Frankely Unbelievable

by Andy Belfiore

   It wasn’t his head-turning performance in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot that was hard to believe. He’d done it before, treating elite rivals like maybe they should be running for a tag. No, it’s the fact that this superstar of the turf owned by Saudi Prince Khalid Abdullah is named for a Jewish guy from Brooklyn who once admitted in a Sports Illustrated article that, long before he became a Hall of Fame trainer, he knew so little about horses he thought they maybe ate meat.

   And it’s not as if Mr. Abdullah makes a habit of naming his horses for people. If you look at the very very very long list of champions and Classic winners bred and/or raced by Juddmonte, there isn’t a single one that honors a human. Many are the result of a mellifluous pairing of sire and dam...Jolypha (LYPHArd--NavaJO Princess), Wandesta (NashWAN--DE STAel), Ryafan (Lear FAN--CaRYA), for instance.

   If there had ever been the motivation to give an admiring nod to someone, the great Juddmonte broodmare Hasili gave her owner nine chances to do so. Instead, he chose names such as Dansili, Banks Hill, Heat Haze, Intercontinental, Cacique, Champs Elysees and Deluxe.

   But, after Bobby Frankel’s untimely passing in November of 2009, Mr. K. Abdullah took a look at the crop of yearlings getting ready to head to the track, and chose the best of the lot to pay his tribute. And it’s not hard to understand why.

   When Juddmonte was honored with the 2009 Eclipse Award for top breeder, racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said during his acceptance speech, “Bobby Frankel was a major part of our success, not only in the U.S., but for Juddmonte worldwide. His care and attention towards the horses was second to none."

Racing Post photo

   Bobby Frankel could be as cantankerous as they come, but no one would argue his equine genius. It could not be more fitting that the horse named for him, who also has a tendency to be headstrong, has been second to none himself.

   The Prince, who normally shuns the spotlight as if it might burn him, was front and center as Frankel, the horse, galloped home to his ninth straight victory at Ascot last Saturday. After the race, he stated simply, “He is the best horse I have ever owned.”

   He obviously held Bobby Frankel in equally high esteem. And, even though it wasn’t always in his nature, somewhere up there, Bobby Frankel is smiling.

Book Review: The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

--by Nicole Mattei-Lincé

With the conclusion of her widely successful wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater now turns the page from one enchanted tale to the next, this time introducing readers to a new breed of mystical creature, the capaill uisce. The Scorpio Races (Scholastic Inc., 416 pages, $17.99) brings readers a dark tale of this “killer horse” and the people that choose to risk their lives in order to ride them.

Part horse and part what can only be described as “ocean,” the capaill instills both respect and fear in the local townspeople. Held every year, the Scorpio Races bring together the conquering instinct of man and the untamed viscosity of the capaill; the mix of energy creates a dangerous force that can either destroy the rider or lead him to ultimate victory. And the victory is your life; crossing the finish line first is just an added blessing. This delicate balance is ultimately upset when Puck, a young girl, decides to enter the race, the first female ever to ride. In order to keep what remains of her family together, Puck goes against everything her ill-fated parents would have wanted by entering the race, as their lives were taken by the very creatures she plans to ride.

In the same form as her previous novels, Stiefvater develops a strong female protagonist that readers can’t help but find a part of themselves in. Whether it be Puck’s determination, often irrational behavior (as she chooses to enter the race not riding a capaill uisce, but the everyday average American horse, Dove), or devotion to her family, there’s a bit of Puck in us all. Nonetheless, Puck’s brazen nature must be quelled, and her balancing opposition is found in Sean. Sean is everything Puck is not, but both share the fiercely independent and single-minded nature when it comes to horses. As they both train for the Scorpio Races, they discover a unifying balance between themselves, one that makes each of them a stronger individual and an equally stronger team--the same idea behind the relationship of the capaill and its rider.

Unlike the wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, The Scorpio Races offers a convincingly dark tale from the opening lines. The common theme among both the climactic race and the novel is death and survival; the childhood mysticism isn’t as apparent as it was in Shiver, the first installment in the Mercy Falls series. Stiefvater has grown to explore the true origins of fairy tales and their dark beginnings. The Scorpio Races is a thrilling tale of dreams and desperation and how far you will go when everything you’ve ever believed in is put on the line.

The Scorpio Races is available today in hardcover wherever books are sold.

GERMANNA’S MITTURA CHOSEN AS ONE OF 20 NURSING PROFESSORS ACROSS AMERICA TO HELP GUIDE DEVELOPMENT OF ‘VIRTUAL HOSPITAL’ APPROACH IN NATION'S COLLEGES

A human simulator in Germanna's Virtual Hospital. The high-tech devices mimic symptoms and human reaction to treatment--or lack of proper treatment allowing nursing students to learn and gain confidence in a risk-free environment.

Germanna Community College Prof. Karen Mittura, RN, is one of 20 nurse educators selected from across the nation for a year-long Leadership Development Program for Simulation Educators. The National League for Nursing faculty development initiative is designed for those assuming leadership roles in the field of using human simulators in nursing education.

Those selected from institutions around the U.S, will study for a year under Dr. Pamela Jeffries, associate dean for academic affairs at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She nationally known for her research and work in developing simulations and online teaching and learning.

The concept of a "Virtual Hospital" was a result of a collaborative effort by Prof. Mittura and GCC’s Dr. Patti Lisk, who have been trailblazers in the field. It was their vision to use of high fidelity simulation in the nursing program at Germanna. Working on the original grant for the purchase of high fidelity simulators, Prof. Mittura teamed with Dr. Lisk to create realistic experiences in a lab setting for the nursing students.

A group of educators and healthcare leaders from the Netherlands toured Germanna's Virtual Hospital last week.

Prof. Mittura works to combine simulation scenarios that fit various types of patients to ensure student exposure to situations they will encounter in real-life hospital settings. Prof. Mittura received the Technology in Education award with Dr. Lisk for their 2007 presentation “The Virtual Hospital: A New World of Independent Thinking, Leading and Learning.”

National League for Nursing program participants recently began their experience with two days in Orlando prior to the NLN's 2011 Education Summit. The group will participate in leadership development webinars, exchange ideas and best practices in simulation in private forums, review existing research, visit simulation centers around the country to evaluate resources and operations, consult with companies on technological innovations and attend conferences.

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