Horses
Susan (Ohmart) Bloom and her mom, Carol Ann (Socolofsky) Ohmart, win a Lead Pony class.
My passion for horses started at a very young age. Actually I can‘t remember a time that horses weren’t a part of my life. My grandpa, Charles Socolofsky, got me my first pony at about five, I started showing in lead pony and I was hooked. As a youth I showed in 4-H and AQHA shows and High School Rodeos. My favorite events were pole bending and barrel racing because of the exhilarating feelings I got from the speed, however, I showed in most of the western classes at one time or another. When I went to college I became interested in hunter/jumpers, again I was hooked on the rush I got from this new discipline and I showed hunter/jumpers as a young amateur in AQHA shows.
Grandpa holding me in a win picture of Secret Paul at La Mesa Park in Raton, NM in 1971. Grandma, Caroline Socolofsky, and my brother, Dean, are to our right.
Grandpa had been an athlete and coach. When he quit coaching to move back to Kansas to farm he started to raise and race some Thoroughbreds but mostly Quarter Race Horses to feed his competitive spirit. He raised a stallion named Raise A Secret who won two Grade 1 stakes races and over $700,000 and sired winners of over $10 million including 1World Champion and 10 Regional Champions. Some of my fondest memories are of traveling to the races and to breeding farms to look at stallions with him as a child. He would pour over the stud books and write out pedigrees on his horses. He was a big, kind man who was loved by all and a great mentor.
Charles Socolofsky holds Raise A Secret after his 2 year old year of racing.
When grandpa died I was pregnant with my first child and still heavy into showing hunter/jumpers with my trainer, riding coach and friend Tina Estes. Shortly before his death my husband and I had moved to grandpa and grandma’s farm, taking care of the farm work and horses. When my (now ex) uncle, who was a race track vet in California, started trying to run things in Kansas the conflict began and after only a year we had moved back home. When it was decided to sell the horses most of the broodmares and some of the race horses were split between me and my aunt and American Quarter Horse Racing became my new passion.
Photography
One of my first racing pictures taken when I was in high school. Horses coming out of the starting gates at Gateway Downs in Holly, CO.
It seems like cameras have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember also. Photography was my father’s hobby and I was inspired by him. He gave me my first 35mm single lens reflex camera the summer before my freshman year in high school when I took a five week trip to Japan where I delightedly explored with my host family. I took basketball pictures for the Oakley Graphic, where I discovered the excitement of sports photography, and worked on the yearbook, where I also learned to develop film and print pictures, in high school. As a young adult I was the photographer for the Logan County Centennial edition of the Oakley Graphic and I traversed the county and delved into the history with a camera in hand. Since I started a family it has been very rare to see me at an event without a camera.
Quarters Horses Racing at Remington Park in 2011
After my second child was born I opened a small design business with my parents help. Within a few years we added a travel agency. Hungry to learn more I decided to go back to school to study photography, design and marketing. This was quite an undertaking since I was driving 90 miles one way, trying to keep my business open, having two young children and raising horses. After a year and a half of struggling to find help to keep the office open on the days while I was away at school we decided to close the office. I finished my degree a year and a half later in Communications with an emphasis in public relations with a 10 year old, 7 year old, a 7 month old baby and my dad having been in ICU and a rehab hospital in Denver for the last four months while working from home.
The Brand
Riding a 1000+ pound horse with its own mentalities and visions can be challenging and sometimes riders are unseated. One summer when I was showing hunter/jumpers I hit the ground and sometimes the jumps regularly. In one particular instance I ended up in the ER with a black eye and a hole in my lip. With my body I had told the horse I didn’t really want to jump that one and he had obliged by stopping short and planting me face first into the jump. Since my last name is Bloom the black eyed Susan part of the logo was born.
CS Bar brand on a horse’s winter coat.
The CS was my grandpa’s brand that I purchased along with some of his horses. I remember when he first got the brand he was so proud of it and set off to the task of branding his horses on their left hips. The CS was for Charles Socolofsky and since my name is Susan and my husband’s name is Charles it just felt right to use it on my horses so I proudly use it on my horses and in my logo. Orange has always been my favorite color. Both of my rooms were painted shades of orange when I was growing up and grandpa had two big orange barns at his farm that I used as landmarks to tell people how to get there. Purple is one of our high school colors and a favorite of mine as well and seemed more appropriate because grandpa had attended and coached at Kansas State University.
The Blog
I believe that every little girl has a love of horses. Some of us are lucky enough to be able to enjoy that passion hands on and even carry it on into adulthood. It is the love and passion for the American Quarter Horse racing industry that has inspired me to create this blog. The stories of Quarter Horse racing need to be told to create new fans, owners and breeders. To this end I am going to share some behind the scenes photographs and stories about Quarter Horse Racing.
