Downs florist dresses Futurity winners for their close-ups

You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to white prom dresses the winner of the All American Futurity, so Bernadette Lozano rose to the occasion many hours before dawn on Monday for the third year in a row to get the job done.

Lozano of Ruidoso Downs had already spent 10 hours hand sewing the blanket that adorned Imperial Eagle in the winner’s circle after the $3 million quarter horse race.

The track provided the gold-embossed fabric, but it was Lozano’s job to cut it to the specified size, then reinforce it with batting and hand stitch the hems.

“Me and sewing machines just don’t go together,” she admitted.

But the sewing is the easy part. Once the stitching is done, the edges needed to be lined with more than 300 carnations, each one individually attached. The main skill Lozano brings to the job is that she’s a florist.

“I have to start attaching the flowers at 2 a.m. the morning of the race to keep the flowers fresh,” Lozano said.

She’s been a florist for 37 years, starting in the business in her native Newport Beach, CA. She has lived in Ruidoso Downs for 22 years, but she doesn’t operate a full-time flower shop here.

“Just when people ask me to do functions, I do it for them,” she said. “Weddings, special events, anything that has to do with flowers.”

The Futurity engagement comes with some special challenges, starting with the delicate job of attaching each blossom to the hem of the red blanket so not a single one droops or breaks before the magic moment in the victory spotlight.

“This year they chose carnations, which was wonderful because they’re so durable,” she said. Last year it was daisies, which are also very sturdy, and the year before that it was statice, which are popular in dry flower arrangements because the blossom stays intact long after it loses its moisture.

Once the border is done, Lozano carefully rolls the completed blanket and loads it into her car for transport to the track, where it is stored in a cooler until show time.

Lozano had special experience that helped land her this contract. In her early years as a florist in California, she learned how to prepare prize winning animals for their close-ups at livestock shows.

“I had to do one for a bull out there,” she said.

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