Angel Horse: The Comeback Story of M and M Girl

The lights around Canterbury Park shined bright on the evening of August 20th, 2022. Standing
in the two-hole at the starting gate was M and M Girl, a six-year-old mare with a sweet but feisty
spirit. Riding M and M Girl was Sofia Barandela, wearing maroon and gold silk, representing
Sanderson Stables. RING! The starting gate flies open and ten horses shoot out with six furlongs
ahead of them.

With 11-1 odds, M and M Girl finds herself in the back of the pack. As the race unfolds, the
emotions of the crowd filled the atmosphere, but nobody had higher emotions than those who’ve
seen what M and M Girl had overcome in the past couple months.

M and M Girl came into the lives of Sanderson Stables on November 2020 after owner Bruce
Sanderson, who decided after a short hiatus of twenty-some years from the race track to make a
return, claimed her at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For the past two years, M
and M has been a source of entertainment for Sanderson Stables, her spunky charm and love for
donuts keep the barn vibrant. As unpredictable as M can be, nothing would be as unforeseeable of what would happen.

In the spring of 2022, Fonner Park, a racetrack in Grand Island, Nebraska, would face an unforeseeable hardship. A highly transmissible virus, known as EHV-1 would make its rounds in Barn R, forcing more than 100 horses to be quarantined, including the horses of Sanderson Stables. The virus affects the neurological system, causing a horse to lose its coordination. Worst of all, it can be fatal. It seemed at first that the horses of Sanderson Stables would get lucky and avoid the virus. Their stables were sanitized daily and the horses were tested every day for any sign of the virus.

Unfortunately, luck would run out. M and M Girl, a mare with unmatched energy, quit eating her feed and ran a temp. Hours later, she would lose coordination and couldn't get back up. Moved to another barn to quarantine, M and M Girl spent nearly two months fighting to stay alive. No one knew if she would make it to the end and if she did, the possibility of her being able to race, let alone walk, looked grim.

But, this is a comeback story, and nothing keeps M and M Girl off her hooves.

Veterinarians flew in from Arizona to Grand Island and administered medicine provided by AniCell Biotech to horses with EHV-1. M and M Girl received treatment and began to improve, turning into her old self. After thinking about what Sanderson Stables would be like without her, she decided to keep hanging around a little longer.

And now after nearly losing her battle with a virus, she was in a war with nine other horses on the track, her first time since she fell ill. M and M Girl started slow, looking as if she would be no threat to the eight others in front of her, but the fighting spirit in M wouldn't quit. She started gaining speed, passing by the others as the race kept on. Coming down the final stretch, M's momentum reached new heights making her way towards the front of the pack and was looking to overtake the lead. Was M really about to pull off a first place finish?

On August 20th, race number eight was won by no other than M and M Girl, the ultimate comeback.

Fast forward into the fall, M and M Girl is now down at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona, still with Sanderson Stables. Jockey agent Scott Stevens stopped by and told Bruce they want to put a rider on M because she is an "angel horse." Bruce was surprised that Scott knew about what had happened to her in Nebraska, but Mr. Stevens added more to what happened on the 20th night of August.

M and M Girl was owned and trained by an Idaho man, Paul Treasure, a horse trainer and member of the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Associations. His wife, LeiLani, bred M and gave her the name M and M Girl after her daughters, Megan and Malia, as she would call them her "M and M girls." The night of M's race, Paul was in the hospital. Scott called and informed him one of his other horses, Shorty The Swede, had won in Canada and M would be racing later. After M's race was done, Stevens texted LeiLani to let them know M won her race. She texted Scott back, saying "It's been a good day for Paul." Shortly after, Paul passed away. He was 66.

George Gaylord Simpson once said, “From horses, we may learn not only about the horse itself but also, about animals in general, indeed about ourselves and about life as a whole.” Nothing can be truer. As we run the race called life, we may encounter obstacles, we may get tired and sometimes wish it was over but the thought of crossing that finish line knowing you gave it your all is a stronger feeling than giving up. We aren’t so different from a racehorse and if anything, many lessons can be learned from them. M has taught us life works in mysterious ways and no matter the obstacles, anything can be overcome, the most important lesson taught by an angel horse.