The SL Enquirer: Woodbine Downs Estate

A horse walks into a bar.
The bartender says, “Hey, Buddy. Why the long face?”

(Pause for laughter)

OK…OK...OK…so it was a joke. I am not serious.
But what IS serious is a lovely sim I stumbled upon called Woodbine Downs Estates. There I was met by dozens and dozens of the finest representatives of the equine species to be found anywhere on the grid. The ultimate in realism, as you wander the carefully groomed grounds, you will see animals that are unmatched in beauty and class. The brainchild of Marine and TaffyMarie Torraze, this is indeed unique among sims. Walk with me as we wander these beautiful grounds and chat with the owner.

Josh (Thomas1 Bellic) JB: Hi Marine. Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions about your operation here.

Marine Torraze (marinefiend.redinamus) MT: No problem Josh. I love this place and never pass up an opportunity to share that passion with others.

JB: So, tell me. What is Woodbine Downs Estates all about?

MT: Woodbine Downs Estates offers a Unique place for Boarding/Breeding and Selling ABC Horses, Ponies & Kaiila's. I have spent at least three months in the design and planning of Woodbine, building and designing the sales yard with custom built pens, seasonal changing trees, and walkways, custom-designed breeder barns. We also offer ABC's own brand of Bid Boards. We have custom-designed stalls only found at Woodbine. The feel at Woodbine is very upper class. You can feel a sense of pride about just walking around and enjoying the scenery. The atmosphere here is breathtaking.

JB: Yes Marine. I agree. The “atmosphere” around most barns can be described as “breathtaking”…but I wander. Just what are “ABC Animals” anyway?

MT: ABC Awesome Breed Creations, is one of the fastest-growing ventures on the grid. ABCs unique blend of scripting, building, and team of experienced people will be sure to produce a product and provide an environment in which you can rediscover breedables as they were meant to be. These breedables are one of the only racing horses on the grid. Weekly race events for various breeds are held on ABC's special racing sim. You can track and trace sales, breeds, and generations of your breedables in the MyABC website. Read more about ABC here - https://awesomebreedcreations.com/

JB: How did you first get interested in breeding horses?

MT: I have been in breedables since at least 2010. Breeding many different things in Second Life. Bunnies, horses, dogs, and cats. I got hooked on ABC back in early 2012 when I was invited to the beta program of ABC by the owner. I had 4 sims at the time with 2 being a mall, one being my Club and one was a sales yard and auction house for all types of breedables. I switched to strictly ABC in mid-2012 and became one of 6 certified ABC auction houses.

JB: What types of events do you have here?

MT: Other than our auction house, that starts up on Sept 26th at 10 am SLT, we have yet to do any events. I have a training track we placed up in the sky to allow people to train and play. The track is the same size as an official ABC track system minus the starting gates and timing systems. So in the future, we may come up with something fun.

JB: Over the years, there have been many different types of breedables in SL. What makes your operation different from those breedables that have gone before it?

MT: Woodbine is a unique breedable place strictly for ABC Horses & Ponies. We provide superior customer service. We walk the yard daily to ensure all the horses are safe and sound. I am personally available 24/7. I can be found online at least 12 hours a day, and all direct offline messages come to email, so if its a serious matter, I can log on and deal with any situation that arises.

JB: I see a really varied population of horses here. Just how many of those beautiful animals are there here?

MT: There are 75 different breeds of horses and 32 other breeds of ponies. Each has six unique traits. Coat, mane, tail, eye, face marking, and leg markings. ABC is like real-life horses, must be fed and cared for, or they will become sick and eventually die. ABC foals are born live, and they must be with their mothers for nourishment during their first three days (ages 0-2). At age three (3) they begin to eat on their own. Between the age of seven (7) and ninety ABC horses are eligible to race, as long as they haven’t bred. The racing side of an ABC Horse has Skill Sets. These skill sets are the specific ability that the horse uses in horse competition. Each skill is trainable and has its own values. Each skill will be determined by the breed of the horse The Horse skills increase as the owner trains the horse over time. The owner must choose the trait that he/she wants to train.

JB: Tell me about your Auctions. What are those like?

MT: Auctions are a fun place to come and sell your horses and ponies. A true form of bidding area allows multiple buyers to bid against each other to buy a breeder's animals. I am usually found sitting in the back with a bag of popcorn, watching it all go down. Or sometimes jumping right in the fight. There are also Raffles and Fun Give-Aways, which many people enjoy. All Auction houses meet specific requirements and follow the guidelines put in place by ABC and must be certified.

JB: Anything ELSE you would like to share with our readers?

MT: I would just like to thank all the people that have helped make Woodbine possible. Without the ABC community support, there would not be a Woodbine Downs.

JB: How can interested parties learn more about your operation here.

MT: Please feel free to come to visit our Sales Yard and enjoy the unique relaxing atmosphere. All are welcome to enjoy our Auctions to see for themselves the fun that is found when attending. I doubt they could not leave without bidding on one of the beautiful beauties on display for auction, or they just might walk away with their first freebie horse if entered in our auction raffle.

Many good Pics of Woodbine, plus lots of older pics
Flickr Pics - Check out my Flickr - https://flic.kr/ps/qJvja
SURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Stable/180/193/23