“So, this is essentially doing what I’d do if I had unlimited time and perfect recall,” I explained as data streamed across the screen. “Cross-referencing public information, looking for inconsistencies, flagging anything that seems off-pattern.”
“How long would this normally take a person to researchmanually?” Nolan asked, leaning closer to watch the process.
“Days, maybe weeks. And most people would probably miss connections.” The first batch of results had finished loading, and I could already see some interesting discrepancies. “Okay, look at this,” I pointed at my screen. “Thunder Ridge’s Instagram shows consistent posting about their training philosophy, lots of videos of happy horses, emphasis on partnership and gentle methods.”
I clicked through to their website and competition records. “But their actual competition schedule shows horses being campaigned heavily, sometimes multiple events per month. And here...” I pulled up a forum thread that Sherlock had flagged. “This is from an equestrian discussion board six months ago. Former client posting about concerns with training timeline pressures.”
Nolan’s eyebrows rose. “That’s oddly specific to find in a random forum.”
“Sherlock’s good at finding needles in haystacks,” I winked, clicking deeper into the results. “Oh, and here’s something interesting. Their social media emphasizes their ‘family atmosphere’ and long-term client relationships, but their client testimonials only go back about two years. For a six-year operation, that’s... curious.”
I scrolled through more results, the pattern becoming clearer with each piece of information. “And look at this, financial stress indicators are showing up. Equipment financing issues, some late payment flags on business credit reports. When operations get tight financially...”
“Corners get cut,” Nolan finished grimly.
“Corners get cut. And here’s the most concerning part,” I clicked on another flagged result. “Forum discussions about their training timelines suggest they’re pushing young horses harder than industry standards recommend. Multiple mentions of horses being started in competition earlier than most trainers would consider safe.”
Nolan’s expression darkened as he absorbed the implications. “Those are two-year-olds they’re talkin’ about. That’s... that’s not right.”
“It’s not,” I agreed, feeling the familiar protective anger that always surfaced when I discovered people taking advantage of others, whether people or animals. “Someone should probably report this to the appropriate authorities.”
“You think so?” Nolan asked, considering a moment. “Actually, who would even handle something like this?”
I was already typing another request into Sherlock. “Let’s find out. Equestrian sport governing bodies, animal welfare organizations, competition oversight...” The results populated quickly. “Okay, looks like the American Quarter Horse Association has a welfare committee, and there’s also the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s animal welfare guidelines.”
“Can this thing actually help with filing a complaint?”
“Sure can,” I pulled up a new interface. “Sherlock can draft documentation with all the evidence it found, properly formatted for submission. All we’d need to do is review it and send it along.”
Nolan sat back in his chair, staring at my laptop screen with something approaching wonder. “In twenty minutes, you just uncovered what would have taken me... I don’t even know how long. If I’d even figured it out at all.”
“You know what this means, though?” I turned to face him directly. “You dodged a bullet. Your instincts were probably telling you something was off about their approach, even if you couldn’t put your finger on what.”
“I did feel like somethin’ wasn’t quite right during our conversations,” he admitted. “They seemed more focused on immediate results than long-term horse welfare.”
“Always trust that feeling first,” I nodded. “We went through something similar at Catalyst recently. Big company trying to acquire us, everything seemed legitimate on the surface, but something felt wrong. Sherlock helped us uncover industrial espionage, corporate theft, the whole nine yards.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Turned out they had a history of acquiring smaller studios and shutting them down in under a year. Sherlock helped us find the evidence. They were most likely going to steal our technology and gut my team. The FBI is involved now.” I gestured at the screen where Sherlock’s analysis of Thunder Ridge was still displayed. “Point is, your instincts were protecting your horses and your reputation. You should listen to them.”
Nolan was quiet for a moment, processing both the near miss and the scope of what I’d just shared. “This tool of yours... it’s remarkable. What would somethin’ like this cost?”
“For you? Nothing,” I didn’t even hesitate. “Let me set you up with access. Think of it as a thank you for letting me crash in your office while we’re here.”
“Alex, I can’t—” Nolan started, but I held up a hand.
“I insist. Besides, I’m not done showing off yet,” I grinned and opened another application. “That was Sherlock. Want to see what it can do about organizing all this?” I gestured at his scattered papers and the leather-bound lineage book.
Nolan’s eyes lit up with excitement. “There’s more?”
“Sherlock really shines in problem-solving and systems building. What if I told you we could digitize those lineage records, cross-reference them with training data, and create a searchable database that would make client matching automatic?”
“That would change everything,” he said slowly. “I could actually track patterns, see which bloodlines perform best in different disciplines, identify the perfect matches for each client’s needs.”
“And it doesn’t just organize existing data; it spots patterns you might not have noticed and suggests improvements.” I pulled up some examples from Catalyst’s project management system. “See this? Sherlock built our entire game development pipeline, tracks character progression, identifies bottlenecks before they become problems. Your breeding program would be a perfect fit.”
Nolan leaned forward, studying the interface. “If Sherlock can do this for horse breeding records, what about guest services?Lou’s been struggling with booking optimization, trying to figure out which room assignments work best, and what activities guests actually want.”
