Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 357 The Family and Friends Team Mobilizes

After the morning meeting in the lounge ended, the members walked out of the entrance hall one by one.

As soon as you step outside, a wave of heat hits you in the face.

The cicadas were so loud they were almost unbearable.

The three-game series in Central Grassland and Spirit Steed's debut in Menbeg have already happened last month.

A reckless start, like trying to force open a floodgate, followed by relentless acceleration until exhaustion and weakness in the legs—

In this race that was both laughable and frustrating, Lingju surprisingly managed to hold onto a top-five position thanks to the advantage it gained before losing speed.

If the results are not ideal, then he can retire from horse racing.

This was the original plan.

According to feedback from the stables, the child's overall qualities are quite good, except for his physical condition. If he works harder, he should have a good chance of escaping defeat.

However, Tanaka was not entirely satisfied with the horse's hooves. From the moment it entered the stable, he waited for the hooves to grow and even asked Zepp to carefully adjust its feet.

The improvement in grades should also be inseparable from the influence of this factor.

As I thought this, I turned to look at the fence next to me.

On the increasingly lush green pastures, the only horse born that year at the Mejiro Ranch runs freely.

Those involved, along with large ranches in the vicinity such as Mishima Ranch, would visit from time to time to inspect the ranch facilities and observe the first foal born at Shinmeshiro Ranch.

"The momentum is great, and we will definitely win the derby in the future."

Many people have given similar comments.

Individual horse owners like Fujita jokingly, yet seriously, said they would definitely buy him if he were willing to sell.

They managed to get by by saying they wanted to keep the first foal.

"Alright—Zep team, ready!"

Amidst the clatter of the wheelbarrow's wheels, a noisy commotion erupted.

Seemingly startled by the commotion, Yuehuang, who had already run to the edge of the grazing area, hesitated and stopped.

As the dazzling performance approached with unhurried little steps, the blue deer-haired horse, just like a few months ago, hopped and skipped behind its mother.

"Don't scare them!"

After being reminded, the person who was carried away by his pride finally calmed down a bit.

The former site of Jincheng Ranch, located north of the ranch, officially changed hands a few days ago. The precise land survey and on-site vegetation identification work, commissioned by professional agronomists, has also begun simultaneously.

Instead of proceeding along the original layout, four grazing areas with north-south passageways were designated on the 21-hectare land.

According to the original plan, the breeding mares and yearlings in the ranch will be gradually transferred to the newly purchased North Lodge, while the smaller South Lodge will focus on the rest of the season horses and the care of the retired horses.

However, with the increasing number of breeding mares and foals, the urgent task is to establish separate grazing areas for yearlings and breeding mares.

Although the target is set for next spring, the already complex project must be expedited, given that premature foals will be born in January or February.

Anna and Moonshadow's births will continue in the original area of ​​the South Lodge, but there are plans to open up a small grazing area in the North Lodge in advance to accommodate the dazzling behavior of Moonshadow, thereby achieving rotational grazing management for the breeding mares in the morning and evening.

This part is expected to be completed by mid-September.

Fortunately, summer has just begun, and if the recruitment of members goes smoothly, the fence posts should be installed before the land freezes.

"However, to complete the covering of the windbreak before the snowfall, it's still necessary to—"

The ranch's current manpower is far from sufficient to cope with the current situation.

While working together with Zep to push a cart full of markers, they were still worried about the enormous amount of work involved.

"They're already getting busy, looks like we're late." "It's Dad, you're way too slow!"

A somewhat familiar voice rang in my ears.

Turning around, I saw Xuhe and his daughter, dressed in work clothes, standing at the other end of the narrow asphalt road, waving to me.

"Thank you so much for your help."

He stopped what he was doing and gestured to the ranch members to bow to the two relatives who had come to help.

Mr. Ogawa nodded with a smile, while his daughter, Kanna, waved her hand somewhat embarrassedly.

After a while, the neighbors of Meiji Ranch and Kano Ranch also arrived one after another.

It is said that in Sanshi, where most ranches are small and medium-sized, such mutual assistance has become the norm among horse breeders.

However, such friendship is especially precious during the busy period leading up to the auction season.

After thanking each of the relatives, friends, and neighbors who came to help, I asked Ravid to go into town to pack bento boxes for everyone.

"Then over there, just mark the path along this line."

"Wouldn't that mean too much of the outer ring is wasted?"

He explained the blueprint for the grazing land, and after he finished speaking, Mr. Kano asked, somewhat puzzled.

The friends and family who came to help all looked at them with some confusion, while the members on their side sighed in unison.

"The empty space should be left for the flexibility of the race route, right?"

Mr. Xuhe's tone was somewhat uncertain.

That's exactly right.

He gestured around the edge of the blueprint, then nodded.

A dirt track with a circumference of approximately 1,400 meters and a width of 9 meters, plus the design of an indoor wildebeest arena—

Although the North Dormitory is still a long way from being fully completed, just like when the South Dormitory was first built, it has been left with this leeway despite the somewhat skeptical looks of some members.

"Cough cough!"

Kanna Ogawa coughed loudly as if she had choked.

"In that case, we can just hand over our training to you from now on, Kitano-kun!"

Mr. Sugiyama, who was standing on the periphery with his cane, suddenly became agitated and almost fell to the ground with his cane, which was stuck in the grass.

Mr. Kano slowly opened his mouth, and then silently closed it again, as if playing a video backwards.

"In any case, please help us mark the grazing areas first."

They subconsciously sped up the distribution of the marking tools.

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"[@Mejiro_JP:]"

Meguro Spirit Horse, unfortunately, failed to make it out of the Singapore race.
As expected, the competition was not easy, but the feedback from the coach and rider was positive. The four-horse race results have far exceeded the pre-race expectations. I am very grateful to the organizers and fans for their support.

Although her physical strength was not significantly depleted, we decided to let her rest for a while. The next match will start no earlier than August.

Perhaps this child needs to consider more than just running.

——Mejiro Ranch

(End of this chapter)