Each owner has their own unique set of skills with a backstory that represents themselves, their stable, and their horses.

Krista Cole’s silks have a deeply personal meaning behind them.

Cole has been on the Woodbine backstretch since 2001 when she first started as a groom. After that, Cole got a leg up as an exercise rider. Then, she bought her own horse – Remember to Dream – and earned her trainer’s license.

“My first year with Remember to Dream, I was an assistant trainer. I had him with another trainer, then I wrote my test. When he was 3, I had my trainer’s license, and that’s when he won. He was my first win as a trainer.”

Cole’s silks are described as: Sky blue, with a white butterfly, white and black hoops on sky blue sleeves, and a sky-blue cap.

She has fashioned them for 12 years.

“They were my original silks when I first bought my own horse.”

Cole chose blue, her favourite colour, as the basis for her silks.

She used white and black for the butterfly and for part of the sleeves.

“I thought it (the white) was a nice contrast. I like doing the hoops on the arm; I did black and white to kind of offset it a bit because I wanted the butterfly black and white, and the blue is obviously the main part. Then I put black and white hoops on it and a black and white butterfly.”

The butterfly symbolism is significant for Cole.

“When I was younger, when my dad was alive, he had told my brothers, sisters, and I, that when he passed away, he would come back as a butterfly to watch over us.

“He passed away when I was 18, so every time we see butterflies, we always think of him. I put a butterfly on the silks so that he’s always there with me, and watching over my horses.

“It’s for my dad.”

Sophie Charalambous, for Woodbine

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