raced by Sam-Son Farms, Dance Smartly went on to win the Canadian Triple Crown, and followed that accomplishment by becoming the first Canadian-bred to win a Breeders’ Cup race. She was voted Canadian Horse of the Year and top three-year old filly in North America after remaining undefeated in eight races that season.
Not only was Dance Smartly a brilliant racehorse – inducted into both the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY, and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame – her success continued after retirement as she went on to produce two Queen’s Plate winners. Sadly, Dance Smartly died in 2007 at Sam-Son Farms, but her legacy remains.
In 2008, Sam-Son Farms and the racing community lost both Elizabeth Samuel, wife of founder Ernie Samuel, and daughter Tammy Samuel-Balaz. This panel is a tribute not only to one of the best horses to come out of Canada, but to the role of these two women in Canadian racing history.
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