Everyone Called Her 24 Starving Mares Worthless—Then Their Foals Started a Bidding War
Chapter 6
The first call came from a breeder in Kentucky.
The second came from Texas.
The third came from California.
All wanted information.
Hannah answered carefully.
“We don’t sell unborn foals.”
One caller laughed.
“I’ll offer you $8,000 for Rose’s foal.”
“No.”
“Ten.”
“No.”
“Fifteen.”
Hannah paused.
The caller laughed.
“You didn’t expect that.”
“No.”
“Then think about it.”
She hung up.
Walter stared at her.
“Fifteen thousand?”
“For a foal that hasn’t been born.”
“Exactly.”
Hannah sat down.
“What should I do?”
Walter shrugged.
“Ask yourself what your father would do.”
She smiled.
“He’d tell me not to sell too soon.”
“Then don’t.”
The first foal arrived during a thunderstorm.
Hannah had stayed awake all night.
At 3:14 a.m., Rose finally gave birth.
Hannah stood beside her, exhausted and shaking.
The foal was dark bay with a white star.
Long legs.
Strong shoulders.
He struggled to stand.
Rose nudged him.
He fell.
Tried again.
This time he stayed upright.
Hannah laughed through tears.
“Hello, little man.”
She named him Promise.
The next morning, Thomas Reed arrived.
He stared at the foal.
“That’s something.”
“What do you think?”
“Wait.”
“For what?”
“Watch him move.”
Promise took several uncertain steps.
Then he trotted.
Thomas’s expression changed.
“Well.”
“What?”
“He’s balanced.”
“Is that good?”
“It’s excellent.”
Thomas took out his phone.
He recorded the foal.
Within hours, he sent the video to two trainers.
By evening, Hannah had another offer.
Twenty thousand.
She refused.
The next foal was born three weeks later.
A filly.
She had Rose’s athletic build and Atlas’s quiet temperament.
Another breeder offered $25,000.
Hannah refused.
Then the third foal came.
A chestnut colt.
The fourth.
A gray filly.
The fifth.
A black colt.
Each seemed healthier than the last.
The rumors spread.
People began calling them the Brooks foals.
Then someone posted a video online.
It showed six foals running across Hannah’s pasture.
The video received thousands of views.
Within a week, trainers were driving onto the farm.
One famous rider asked:
“How much for the entire group?”
Hannah shook her head.
“They’re not ready.”
The rider smiled.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“You understand what these could become?”
Hannah looked across the field.
“No.”
She smiled.
“But I’m beginning to.”
