By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

LISBON FALLS – For 14 years, Janet Tuttle has put rescued horses above almost everything else in her life.

She slept in the barn when they were sick. She took side jobs so she could afford grain and vet care. She shunned vacations, sacrificed her health and fell in love time after time only to have her heart broken with every abused animal that passed through her life.

She did it all with help from friends and family, but with little recognition from the outside world.

Earlier this month, at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, that changed. For the first time, Tuttle won applause for her work, from a ballroom filled with the most dedicated horsemen in the country.

They presented her with their Unsung Hero Award.

Tuttle started her horse rescue in 1993 after a lifetime breaking and training racehorses. She often saw trainers and owners abuse the horses, abandon them or send them to slaughter when they became too old or sick to race.

“I thought ‘I just can’t do this,'” Tuttle said. “Horses have become replaceable items for a lot of people.”

With help from her husband, Andy, she turned her 39-acre farm into a rescue.

One of her first horses was Seatrain, a successful racer who was abandoned when he could no longer compete. Tuttle nursed him through arthritis and cancer. Once, during an illness, a vet suggested she shoot him.

“It freaked me out,” she said.

Instead of taking the advice, Tuttle spent the next two-and-a-half months sleeping in the barn and hand feeding Seatrain.

He lived 33 years, nearly half of them at Rockin’ T.

Over the years, hundreds of horses have come and gone through the rescue. Some were retired racehorses. Others were blind, had heart problems or struggled with arthritis and broken bones.

“I couldn’t say no at first,” Tuttle said. “Pretty soon you look around and you’ve got a ton of them.”

A good year costs her $76,000. A bad year – one with a lot of vet bills – can mean thousands more. Since the operation became a nonprofit in 1996, Tuttle has run Rockin’ T completely on donations and grants.

But she rarely gets big donations or major grants. And she’s never been honored for her work, she said.

So when someone from a racing group called to say she’d won the Harness Writers Association’s Unsung Hero Award, Tuttle didn’t believe it.

“I said ‘What are you smoking?'”

The association wanted to honor Tuttle for her work with retired racehorses. They were touched by her care for Seatrain.

The awards ceremony was being held in Las Vegas, a world away from horse stalls and hay. But with a farm full of needy animals, Tuttle didn’t think she’d be able to go.

“Just a day, 24 hours, away from here is a big vacation,” she said.

Her husband volunteered to stay behind to care for the animals. Tuttle’s parents, former racehorse trainers who live in Florida, said they’d help with expenses.

A couple of weeks ago, Tuttle and her mother flew to Las Vegas. The presentation was held during the association’s Night of the Stars, a black-tie, $300-a-plate dinner that honored trainers, drivers and others involved in horse racing.

Tuttle was delighted by the honor. But she hoped for the kind of praise that came with a check.

She has several large vet bills coming up. Her hay supply is dangerously low.

“It’s not about me. That’s what I told them (in Las Vegas). It’s about getting help for these guys,” she said.

Although Tuttle cared for abused racehorses, she didn’t mind that her first honor came from a group connected with the sport. She believes many trainers and owners are extremely caring.

“There are so many heroes in this industry,” she said.

After a couple of days in Las Vegas, Tuttle’s life has returned to normal. She placed her award, an engraved glass bowl, on her kitchen counter. And she went back to work in the barns.

Tuttle now has more than 60 animals, including rescued dogs, sheep, goats, birds and an emu. With 42 horses, her barns are at capacity.

“I’ll keep going as long as my legs hold up,” she said.