With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to Covert Action today. The beloved grandson of Secretariat was 31 years old. Covert Action arrived with the very first horses at State Farm Work Center on November 12, 2007. He has served as the mascot and ambassador for the James River chapter of TRF and subsequently the James River Horse Foundation ever since. Covert Action was born on March 17, 1995, in Ontario, Canada. Through the years, he was a favorite for many who visited the horse barn at State Farm Work Center, a celebrity in his own right. His current handlers in the horse program at State Farm say he will be remembered as “laid back, goofy, a social butterfly with humans and horses alike.” While Covert Action had an unremarkable career as a racehorse (26 starts, 3 firsts, 5 seconds, and 2 thirds, earning $22,569), he was incomparable in his role as teacher for the program participants. His patience and generosity of spirit, coupled with his strong sense of right and wrong, was integral to the way he guided countless men and women through the program. Covert Action’s mane has soaked up a thousand tears over the years, and he has empowered so many men and women to find their confidence and grow in themselves through their work with him. Covert Action leaves behind an enormous legacy, and he will be deeply and sorely missed!
