A world away from
hitting the finish line of a classic race in front of tens of
thousands of screaming fans, the dream is reborn.
In the quiet of a gray winter morning, when
the earth throws its warmth off into the cold air and envelops
fields in a shroud of fog, it begins. A van door slides open; a
stall gate unlatched; hooves rhythmically hit ground; workers
struggle to position their wards and renew the cycle of life.
Hours earlier, in the blackness, the fruits
of last year's labor appear--wet, impossibly fragile,
irresistible. Beautiful babies rise up from the straw, find
their first meal under mom's watchful eye, and carry on their
backs the hopes of so many. Could this be the one?
The generations of the Thoroughbred are
entrusted today to the breeding farm. Unlike the beginnings of
life in the wild, the goal is to create as controlled an
atmosphere as humanly possible. To do so requires dozens of
workers expert in trades as diverse as medicine and muck. It
requires also an investment of millions of dollars in land,
equipment, and labor. And an emotional investment that will reap
moments of joy and despair.
Hill 'n' Dale Farms may be a relatively new
kid on the block by Bluegrass standards, but under the
aggressive stewardship of John Sikura has become a major player
in the breeding business. The farm was generous enough to
welcome The Blood-Horse staff onto its grounds to convey what
it looks and feels like through the eyes of its workers.
Controller
Ryan Adams, the numbers guy, doesn't have
to go very far to escape the books. All he has to do is look out
the window of his second-floor office.
"You see my view," he said, motioning to
the large window that overlooks a paddock with horses. "It's
kind of nice to drive into the country every day instead of
driving downtown. It's different."
Adams, the Hill 'n' Dale Farms controller,
is getting his feet wet. His first day on the job was Feb. 9
after a stint at Hopewell Farm. Before that, the resident of
Lexington and graduate of the University of Kentucky worked
downtown in the financial field.
His workday now--"I've had to do a lot of
work to get caught up," Adams said--begins at about 7:30 a.m.
and can last until 7 p.m. He's learning about the stallions and
mares and other aspects of the operation.
"One of the biggest jobs is collecting the
stud fees," Adams said. "I keep track of that money, make sure
it gets collected, and make sure commissions are paid to agents.
"Obviously, there are a lot of bills, and I
have to make sure they get paid on time. I also manage the
billing for all the boarders, and make sure bills are sent out
to clients."
There also are payroll duties, but one
thing Adams doesn't have to worry about is filing taxes. The
farm has a certified public accountant to handle that job.
"It's a challenging accounting
environment," he said. "It keeps you on your toes."
When he gets acclimated, Adams, a Woodford
County native, said he'll probably work about 45 hours a week,
though at certain times of the year--particularly during
auctions such as the Keeneland November breeding stock sale--it
could be more.
Agronomist
Roger Allman, a consulting agronomist,
makes his annual daylong visit to Hill 'n' Dale Farms in the
spring. Assisted by Elise Todd, he conducts soil analyses and
offers recommendations involving lime and fertilizer, seeding,
and herbicides. He also acts as a troubleshooter in trying to
solve any pasture-related problems the farm might have.
Allman walks every acre of Hill 'n' Dale
and takes a soil sample every two acres. His goal is to help the
farm produce pastures that are both balanced in their nutrients
and palatable to the horses. The pastures at Hill 'n' Dale, he
said, contain bluegrass, orchard grass, clover, and tall fescue.
Hill 'n' Dale owner John Sikura "has always
been very diligent in caring for his pastures," said Allman, who
has done work for Sikura for approximately 20 years. Allman was
also analyzing the soil on the Hill 'n' Dale property long
before Sikura owned it.
Allman is the vice president and a part
owner of The Farm Clinic. The company is based in Indiana, but
its pasture and Thoroughbred divisions are located in Lexington.
Hill 'n' Dale is one of about 500 farms
Allman visits each year. His travels take him to 26 states. He
also journeys to England, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan,
Australia, and New Zealand.
"Hill 'n' Dale is a high-quality working
farm that has nice soil," Allman said.
The silt/loam soil at the farm is known as
Maury. It drains well and is high in phosphorus. It's also one
of the deeper soils found in the Bluegrass. In addition, the
soil at Hill 'n' Dale is not compacted and "hasn't been overly
disturbed by bulldozers or man," making it a good foundation on
which to raise horses, according to Allman.
Veterinary Technician
As the veterinary technician, Amy Ashley is
the extra set of expert hands for Dr. Terry Blanchard. "I set
everything up, keep him supplied, and stay one step ahead of him
all the time," Ashley stated. Her uniform is tan coveralls and
work boots; the number of layers worn underneath are dictated by
the weather.
Ashley, who lives on the farm, starts her
day at 5 a.m. by wheeling out the ultrasound cart and getting
all the equipment ready for Blanchard to perform pregnancy
checks, uterine cultures, and check heat cycles. She is his
right hand until 6 p.m.
After one side of the farm is finished with
the day's veterinary work, Ashley sets up the laboratory for
Blanchard. "I'll set up the cultures from the mares for Dr.
Blanchard by preparing the agar plates. I also get the IgG
(immonuglobulin G) tests ready." While Dr. Blanchard is peering
through the microscope, Ashley is preparing the veterinary truck
for the rounds that will be made on the other side of the farm.
She fills soap bottles, pulls clean cotton for washing horses
before a procedure, disposes of syringes from the previous
round, and makes sure the truck is filled to the gills to deal
with any situation that might arise.
Each day, she also drives to a local vet
clinic to "drop off any blood work and tests we don't do here at
the farm.
"The end of March, and through April and
May is the busiest time because of all the reproductive work,"
said Ashley. "When the breeding season is over, we have yearling
sales prep to keep us busy."
As Ashley packed up the ultrasound machine
to take to the next barn, she said, "Being able to make a career
in the industry and work with amazing bloodlines" are what make
all the work worthwhile. "I just love being with the horses."
Assistant Manager
Madelein Basson is a world away from where
she was raised. But the assistant manager at Hill 'n' Dale often
draws on the years in her native South Africa when dealing with
the Thoroughbreds she cares for today.
As a young child, her father gave her a
camera, and through its lens she began to see the world of
nature and wildlife. Today, that nurtured love of animals is
felt in her hands and heart as she oversees the care for 130
mares and their foals. And, as evidenced by the gorgeous slide
show on her computer and the fact her Nikon D100 sits on the
seat beside her in her truck, she has become an accomplished
photographer.
She and her husband, Jan, a blacksmith,
arrived in the United States in January 1999.
Having lived most of her life in a country
known for its terrible crime rate, Basson appreciates the little
things, like not having to lock her truck. "A big adjustment
because you feel so safe here," she said. "We had bars on our
windows and doors and I carried a gun 24 hours a day."
Today, the 35-year-old's guiding philosophy
is to treat people with respect and work hard to gain that same
respect in return.
"I feel very lucky the way I've been
treated here," she said. "You have to show you are willing to
work hard, to respect those you work with, and gain their
respect."
Basson has 14 employees who help her care
for the seven barns full of mares and their offspring. During
the breeding season, her days begin early, as in very early. She
arrives at 4 a.m. to do 90 minutes of paperwork before joining
veterinarian Terry Blanchard on rounds to palpate mares. She
then has to book the farm mares, clean mares, make sure the
halter IDs are proper, attend breeding and foaling sessions, aid
with the administering of plasma to foals and, well, the list
goes on and on.
Advertising
He's the man who helps "sell" the farm to
potential clients. While he runs the advertising company that
promotes Hill 'n' Dale and other farms, Lance G. Bell is more
than just an "ad man." He's a business adviser, confidant, and a
friend to his customers.
Bell, who runs his business out of Saratoga
Springs, N.Y., "views horses as products. Our slogan is 'we
create magic.' We align ourselves with customers who have good
product, and then we apply the LGB magic to help get them into
the stratosphere." For the clients he represents--such as Taylor
Made, Juddmonte, Stonerside, the McKathan brothers, Gary Tanaka,
and WinStar--Bell's main purpose is to "create brand identity
and awareness." With a staff of eight, Bell also has clients and
projects outside the Thoroughbred realm.
While he creates advertisements that appear
in the trade publications, Bell also works on other promotional
materials, such as a visually stunning 168-page brochure that
promotes Hill 'n' Dale, its employees, the stallions, and
Sikura's vision. Although Bell also offers video and DVD
services to clients, he prefers print media. "It is a totally
visual business," Bell said of the Thoroughbred industry in
general. "You can move people with images."
On average, Bell will confer with Sikura a
couple of times a week and they'll meet monthly. Their
conversations are "more than about placing an ad in a
publication," Bell said. "We talk about business strategies.
He's (Sikura) not a big promoter, so we complement each other.
"He's reliable in projecting what is going
on," Bell said of his client. "He has the instincts, and the
guts, to project out into the future."
Veterinarian
"Veterinary work is just a small percentage
of the work that goes on at these farms," said farm veterinarian
Terry Blanchard. "The farm management staff caring for the
horses, their attention to detail, and the quality of horses
result in excellent farm output--not the veterinarian. I just do
what they tell me, and have been blessed with fertile stallions
and mares."
The modest Kansas State University
graduate, who has focused on equine reproductive work since
1979, became Hill 'n' Dale's resident veterinarian Jan. 1. He
previously was a professor of theriogenology (reproduction) at
Texas A&M University.
Blanchard's day starts about 4:30 a.m.,
when he and assistant manager Madelein Basson begin planning the
day's work, and it ends around 6:30 p.m. This time of year, much
of his work revolves around palpating/ultrasounding mares for
breeding soundness and estrous cycle timing, using that
information to plan breedings, checking for pregnancies and
problems, administering treatments, and monitoring stallion
fertility. He also handles preventive care such as plasma
administration for foals, deworming, vaccinations, and caring
for sick animals.
On this chilly, breezy morning, he
evaluated a mare roughly every five minutes from 5:30-7:30 a.m.,
with Basson reading from her tablet PC what work needed to be
done, the mare's teasing responses, and the findings from the
last physical exam. Blanchard found some mares ready to breed,
some needing another day or two, some pregnant, and some not
pregnant.
Blanchard's breeding shed duties (beginning
with the first session at 7:30 a.m.) include signing off on
breedings, confirming ejaculation occurred, evaluating sperm
motility via dismount semen samples after every breeding, and
evaluating sperm morphology (physical shape) periodically. "The
main reason (to check dismount samples) is to monitor how the
stallion is doing," he said.
Reinforcement breedings (taking the
extended dismount sample and placing it in the mare) are also
part of Blanchard's job; the more semen in the mare, the more
likely she'll get pregnant.
All mares undergo uterine bacterial
culturing prior to breeding season. This allows time to treat
any infection present and avoids "wasted" breedings. Mares are
also cultured if they don't get pregnant on the first cycle; the
samples are evaluated at the farm, as are foals' immunoglobulin
levels. Other tests go out to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute's
lab for testing.
Assistant Controller
A recommendation from a professor has given
Jared Burdine an ideal job in the Thoroughbred industry. As a
senior at the University of Kentucky putting the finishing
touches on an accounting degree, Burdine works 30 hours a week
at Hill 'n' Dale as the assistant controller.
From his space on the second floor of the
farm's office, Burdine is in charge of the payroll for all the
employees, cutting 55 checks every two weeks; does the billing
for the farm's boarders; handles the incoming checks; and works
the accounts receivable and payable.
He grew up around Rocky Mountain horses in
northern Kentucky and entered UK as an animal science major
until he discovered he had a nose for numbers while taking
accounting classes. Burdine has taken to the business end of the
farm and sees beyond just what is on his computer screen. He
"loves the office, especially when you can look out the window
and see all the horses and yearlings out there." It's a bucolic
view that offers better sight lines than his previous job,
working for the UK police department as a security guard at the
medical center.
After graduation, Burdine wants to attend
law school, and after taking a long, hard look at the numbers,
"I definitely want to own some horses."
Stallion Administrator
Seven years ago, Utah native Lori Chappell
and her husband, Allen, left their small breeding and racing
operation in L.A. and headed east. What brought them to
Kentucky, though, kept them here.
"We came for the Derby and fell in love
with it. We ended up with a whole new lifestyle," she said.
Today the Chappells have their own
small-scale nursery in the Bluegrass, one whose holdings include
a youngster by Hill 'n' Dale stallion Buddha.
Chappell has been with Hill 'n' Dale for
two years, and as the farm's stallion administrator, is
responsible for booking the outside mares who ship in for
pairings with the farm's stallions.
She also handles the booking contracts for
those matings, and works with the farm's many stallion shares
and partnership interests. And she is the ever-friendly voice on
the phone as the farm's liaison to its shareholders, syndicate
members, and breeding rights holders.
"One of the things we do differently at
Hill 'n' Dale is book the mare on the day of the customer's
request, rather than within a week's window. The mare comes in
when she's most ready, and this helps our stallions' fertility."
Chappell has a broad understanding of her
stallions' assets--from their conformation to their performance
on the racetrack--and keeps a lock of newcomer Medaglia d'Oro's
hair on the wall by her desk.
Chappell, whose husband is an attorney in
nearby Versailles, has become versed in "legal-ESE, vet-ESE, and
John-ESE," as she laughingly terms the mannerisms and
personality of her boss.
"With John you always know were you stand,"
said Chappell. "He says something and then we go on, and I like
that."
Certified Public Accountant
With tax deadlines looming, certified
public accountant Louis Fister Jr. spends 65 to 70 hours a week
in his office during late winter and early spring. Hill 'n' Dale
Farms is one of the biggest clients for Lewis & Fister, the
Lexington-based firm in which Fister is a partner.
"We work with Hill 'n' Dale primarily on a
consulting basis," said Fister, a graduate of Eastern Kentucky
University. "The controller is at the farm on a day-to-day
basis, so he is exposed to more of the details of the business;
we're looking more at the big financial picture. I think most of
the larger farms in Kentucky have outside accountants who
provide oversight in regard to financial statements and the
controls surrounding the farms' accounting."
Fister, 44, and his colleagues contribute
to the operation of Hill 'n' Dale in a variety of ways. Their
services include tax planning and the filing of tax returns,
overseeing the distribution of stallion income to syndicate
members, and advice on financial decisions related to the farm.
"Equine accounting is somewhat complex,
especially when you are involved in all facets of the
business--from racehorse ownership to sales consignments to
stallion ownership--like Hill 'n' Dale is," Fister said. "It
also requires a great deal of accuracy because you are dealing
with large sums of money on single transactions. Horses can sell
anywhere from $1,000 up to $6 million. There often are multiple
owners in a horse, and that complicates the accounting process."
But Fister enjoys dealing with matters
relating to Hill 'n' Dale even though they can require more
effort than those involving other clients.
"I've always loved horses," said Fister,
who invests in some of the farm's weanling-to-yearling
pinhooking ventures.
Farm Manager, Yarnallton Division
Jamie Frost doesn't call his position a
job. "It's a lifestyle," stated the 29-year-old native of
Australia, acknowledging that he's but a phone call away from
rushing back to the farm at 3 a.m. to help with any problem that
comes up.
Frost manages Hill 'n' Dale's newest
parcel, just across Yarnallton Pike to the west of the main
acreage. Although owner John Sikura envisions the Yarnallton
division one day serving as home to horses exclusively being
prepped for sale, today the number of broodmares is so strong
many are housed under Frost's care on that land.
Frost is not overwhelmed by his enormous
responsibility--his father trained horses and Frost rode as a
child, entering the breeding industry at the tender age of 19.
He worked with stallions at Ashford Stud when he first arrived
stateside. "I don't have a specialty as to what kind of horses I
work with," he said. "I like the variety of the breeding season
with the mares and foals, and then yearlings."
During breeding season, Frost's day begins
at 5:30 a.m., prepping mares that are scheduled to be bred. On
this particular day, he had one mare going to the breeding shed
at 6:30 and another at 7. At 8:30, farm veterinarian Terry
Blanchard comes over and they begin palpating mares until
lunchtime. After a quick bite, he is back prepping a mare who
has a 1 p.m. breeding appointment. In between all this, he
accompanies the blacksmith on his rounds. "My day is busy,"
understated Frost, "but we like it that way."
Frost, who has been at Hill 'n' Dale 2 1/2
years, has 10 people working under him. His other
responsibilities during his rounds could be attending to a sick
foal, feeding, helping in the breeding shed, and shipping mares
on to and off of the farm. On this day he has 109 mares and 34
foals on the grounds.
"There are no fixed hours. I've worked on
farms long enough to know every day is different and you have to
take is as it comes."
Seeding
When you're responsible for the "grass" in
the "Bluegrass" you certainly have your work cut out for you.
Just ask R.W. Hicks.
Hicks is the proprietor of Brookstone Farm
near Versailles, Ky., home of his eponymous company in whom Hill
'n' Dale entrusts with laying the season's grass seed at the
most opportune moment.
"It's really all about timing," said Hicks,
a cattle farmer who has been in his current seeding business for
a decade. "This has been a bad winter--it has been just too wet.
All the pastures are chewed up."
Hicks' outfit seeds the pastures at Hill
'n' Dale twice a year. First in the spring, usually March or
April, depending upon the conditions, and again in the fall
(August or September).
"You only have a brief window," said Hicks.
"If you seed too late in the spring, the summer sun will kill
it, and the same goes for the fall. If you get caught going too
late, it's just too young when the cold comes."
Hicks said the soil is excellent at Hill
'n' Dale, perfect for his mixture of bluegrass, orchard, and rye
grasses. He and his two-man crew work closely with farm manager
Joe Ramsey, who relies--as do many area farms--on the advice and
counsel of The Farm Clinic's Roger Allman, who tests the soil
and then makes his recommendations.
All good horsemen know that the grass a
horse eats is as essential to its health as fresh air, and it's
not something any serious farm would leave to chance.
"There's some good grass in this part of
town," said Hicks, of his biannual Spurr Road hangout. "Everyone
knows that."
Projects Coordinator
There's a good reason why Hill 'n' Dale
looks stunningly picturesque--projects coordinator Ron Jackson
comes to work ready to tackle any task set forth by farm owner
John Sikura.
"John gets a vision of what he wants, and I
try to put it together," Jackson said. "He gives me an idea,
whether it's constructing a building, stone work, or whatever.
Right now, we're replacing all the windows in a cupola on barn
one."
Jackson, who started with Hill 'n' Dale
after the operation was moved from its previous location, has
worked on the farm office and handles landscaping, fencing, and
structural renovation and repair.
Jackson, who liked carpentry while growing
up, came to enjoy masonry; he learned from one of the best.
"Richard Tuffnell, a master stonemason from Scotland, came to
Kentucky to teach classes," Jackson said. "We got together, and
he liked what I did. Probably the biggest project I did on the
farm, besides the work on the office, was to build a stone
entrance on Yarnallton Road."
Jackson, who grew up on C.V. Whitney Farm
where his father worked with the stallions, orders his own
supplies and is not limited by budgetary constraints. "John
trusts me, and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our
relationship," he said. "He's knowledgeable about things."
Always on the lookout for a bargain,
Jackson tries to find stone from fences that were torn down
rather than buy new. The "old" stone is already cut into pieces.
"If not, we'd have to buy stone and break it ourselves," Jackson
said.
Perhaps the most impressive display of
Jackson's workmanship is a freestanding arbor approaching the
farm office. Jackson constructed it using large, rough-hewn
logs.
Landscape Architect
As a landscape architect for
Lexington-based Henkel Denmark, Tom Kehler was called to Hill
'n' Dale Farms in 2003 to turn ideas into reality while adding
some beautification to the farm office and main residence.
Kehler, who arrives at the farm with
several folders of plans, photos, and sketches under his arm, is
one of four landscape architects representing Henkel Denmark,
which does both commercial and residential planning. The company
works with other area farms such as WinStar and Darley at
Jonabell. Henkel Denmark uses craftsmen such as carpenters and
stone masons to help complete the jobs.
"We talk to the owner, listen, and develop
a vision of what it is they want at a particular location,"
Kehler said. "We build on that, the environment, and the
client's wishes."
Kehler is the former director of campus
park and planning at Michigan State University. He retired in
1995 and moved to Colorado, but later rejoined the workforce in
a similar capacity at Colorado State University. He moved to
Kentucky in 2001 to be closer to family and started working
part-time for Henkel Denmark. He's on the job about four days a
week.
Director of Bloodstock Services
For Donato Lanni, his job is all about the
horses and the farm clients. "The more I know about what is
happening and what has happened with the horses, the better help
I can be to our clients," said Lanni.
As director of bloodstock services, being
helpful to clients includes weanling, yearling, and breeding
stock selection, bloodstock portfolio management, and buying and
selling stallion seasons and shares.
Born in Canada, and raised in Italy and
Canada where his father was involved in the horse business,
Lanni said he decided he wanted to work with horses at age 10
while watching the Kentucky Derby (gr. I). "I remember looking
at my mother and saying, 'that is what I want to do with my
life,' " he noted. From there he spent many summers on the
racetrack learning all aspects of horsemanship, when he wasn't
honing his hockey skills.
During foaling season, Lanni begins each
day with an inspection of the foals born in the overnight hours.
After looking at the new arrivals, he
returns to his office to call each client with an update on how
the mare and foal are doing. "Keeping the clients informed is
very important in this business," he said. "It's important to
know what goals the client wants to achieve--are they looking to
race or sell? It helps us know what we should be doing to better
serve them."
Afternoons are spent evaluating yearlings
and making decisions, after speaking with clients, in which, if
any, public auction the yearlings may best fit.
Lanni also reads industry publications to
keep up-to-date on news while keeping a watchful eye on the
racing progeny of stallions standing at Hill 'n' Dale, as well
as the horses that were sold by the farm at public auction.
"It's all about the details," Lanni said.
"It's the little things that make you successful."
Insurance
The varied equine activities of Hill 'n'
Dale Farms and its clients require an insurance broker that can
provide a wide range of services, according to Michael Levy, a
partner in Muirfield Insurance.
"We like to specialize in operations like
Hill 'n' Dale," said Levy, who has handled the farm's horse
insurance the last five years.
While the equine insurance business is
competitive, Levy said rates and terms of coverage are pretty
standard. What sets one company apart from another is how each
deals with problems when they occur and their ability to handle
special insurance needs such as stallion syndications, he said.
"We like to think we are the leaders at
being able to handle a big stallion deal, say with fertility
coverage in the $15- to $20-million range," Levy said. "There is
no one lead underwriter that can handle all that (risk), so we
have to have the ability to shop several (underwriting) markets.
In the end, you have to have a lead underwriter, but with
language in the policy that is favorable to the client."
To obtain coverage, the farm contacts
Muirfield when a new horse has been acquired or a mare produces
a foal. In the latter case, prospective foal insurance has been
obtained in advance of a foaling. Additional coverage must be
obtained once the foal stands and nurses after 24 hours with no
abnormalities.
"When they need us, they call," Levy said.
"John Sikura is constantly trading in the market, publicly and
privately, so it can be any time of the year. We are on call 24
hours a day."
Sales Coordinator
When she worked in Atlanta for Internet
start-up Mindspring, Molly Lightner learned "how important it is
to love what you're doing." The sales coordinator for Hill 'n'
Dale Farms the past 14 months, Lightner said she understands the
concept because she feels it every day.
"Driving in here each day is like coming to
work at Disneyland," Lightner said. "It's amazing what he (owner
John Sikura) has accomplished."
Lightner, 34, is a native of Lexington who
grew up around horses on her family farm in nearby Winchester.
Her father, Mike, worked for Bwamazon Farm. She received an
English degree from Central Florida Community College in Ocala.
Her mother, Sherrie, and a partner just recently opened a
restaurant in Ocala named The Mason Jar, featuring Kentucky
country dishes.
After stints with The Jockey Club in
Lexington and GTech and Mindpsring in Atlanta, Lightner found
herself back in Ocala when she began making calls seeking
employment again in her hometown. Hill 'n' Dale needed a card
girl for the Keeneland yearling sale in July 2002, and she
eagerly accepted the assignment.
After a year with West Point Thoroughbreds,
the sales coordinator job opened up at Hill 'n' Dale and
Lightner was hired full time. She is responsible for entering
the hundreds of horses each year in sales and then tracking them
as they progress toward the sale ring. She constantly searches
for updates both on the produce of the mares and stallions at
the farm as well as the siblings of horses being sold.
"I'm like a big cheerleader for all the
horses," she said, and while she doesn't like to have a
favorite, she admitted, "I really like Stormy Atlantic; I like
the big hip he puts on them."
Lightner likes that part of her time is in
the office and part outside, both at sales and examining foals.
"It's not a nine-to-five job," she said, echoing others on the
farm. "It's a lifestyle."
Vanning
Mike McDowell is like an air traffic
controller, only his vehicles are on the ground and his cargo is
expensive Thoroughbreds. He is one of three dispatchers in
Lexington for Brook Ledge horse transportation company and the
regular contact for Hill 'n' Dale Farms.
During the breeding season, McDowell, Keith
Boyer, and Vickie Murray man the phones beginning at 6 a.m.
seven days a week. Phones ring early, and then off the hook
again late in the day after the vets have made their rounds and
discovered mares ready to be bred.
McDowell, 55, and with a distinctive
mustache, has been with Brook Ledge most of the past 20 years.
The vanning company averages 20 runs a day during the breeding
season to farms and vet clinics; Hill 'n' Dale is one of 50
Central Kentucky farms using its services year-round.
On this morning, bookings are being made
for the next few days and are arranged on a large board by date
and van number. Seventeen vans are used for "breed and return"
trips.
"We tell them to go ahead and book early,
and if they have to, cancel later," McDowell, normally sporting
a University of Kentucky or Jeff Gordon hat, said.
The Versailles, Ky., native deals with the
same people every day and feels like he knows them well, but
said, "It's funny, I know all the clients by voice but I
wouldn't know them by sight if I went out here and ran over
them."
The dispatchers take the care of the mare
while she's on the van very seriously. As Boyer said, "You can
make a horseman a truck driver but you can't make a truck driver
a horseman."
Attorney
The amount of legal work done on behalf of
Hill 'n' Dale varies, depending upon the time of year, according
to Mike Meuser, a partner in the Lexington firm of Miller,
Griffin and Marks.
"There is a lot more (work) during the
summer because the number of sales picks up then and in the fall
when the hunt for stallion acquisitions is on," said Meuser, who
has represented Hill 'n' Dale for 10 years.
Meuser said John Sikura is "very demanding,
but very appreciative of good work. I know to take his calls and
get straight to work when he wants something done. I think he's
one of the smartest people in the (horse) business."
The greatest challenge for Hill 'n' Dale's
legal counsel comes when the farm is attempting to acquire or
syndicate a stallion.
"The challenge is to overcome all sorts of
legal and practical problems associated with getting the deal
done," Meuser said.
While Sikura negotiates the different terms
and conditions of a stallion acquisition, "my job is to make
sure that I can legally get that on paper to accomplish what he
wants. The deal needs to get done, and I have to find a way for
that to happen."
Meuser also reviews and advises Hill 'n'
Dale on the other contracts used by the farm, including the
stallion-season contracts that were re-drafted in 2001 following
changes in some laws pertaining to stallion nominations.
Meuser and others at the firm also handle
Hill 'n' Dale's non-equine legal work, including areas such as
employment, personnel, and taxes.
"Commercial breeding farms have become so
sophisticated that you have to be able to answer lots of
questions," Meuser said.
Client Relations
The first person you're likely to encounter
at Hill 'n' Dale Farms is Melissa Mohr, who makes an excellent
first impression. Mohr's desk sits directly inside the office's
front door, at the vortex of the hectic surrounding activity.
The native of Minnesota is in charge of client relations, but in
fact her job encompasses plenty of other duties.
"I'm kind of like an air-traffic
controller," said Mohr, who studied animal science at the
University of Kentucky after beginning her higher education at
St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. "I'm the go-between
for what happens on the farm, whether it's vanning horses in and
out or telling clients about the status of their horses. I try
and take some of the pressure off the farm managers, keep them
off the phones when they're trying to concentrate on their other
work."
Staying calm amid the constantly ringing
phones and steady human traffic is no easy task, but Mohr seems
to have the right disposition. She interned at the farm doing
pedigree work while in college, so although she's in her initial
year of full-time employment, Mohr has the poise of a veteran.
"The hardest thing is keeping track of what
everybody needs," she noted. "Besides the phones, there is a lot
of computer inputting so that everything is up-to-date. I enter
information about all the horses' pedigrees, ages, vet records,
and foaling status so that our farm managers can find that
information on their own computers throughout the farm. Along
with our vet, I also do the registration papers, health papers,
shipping papers, and a little bit of everything else.
"I talk to all our regular clients
frequently, and they're awesome, so I really enjoy dealing with
them and love to see them when they visit. They're excited about
their horses, and excited to hear good news from us. Dealing
with them is one of the things I like the most."
Hay and Straw
Hill 'n' Dale horses depend on Dale Morris
and his sons for a good meal and a warm bed. Morris Hay Sales
has been delivering straw and hay to the farm for the past three
years. This week, the crew made a delivery every day to keep up
with the demands of the busy breeding season. Two to four
deliveries a week are usually sufficient.
"This is the busiest time by far," said
Morris, a railroad engineer who started Morris Hay Sales with
his father in 1983, and now depends on his sons Justin and Coby
and a few helpers to keep it going. "They do all the physical
labor. If it weren't for them, I couldn't do this."
As Hill 'n' Dale has grown over the past
few years, the demand for more hay and straw has kept the Morris
family busy. Last year, they delivered 700 tons of straw and 300
tons of hay to the farm. In the past, a pickup truck and
goose-neck trailer did the trick, but today the shipments
require a full-size box trailer, which, if fully loaded, takes
five workers an hour-and-a-half to unload and stack with the
help of a motorized conveyor system.
To best serve their primary client, the
sons and helpers make frequent trips to neighboring Indiana and
Ohio in search of the finest product. The farm uses wheat straw
and alfalfa orchard grass-mix hay. "We like our hay to be as
close as it can be to our pasture," farm manager Joe Ramsey
said. And Morris said the farm likes the straw "long and
bright."
Delivering in a timely manner (usually in
the afternoon) and not disrupting the farm's sensitive schedule
is also important. But most of all, they strive for quality,
knowing that the best hay equals the best horses.
Farrier
For farrier Steve Norman, it's all about
the shoes, or the lack thereof. "We try to keep everything out
of shoes, if the foot will let us," he said while making the
rounds from barn to barn to check out the newborn foals.
Working alongside Hill 'n' Dale Farms
manager Joe Ramsey, Norman, who has been shoeing horses and
trimming feet at the farm for the past 10 years, is responsible
for everything from evaluating the walk and conformation of a
foal beginning at two weeks of age to maintaining the feet of
yearlings and broodmares.
"We stop trying to correct a foal's foot
between three- and six-months old," he said. "Then we just start
maintaining a solid foot."
Norman said for foals, the foot is trimmed
when the youngster is around 30 days old. "The feet start to
come to a point at that time," he said. "It's called a foal
foot. It's very soft and we start knocking off the points. It's
important to catch conformation flaws early so they can be
corrected.
"For broodmares, we just maintain their
feet and keep them sound and happy."
Norman doesn't tackle this type of work
alone. He employs Jan Basson, husband of Hill 'n' Dale assistant
manager Madelein Basson, and Sam Christian.
"These guys are really good help," Norman
said. "We go through one barn and evaluate what needs to be done
and the guys start the work while I move on to the next barn."
A native of Nebraska and a former jockey,
Norman has clients in both Kentucky and Florida, where he does
racetrack work as well as farm work.
"This is a good business," he said. "It
keeps me plenty busy."
Bloodstock Services
Joining Hill 'n' Dale in December 2004,
Larry O'Byrne is still new to the farm, but he's not new to the
bloodstock business. The son of noted Coolmore bloodstock agent
Demi O'Byrne has worked under the job description of bloodstock
services the past four years and has kept his pulse on
bloodstock trends on three continents in previous jobs with
Ashford and Coolmore.
Most recently O'Byrne worked for a year
with John T.L. Jones Jr., who owned Walmac near Lexington.
O'Byrne then joined Hill 'n' Dale's bloodstock services
department.
Part of his job is keeping up with the
ever-changing roster of foals during breeding season. That's why
his first stop of the day is the foaling barns to see which
mares delivered overnight and to inspect the new additions. Once
in the office, O'Byrne spends most of the morning fielding phone
calls and booking seasons to the farm's 13 stallions and
concentrates on sales and racing in the afternoon.
"While we're booking mares at the beginning
of the season, we also have to be focused and know where to go
to start recruiting yearlings," O'Byrne said. "We begin calling
people to remind them that (sale) nominations are coming up soon
and ask them when we can come look at their horses."
In his first sale with Hill 'n' Dale, the
Keeneland January mixed sale, the 28-year-old Irishman assisted
English breeders who purchased a Fusaichi Pegasus filly out of
User Cat for $600,000.
"I love the sheer excitement about the
chance to be a part of breeding and to be a part of the
suggesting of the breeding, or helping someone at the sales pick
a horse and seeing it blossom into a nice horse and being there
when it happens."
Stallion Manager
He's a traffic cop at the most dangerous
intersection in town. As the stallion manager for 13 high-strung
Thoroughbreds, Irishman Aidan O'Meara must be on his toes all
day, every day. As the workday begins before dawn, O'Meara has
to get things organized and ready for a full day in the breeding
shed, which at Hill 'n' Dale will see three or four sessions,
starting at 7:30 a.m. and not ending until after 6 p.m.
O'Meara not only does the heavy lifting
around the shed--assisting the stallion before and after the
breeding--but also takes care of the paperwork and manages a
staff of 10-12. All handlers in the crew have been "home
schooled." At this time of year, there are about 20 breedings a
day, but as the season gets deeper into spring, that number will
shoot up to 30.
Between sessions, he checks up on the
previously bred mares in the farm's computer system.
It's his job to know the idiosyncrasies of
each stallion. Letting your guard down for one second during a
breeding will have "a man flat on his back, which is the worst
place to be," farm manager Joe Ramsey said.
O'Meara, 27, came to the U.S. from
Tipperary, Ireland, in 1996 with a degree in equine science and
the desire to work with stallions. He worked at Hill 'n' Dale at
its previous location and followed when Sikura bought the
current property. "I saw that he was a man with ambition," said
O'Meara, "and I knew I wanted to work with stallions."
With the long work hours seven days a week
during breeding season there is little recreation time for
O'Meara, who lives in an apartment above the stallion barn which
he calls the "tree house." He may get out for a meal on a
Saturday night. He noted he hadn't been home to Ireland in three
years. During the off season, he and his crew keep the stallions
ready for stallion shows, work with the yearlings, and help with
maintenance around the farm.
Farm Manager
Joe Ramsey is Hill 'n' Dale Farms'
jack-of-all trades. In addition to overseeing a staff of 30 and
stock well into the hundreds, the farm manager can be found
regularly foaling mares at night and attending breeding sessions
in the morning. "The horses set our schedule," he said.
Ramsey has an office adjacent to the
breeding shed, but spends much of his time navigating the farm
in his big truck with his Australian Shepherd sidekick. He makes
a point to always answer his mobile phone and keeps notes in a
black binder by his side.
He also purchases farm equipment,
interviews prospective employees, and does, or ensures someone
else does, everything in between. On this particular day, he
makes the rounds with the farm farrier and holds yearlings
during the trimming process. Later, he views slide specimens
after a breeding session to ensure a successful mating.
Ramsey said his day runs smoothly because
of the reliable managers and staff. "They are overachievers," he
said. "They have an appetite for work like I haven't seen
before, which makes my job easier. We have a great team."
The Illinois native has lived in Kentucky
for 15 years and previously worked as a stallion groom at
Shadwell Farm for eight years. He graduated from Murray State
University in 1985 with an animal science degree.
He and his wife, Shirley, a surgery nurse,
live in a house about 200 yards from the breeding shed, but are
currently building a log cabin on a 40-acre parcel adjacent to
the farm's Yarnallton division. Ramsey oversaw the design and
incorporation of the farm's 200-acre new division from the
building of the barns and paddocks to laying out the water
lines.
Ramsey said it is important for him to work
on a farm where the owner is actively involved. "He's (John
Sikura) always here and willing to roll up his sleeves and do
what it takes," he said. "This is his business, not a hobby or a
diversion."
So at the end of the day, what is Ramsey's
favorite of all trades?
"Foaling," he said. "That's where there is
the most horse and human contact. All other pressures and
problems disappear in that interaction. Each one is a miracle."
Broodmare/Stallion Administration
It's a good thing Rita Riccelli has use of
a computer, because dealing with the kinds of numbers she
crunches can best be described as mind-boggling. A relative
newcomer to the Hill 'n' Dale team, Riccelli handles the booking
of all resident mares to farm stallions and outside stallions.
"We've got about 250 mares at the farm, but
it feels like a million," she joked.
Riccelli works closely with managers
Madelein Basson and Jamie Frost in scheduling the bookings.
"They will check the mare and notify me when she needs to be
bred, and I'll schedule it," Riccelli said. Hill 'n' Dale has at
least three daily breeding sessions.
If the mare is going to a stallion standing
at an outside farm, Riccelli will contact that farm and book a
date. She then calls Brook Ledge vanning to arrange for the
transportation of the mare. Riccelli also makes sure the proper
paperwork, i.e., breeding shed and veterinary health forms, is
in order.
Riccelli, who started with Hill 'n' Dale in
the sales division last summer and has held her current job
since December, also handles the booking of outside mares to
eight of the 13 Hill 'n' Dale stallions.
Riccelli's job doesn't end once the
bookings are decided. The New York state native is responsible
for notifying the owners when a mare is bred, when she is
checked to determine if she is in foal, and when she is
pronounced in foal.
"Some owners I'll call, some I'll fax or
e-mail. They're all different," she said.
Riccelli, whose parents owned horses while
she was growing up outside Syracuse, continues to be amazed at
how the whole breeding operation functions. "It's interesting
because of the short time for all the mares to get in foal, it's
amazing that it all works out."
Maintenance Manager
Kenneth Rollins starts every day with a
plan, but most of the time he ends up going in at least one
different direction. As the maintenance supervisor at Hill 'n'
Dale Farms, Rollins has a hand in everything from motors to
mowing.
"Everybody on the farm is my boss," Rollins
said. "If somebody has an electrical switch go out, or a problem
with a sewer line or a commode, I've got to go look at it. If a
horse runs through a fence, I've got to stop and fix the fence.
I always have plans, but plans change."
On this day, Rollins was preparing to
spread muck--compost--on paddocks, something done every spring
and fall. The material is evened out with a chain-dragger that
helps spread the straw and manure. Along with enriching soil,
the process is an effective way to chase away parasites.
Rollins, a native of Richmond, Ky., begins
his day at about 6 a.m. and usually wraps up by 5 p.m., though
the nature of his job requires flexibility. His first order of
business is to "make the rounds" and check the tractors before
other maintenance staff report for duty.
The job also entails repairing doors and
windows and doing some painting. When it snows
heavily--something that hasn't happened in quite some time in
Central Kentucky--Rollins oversees the two-hour job to remove
the white stuff.
"In 1997, there was a big snow, so it took
a while," Rollins said. "We couldn't move around here."
Rollins has to know a lot about a lot. For
instance, maintenance work requires the use of different types
of equipment, so staff members must have the knowledge
beforehand or be trained.
When asked how he liked his job, Rollins
didn't hesitate.
"I must like it, because I've been here 19
years," said Rollins, who rattled off his starting date of Feb.
8, 1986. "It's outside work, and I like being my own boss."
Equine Dentist
What makes a horse walk well when being
shown to prospective buyers? There are many factors, but Jim
Shannon is sure of one.
"A horse will not walk well unless his head
is balanced," Shannon said. And, as an equine dentist, Shannon
helps keep a horse's head balanced.
With her foal grabbing at a towel dangling
from his pocket, Picabo Street had her teeth "floated" by
Shannon. The old term for filing is still used because the
equine dentist floats the instruments over the teeth.
Yearlings and 2-year-olds have their teeth
worked on every three months, broodmares once a year, and
stallions twice a year. Outside the stall, Shannon has a bucket
of tools soaking in Nolvasan Solution. The two main files are
made of carbide.
Shannon, 51, works alone, few horses giving
him trouble as he performs his craft. He can do up to 14 horses
each day. Horses, he explained, have 12 incisors and 24 molars,
with two pre-molars, or "wolf" teeth extracted when they are
yearlings. Males have four "male" teeth that come in at age four
and out at age five.
Shannon has worked on his own since 1979,
having learned from Dr. D.L. Proctor and T.C. Quisenberry.
"I love the horses but it is the people
that make the job special," Shannon said. He has floated the
teeth of Derby (gr. I) winners Gato Del Sol, Winning Colors,
Sunday Silence, and Grindstone, "and I hope Sweet Catomine will
be the fifth.
"When they sell well or run well, it's nice
to know you played a small part in their success," the
Pennsylvania native said. "I did Forego when he raced and you
don't forget horses like that."
Owner
"You keeping banker's hours?" John Sikura
greets an arriving visitor as he hurries from his office at 8
a.m. Moments later he's hopping into his truck to begin morning
rounds. There is a quick check of the mailbox for the day's
racing publications and then a slow tour of the main farm's 342
acres for reasons both practical and spiritual.
"I drive around the farm to experience the
pleasure of it and realize why I'm here," said Sikura. But he
also keeps an eye out for things that might be concerns--a
nervous horse, a board down off a fence, a nurse mare that might
not be bonding with a foal.
After touring the grounds, Sikura returns
to his office. He pores over a fax listing race results of the
farm's progeny; reviews status reports of the mares to see which
ones are in foal and which are going to the breeding shed that
day; and peruses activity sheets for the farm's 13 stallions.
The phones don't stop and the next deal
seems always imminent. Sikura's high-energy approach is a factor
of needing to play catch-up: His farm doesn't have the long
pedigree of others he competes against for stallion prospects
and prize horses to consign to sales. His personal approach
seeks to close the gap.
In 2004, Hill 'n' Dale's sales agency sold
more than $30 million worth of bloodstock at public auction.
Sikura now owns 30 mares, several book one September-types,
because he loves the breeding business. He has aggressively
collected young stallions such as Vindication, Buddha, Medaglia
d'Oro, El Corredor, Candy Ride, and Doneraile Court, hoping to
come up with the next historically significant sire.
"The stallion business today is so highly
competitive, and these are astronomical investments," he noted.
"You have to go by personal feeling. When you find a horse
you're sold on, you go early, you give too much, and you hold
your breath."
Sikura calls the owner of a grade I-winning
mare who is being retired, making the case to breed to
Vindication. The owner is intent on breeding to a stallion on
another farm whose book is full. Sikura goes the extra yard,
making a call to a contact ("I want to give you some money, so
don't say 'no.' "). He gets a season to the stallion, calls the
owner back with the news, and makes a pitch to board the mare
and get her bred.
Landscaper
There are high standards to maintain when
it comes to landscaping Hill 'n' Dale. After the farm was
developed by Franklin Groves as North Ridge back in the 1970s,
it became an award-winning showplace of landscape design. Jeff
Singer of Singer Gardens in Stamping Ground, Ky., did some work
on the farm prior to it being purchased and renamed by John
Sikura.
"We started working with John 15 years ago
when he had his first farm on Winchester Road," said Singer.
"Over the years, some of the original planting had deteriorated
at Hill 'n' Dale--they lost some trees and part of the original
planting patterns were breaking down, leaving gaps in the work.
So, first we wanted to bring it back to what it was."
Many new trees were planted and existing
trees moved to bring the grounds back to the original intent.
When Sikura built his home on the farm, the surrounding area
needed landscaping, and when the farm expanded across Yarnallton
Pike, many trees needed to be planted on the empty parcel.
"John's view on landscaping is twofold,"
said Singer, the fifth generation of his family on the land
where his nursery is located. "Aesthetic and utilitarian. He
likes to plant hedgerows between paddocks to screen horses from
one another. He likes something that looks good but is also
functional. We've been using forsythia, which grows fast, is
pretty in the spring when it blooms, and takes no maintenance.
It gives a consistent, uniform look around the farm."
Feed
The guys at Woodford Spears & Sons love to
make the rounds. Sure, it's part of the job, but they also get
to see the Central Kentucky countryside on a regular basis.
Woodford Spears, located on Main Street in
Paris, Ky., is a full-service farm store that is also a feed
supplier for the region. Every Thursday, a Woodford Spears
flatbed truck delivers feed to Hill 'n' Dale, one of the stops
on the usual rounds.
"We try to set up (deliveries) on a regular
schedule," said Ted Spears, who operates the business with his
brother Steve, and father, Steve, who used to be more involved
on a daily basis. "We're here on Thursdays, and do other farms
on different days of the week. There is consistency to it, but
some of the smaller farms aren't on a regular schedule. A lot of
it is weather-sensitive."
Fortunately for Spears and company, snowy
roads weren't much of a problem this past winter. Spears had
just made a run through Scott County before his stop at Hill 'n'
Dale, which is located in Fayette County. Given increases in
traffic volume in Central Kentucky over the years, the drive
from Bourbon County can take some time.
Woodford Spears opened in 1923 and for some
time specialized in bluegrass seed. The business evolved over
time and continues to do so as farming changes, Spears said.
Now, horse feed is a major component.
"Tobacco is on the way out, but the horse
business is continuing to grow," he said. "That's where I'd
really like to concentrate."
Woodford Spears has had the Hill 'n' Dale
account for about five years. Spears said it has proven to be a
good relationship.
"It's a great account," Spears said. "I
wish I had more like it."
Photographer
His contributions to Hill 'n' Dale Farms
are purely visual. Photographer Lee Thomas makes regular trips
to the farm, and many other Thoroughbred farms throughout
Central Kentucky, to photograph the stallions, the farm, and its
employees.
Taking photographs of horses comes
naturally to Thomas, who worked on a horse farm before taking up
the camera full time. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Thomas got a
degree in photojournalism from the University of Kentucky.
Taking his instructions from farm owner
John Sikura and advertising agent Lance Bell, it's up to Thomas
to come up with the artistic images that help with the
advertising and promotional materials for the farm. Bell is "a
very visual man," according to Thomas. "He's the kind of guy who
can go 800 miles per hour in every which direction."
A commercial photographer with a studio in
downtown Lexington, Thomas' other equine-related clients include
Vinery, Three Chimneys, WinStar, Hopewell, Darby Dan, and
Juddmonte farms.
While not in constant contact with the
farm, Thomas is called into duty for the most part during the
sales, when the stallions are ready for showing, and when the
flowers are in bloom.
"John is very artistic," Thomas said of
Hill 'n' Dale's owner. "He's more in tune with nature than most.
He's in tune with the beauty of the thing, beyond the
businessman, beyond the horseman. He's surprised me that he can
really recognize, and appreciate, good photography."
Foaling Manager
Watching, waiting, and ready to usher in a
new arrival, Miguel Torres is in charge of foaling at Hill 'n'
Dale Farms. Walking up and down the aisle throughout his 6 p.m.
to 6 a.m. shift, checking mares that become restless, making
notes on a clipboard about any signs of foaling, and keeping the
"mamas" fed and watered are on his list of responsibilities.
Torres has a set schedule to keep the mares
comfortable during his shift. Hay is doled out at 9 p.m., water
at 10 p.m., and grain at 11 p.m. Lights out at 11:30 p.m. "The
mamas need their rest," Torres said.
When a mare shows signs that her foaling is
imminent, Torres initiates his own well-rehearsed plan of
action. The mares are brought from their already roomy and
bright stalls to a deluxe maternity suite. The suite is complete
with heat lamps to warm up the new arrival, soft straw bedding,
and completely smooth walls to make sure neither the mare nor
foal can get injured during the foaling process.
"When the baby is born, I check it over to
make sure it is healthy and not hurt," said Torres. "I let baby
and mama rest, then when (the) baby gets up, I'll help it get
milk." Torres then checks the mare and foal's temperature every
three hours, makes sure the foal is doing well, and continues to
check the other mares, waiting to help bring another
Thoroughbred into the world.
"There are 21 mares in the barn. When one
mare foals, she stays in the barn for a day or two, then goes to
another barn with her foal." Torres then receives a new ward
until her foaling. Over 100 foals will be born this year under
Torres' watchful and caring eye.
Night Watchman
Twenty-one-year-old Sean Tugel, a hale and
hardy lad from Rochester, N.Y., and full-time student at the
University of Kentucky, spends his evenings a little differently
than his Wildcat buddies.
No, no all-night parties or cram sessions
of late for Tugel, who for the last three months--six nights a
week--has been the eyes and ears of the Hill 'n' Dale operation
in the wee hours of the morning--as its night watchman.
Tugel's shift starts at 6 p.m. and ends at
6 a.m. He makes his way around the undulating grounds in a farm
vehicle, barn-by-barn, checking for sick or troubled horses,
providing hay and water, and spotting horses in their pastures
and paddocks after dark with a floodlight.
"The best kind of night is when there is
nothing going on," said Tugel. "The quieter the better."
Hill 'n' Dale has a stallion watchman, and
its foaling attendants watch over their particular divisions,
but Tugel is always awake to lend a hand with a birth or any
other happening.
At 4 a.m. he feeds the entire farm, and in
the morning helps assistant manager Madelein Basson aid the
veterinarians. Tugel wants to learn all he can, and said that at
Hill 'n' Dale there is someone willing to teach him at every
turn.
Having grown up around horses and the
racetrack, shadowing his father, Bob, a trainer and veterinarian
at Finger Lakes in upstate New York, the agricultural-economics
major is planning for a career in the Thoroughbred industry.
Stallion Groom
For Jaime Vaquera, a day at work means
being around and caring for such stallions as Vindication,
Theatrical, and El Corredor, just to name a few.
But Vaquera, a native of Mexico, doesn't
let the star power of the Hill 'n' Dale stallion roster cloud
his mind as he goes about doing his daily work as head groom at
the farm.
Vaquera is known around the farm as
"Theatrical's main man" because the two have a special bond and
respond well to each other. His job as Theatrical's caretaker
consists of hand-walking the son of Nureyev around his paddock
daily between breeding sessions. "He is a good stallion, maybe
my favorite because I am around him the most," said Vaquera, who
has worked at Hill 'n' Dale for the past three years. "They are
all really good stallions."
Vaquera begins his day at 6:30 a.m. by
overseeing the other grooms and readying the stallions for the
first morning breeding session, followed by working in the
breeding shed and making sure the prized stallions are not
injured.
After the first breeding session of the
day, the stallions are all turned out in their paddocks. "The
more time they spend outside, the better," he said.
After lunch it's time for the second
breeding session of the day, and Vaquera again oversees the
other grooms in preparing the stallions for their work before
again heading to the breeding shed.
It's all in a day's work for Vaquera, whose
day doesn't end until after all 13 stallions are safely in their
stalls each night.
