I CLOSE-UP I
High Fashion,
Quality &
Best Value
Always At
Greis Jewelers
INC.
JEWELERS
32940 Middlebelt Road • Farmington Hills, MI 40 855-173
SALE
6prtng(.4 c summer Clearance
50% OFF
on Entire Stock • Including Jewelry, Shoes, Bags & Belts
Starting August 4th
ZEZA
(5elected Merchandise
Mon.-Sat
10-6
Up To 75% Off
All Previou ,.$81o5
Are Excluded
rk.wc:1 Plaza
N. of 12 Mk
Nortliwegern !ivy.
352-0030
SUMMER
CLEARANCE
OVER 180 SETS
TO CHOOSE FROM
NOTHING
HELD BACK!
For your smaller eating area.
Three piece set in maple or oak.
Models may vary.
$199 95
24
with this
th i s ad $
14995
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1989
Beautiful contemporary tilt and
turn set. Specialty prices.Models
may vary.
WEST BLOOMFIELD • MICHIGAN
Orchard Lake Road • North of Maple
DINING
FURNITURE
851-7727
26151 GRATIOT
CLASSIFIEDS
GET RESULTS!
Between 1-696 and 10 , 2 Mile
775-6310
23716 WOODWARD
at Woodward Hqts. (9 , 2 Mile)
544-3322
Call The Jewish News
354-6060
Horse Country
Continued from preceding page
Leon Silber: "Everyone said 'You'll be
were wrong."
pay out large sums of money
to board the horses, Silber
decided to buy a farm and
take care of them himself.
Though raised in the city, he
had spent a lot of time in the
country.
"I decided that's where I
would prefer living rather
than in Southfield, Oak Park
or Detroit. Everyone said,
'You'll be back in three
months.' But they were
wrong."
Since 1970, Silber has led
two lives — one as a school
counselor and another as a
horse trainer/race enthusiast
on his 95-acre farm in
Leonard. His horse passion is
channeled largely into racing.
With his background and
education in physical educa-
tion — he holds an M.S. from
Michigan State — Silber likes
the challenge of breaking in
a new horse and turning it in-
to a racehorse.
He started racing Arabians
in Arizona in 1968 "on a
whim," he says, but didn't get
back to it until the early
1970s when he discovered
"fair racing."
"They
didn't
have
parimutuel
racing for Arabians in
Michigan," he recalls. "They
had what was called 'fair rac-
ing' . . . small purses and you
did everything yourself. I just
happened to fall into it by ac-
cident and really enjoyed it.
"And I didn't know a thing
about racing. I enjoyed get-
ting a horse and training
him, then going to the race
track. No one knew who I was
and I would beat the best
horses. And that was before I
really knew how to train."
Silber can be found on the
race track most summer
weekends. Sometimes he at-
tends and sometimes he ships
the horse to a trainer who
handles the animal and helps
secure a jockey. His horses
back in three
have run in Delaware,
Florida, California and Ken-
tucky, as well as the Region
13 Mile Championship in
Michigan.
He enjoys the thrill of wat-
ching his horses race, but
Silber doesn't get to ride for
pleasure as much as he used
to, which was his first love.
He's his own hired hand, get-
ting up early in the morning
to do most of the work for the
dozen or so horses he owns
and for anywhere up to 25
other boarders on the farm
that he built from the ground
up, including fences, barns,
ponds and woods. He's the one
who mucks out the stalls and
grooms the horses, occasional-
ly hiring help for the heavy
work and breaking the
horses.
It's a hard life to manage
the farm and work a full-time
job, but Silber doesn't want to
give up the horses and can't
give up his school job.
"I got into horses because I
enjoyed riding. Now, I really
enjoy looking out of the win-
dow, watching them eat grass,
raising babies and seeing
what they become."
If he could make money
with the horses, he would
"give up school pretty fast. I
thought about selling this
place and moving into an
apartment tower. After six
months, I'd be jumping out of
the 26th story. I probably
would have gotten married
and lived in Oak Park or
Southfield like most of my
friends, but I didn't really
think I'd be happy. You've got
to follow your instincts, other-
wise you'll always have that
in the back of your mind."
"It's contagious," Jack Iden
says of the horse business.
"The horses have such per-
sonalities."
"It's a dangerous thing, in
a way, to give your heart to
them," Shirlee Iden adds.
"They really get to you." E