05/06/2026
It's a wrap for the 2026 "Hats Off to the Horses" of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement! As the owner of MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® Custom Millinery of Cape Cod, I am pleased to announce that the 14th season of "Hats Off" was a huge success for all of the horses who now call Old Friends and Old Friends at Cabin Creek home. I am so grateful to this year's four amazing Old Friends equine athletes whom I carefully chose to inspire me this returning season to create hats celebrating their individual life stories - Cozmic One, A Shin Forward, I'll Have Another and Big Brown. All four of these one-of-a-kind Derby hats were auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds going to Old Friends. To date and since 2009, Old Friends has received donations totaling over $50,000 from 14 seasons of our exclusive online Derby hat auction collaboration. And there are so many people to thank as well... Thank you to Andie Biancone and Keith Asmussen, Acacia Clement and Cassidy Gaffalione for modeling the hats so beautifully; our photographers, Carson Blevins, Samantha Decker, Connie Bush and Laura Battles as well as our videographers, Dora Petrulis and Samantha Decker; the Old Friends grooms and stable hands who got the horses looking their best for the photo shoots; Donna Petrulis who was the project coordinator from Old Friends; all those who placed bids and helped pass the word about the auction. Finally, thank you to Michael Blowen who, as always, had the perfect words to capture each individual horse and the hat that honored him in a way that only Michael can because he knows them all so well. Thank you everyone, it surely takes a village! On a personal note ~~~ it has been an honor coming back this year after a brief hiatus to sponsor "Hats Off" again. A dream come true for a horse-crazy Cape Cod girl who always hoped someday there would be horses in her life whom she could support. For more information about Old Friends and how to help them, please visit their website at www.oldfriendsequine.org.
