Tribal Member’s horse wins at Emerald Downs

Tribal Member’s horse wins at Emerald Downs

By Corvo Rohwer, Puyallup Tribal News

Puyallup Tribal Member Dale Varbel’s race horse, Tougherthantherest, won race nine on May 11 at Emerald Downs, rushing across the wire with a 1 ¾-length victory. Jockeyed by Silvio Amador, Tougherthantherest managed of :22.03, :44.52 and :56.41 around the lane.

With nine career starts, the May 11 race was Tougherthantherest’s third first-place finish on record, with career stats of 3-1-1. Varbel himself doesn’t bet on horses, but he described the joy of watching his horse take home a win as a combination of pride and love.

“It’s an adrenaline rush,” Varbel said. “It’s an incredible feeling to know how much of an athlete this animal is. It’s an immense feeling of being proud of your horse and the love that I get to give them.”

His interests in horse racing trace back to his early childhood, living on a farm and being around horses since the age of seven. Varbel quickly became involved with thoroughbreds and working on tracks right out of high school.

“I kind of just got wrapped up into it,” Varbel said. “I’ve been around horses my whole life, so I loved the business.”

Being able to continue his passion and participate in something his family has enjoyed for years is rewarding for Varbel, and he said he was happy to see his community show up on Mother’s Day to watch Tougherthantherest on the track.

“My whole fishery staff was there,” Varbel said. “It’s awesome to see the people around me want to come and want to be involved.”

While Varbel was happy to see his horse win, what he was truly grateful for was that his horse is healthy and happy. He said that while he’s looking forward to more races in the future, patience and proper care is paramount rather than pushing for every race.

“Keeping a horse healthy is key, and for some, greed kind of stands in the way of that,” Varbel said. “I’ve been so grateful with Teddy (Tougherthantherest) that he’s always been sound.”

At the end of the day Varbel is content with knowing his horse put in a great effort on the track, he said. He hopes more people will come out to watch horses race and share in the joy of watching these animal athletes.

“You just love your animals so much, and there’s just always big praise that you want to give them at the end of the race if he does win it or does not. But I’m always so proud of him,” Varbel said.