Toledo Tales

(Toledo, OH) Local members of a fan club dedicated to Kentucky Derby-winning thoroughbred Barbaro gathered to console one another, and to share memories of their equine idol.

"He was a truly a fallen hero, always fighting for his life, and his battle caught the nation's collective heartbeat and merged it, thumping like a big bass drum with the cadence of his own," said Brigette Cavallo of Toledo. "Like all superior athletes, he lifted us above the world of the mundane into the universe of the supernatural. We will always remember you, Barbaro-boy."

Ursula Saumpferd of Sylvania said that Barbaro was more than just a great horse.

"Barbaro believed that people are basically good, and had the right to be free. He believed that bigotry and prejudice were the worst things a person could be guilty of," she said. "Barbaro stood for the Golden Rule and in the power of prayer. He fought for world peace and an end to world hunger. He knew that America was not just a place in the world, but the hope of the world."

Barbaro's death to be "a dark day for mankind"

Maumee resident Patricia Cheval said that the world will "long mourn" the passing of the stallion.

"Friends, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. I do not know what to tell you and how to say it. Our beloved Barbaro is gone," she said, wiping away a tear. "We must now behave like strong and determined people, determined to face all the perils that surround us, determined to carry out the mandate that our great teacher and our great horse-leader had given us, remembering always that, as I believe, his sprit looks down upon us and sees us. And Barbaro is smiling now in horse-Heaven."

Labels: Barbaro, Barbaro death, Barbaro fans