What trainer to go to at Fair Hills

[shalomypony]

Looking for advice on who you would send a fancy two yr. old to at Fair Hills.

[Acertainsmile]

Graham Motion.

[Sing Mia Song]

Graham Motion.

Ditto.

[JustJump250]

I third Graham. His horses are class acts- I have one who was recently retired from his barn, so call me biased. Nice people, too.

[Appalachian Trail]

Steve Klesaris

[Evalee Hunter]

I agree that both Graham Motion or Steve Klesaris would be good choices but you could also try Leigh Delacour.

[Linny]

Evalee Hunter? :eek: Where are you posting from?

[pinkdiamondracing]

Michael Matz!!!! He is wonderful and a really nice man, not to mention a consummate horseman!!

[Acertainsmile]

Evalee Hunter? :eek: Where are you posting from?

Just caught this too.... very strange.

[shalomypony]

Actually Michael Matz was the first we thought of....love him!

[Susan P]

I heard something very humane about Graham Motion as well as understanding he is one of the most effective trainers at FHTC. He helped get all the feral cats there trapped, neutered and released through a rescue and paid for it. That was extremely generous considering that there are a lot of trainers there and I don't think anyone else pitched in. But I could be missing some information. After talking to the management at FHTC and the organization that did the trapping and neutering I think I have it right.

Sadly I've heard that MM had left for the winter leaving a barn cat or cats behind to fend for themselves. I think some of his wonderfulness may be exaggerated, I met him once, it's so hard to know for sure unless you know these people.

I also like Tim Woolley, I believe he is the brother to Chip Woolley who owns or trains Mine That Bird. He's very nice, I've met him a couple times. I would consider using him too.



Graham Motion.

[Texarkana]

Sadly I've heard that MM had left for the winter leaving a barn cat or cats behind to fend for themselves. I think some of his wonderfulness may be exaggerated, I met him once, it's so hard to know for sure unless you know these people.



Completely not true. He is possibly the classiest person on the planet. Maybe 2nd classiest after Graham Motion.

I would vouch for most of the operations out of Fair Hill. The bulk are excellent horse people. There are only a handful I'd prefer not to use.

[Texarkana]

Hmm, whats the odds of the two classiest people on the planet both being based at Fairhill? :D

:lol:

Seriously, though, I will give character references on those two folks til the cows come home. :D

[Meredith Clark]

Completely not true. He is possibly the classiest person on the planet. Maybe 2nd classiest after Graham Motion.

I would vouch for most of the operations out of Fair Hill. The bulk are excellent horse people. There are only a handful I'd prefer not to use.

Although I have never worked with him concerning racing or horses, my father's architecture firm designed his barn and he was always very agreeable and patient with my non-horsey father. He also was more than willing to let me and my sister come take pictures for the firm's webpage and even gave us a mini-tour. This was in the afternoon and i'm sure he was tired and wanted to go home! :lol:

The only other trainer I know is Mr. Merryman. I don't know anything about horse racing really but he has a beautiful farm and takes amazing care of his horses. He had a horse on his farm that broke it's leg very badly and gets to spend it's life frolicking with a mini! He also let my fat @ss gallop one of his horses at the track for fun so he's awesome in my book!

[Susan P]

I've met Tim, his Mum, and a few people while visiting his barn a couple times, we're not buddies. He's a nice guy so he seems. His Mom is a sweetie too, yes they do have strong accents.

I never met Chip Woolley, someone told me he was Tim's brother so I figured it was true. I don't know anything about Chip but I figured if the person who told me they were brothers was right then that would be a plus for Tim.

Sorry I was wrong about them being brothers, I stand corrected though I said "I believe they are brothers".


I met Tim (we are not friends) during a Barbaro celebration and he allowed people to come to his barn, I stopped there prior to that day and a few times since when I had the time and once or twice when I was out early and stopped and watched the horses breeze. I took some photos of the horses and while they were breezing them.



If you met Tim Woolley, then how would you not know that he is from England and has the accent to boot. For some reason, I find it hard to believe how anyone could think that Tim and Chip could be brothers.

[Susan P]

While living so close to Fair Hill you hear a lot of things about people, some you are happy to know while others disappoint you. Whatever the truth is, it is far in the past to revisit. I just believe that how you treat even the least reveals your true character.

I doubt that you KNOW what the true facts are any more than I do. Unless we were witnesses how could we? I got my info second hand.
But I have no reason to doubt it.



Completely not true. He is possibly the classiest person on the planet. Maybe 2nd classiest after Graham Motion.

I would vouch for most of the operations out of Fair Hill. The bulk are excellent horse people. There are only a handful I'd prefer not to use.

[Texarkana]

While living so close to Fair Hill you hear a lot of things about people, some you are happy to know while others disappoint you. Whatever the truth is, it is far in the past to revisit. I just believe that how you treat even the least reveals your true character.

I doubt that you KNOW what the true facts are any more than I do. Unless we were witnesses how could we? I got my info second hand.
But I have no reason to doubt it.

I lived in the same town as you most of my life. We boarded at the same farm at one point in time. I used to ride your old horse before you purchased him for your son. My beloved gelding came from your next door neighbor. Not to mention I used to work at Fair Hill. :winkgrin:

I don't know what anyone did with their barn cats this past winter. And sure, everyone has their moments. But speaking first hand, I can tell you Michael Matz has no reason for his character or horsemanship to be questioned by strangers on the internet. The same goes for most of the trainers at Fair Hill.

:)

[DickHertz]

Evalee Hunter? :eek: Where are you posting from?

Her daughter is continuing her legacy by posting under her user name.

[holmes]

I would avoid both Graham and Michael - both of them have very large barns and your horses will likely get lost in the shuffle.

I am amazed Bruce Jackson has not been mentioned - I think he is FANTASTIC. Last I heard he had a few horses he trained for racing, as well as running the rehab center. He will take great care of your horse and if it is a champion he can get it into the top barns (Motts, Zito, etc) and it will not be overlooked.

[SeeHowSheRuns]

From what I have heard, Michael Matz is a nice guy and a good horseman. What do his win %s look like? I remember thinking that he was fairly overrated based on those numbers... Of course, this was probably a year ago, so not sure what that looks like now.

[Susan P]

Bruce Jackson has really pulled himself up from the ashes, his facility is awesome. We have a mutual friend and she speaks very highly of him and his wife, but he has a large barn too. Also Porter's barn is very nice and modeled after the biggest barn Perfect SKY I is a perfect name, it's fabulous. There are a lot of small trainers at FHTC and a lot of them just have a few horses there and keep others at their home barn.

I think I would contact the training center office at 410 398-2992 and talk to Sally if you wanted to get some information. But the web site has a list of trainers to consider. http://fairhilltrainingcenter.com/trainers.html (http://fairhilltrainingcenter.com/trainers.html)
You can see their barns in the photos too.

I see Bobby Manchio is in Chevation V, he's really gone far, from the barn on Election Rd. to his own farm on Rt. 472 with a little training track. I hauled a friend's horse there a couple times for breezing and we also took him to FHTC a couple times too. She ended up not racing him though, but it was fun. I got to walk him to cool him out. He's a really nice horse, seemed to love to run even in his later days, really has a big heart.


I would avoid both Graham and Michael - both of them have very large barns and your horses will likely get lost in the shuffle.

I am amazed Bruce Jackson has not been mentioned - I think he is FANTASTIC. Last I heard he had a few horses he trained for racing, as well as running the rehab center. He will take great care of your horse and if it is a champion he can get it into the top barns (Motts, Zito, etc) and it will not be overlooked.

[Susan P]

Sorry I don't recall meeting you. Nomad died October 18, 2007, 13 years and 6 days after I first met him. Lucky you that you got to ride such a great horse, Nomad was wonderful. The biggest barn I boarded Nomad at was Greenfields.

The only reason I mentioned what I've heard about MM is that the question was asked by the OP about trainers. Nobody's perfect.

My neighbor Jim McGreevy also is a trainer at Fair Hill but doesn't have a whole barn there, just a few stalls.



I lived in the same town as you most of my life. We boarded at the same farm at one point in time. I used to ride your old horse before you purchased him for your son. My beloved gelding came from your next door neighbor. Not to mention I used to work at Fair Hill. :winkgrin:

I don't know what anyone did with their barn cats this past winter. And sure, everyone has their moments. But speaking first hand, I can tell you Michael Matz has no reason for his character or horsemanship to be questioned by strangers on the internet. The same goes for most of the trainers at Fair Hill.

:)

[Texarkana]

I am amazed Bruce Jackson has not been mentioned - I think he is FANTASTIC. Last I heard he had a few horses he trained for racing, as well as running the rehab center.

I could be wrong, but I thought he was focusing more on the therapy center and less on training these days, which is why I was hesitant to mention him. :)

Motion's barn is definitely not a place where horses get lost in the shuffle, at least not when I was there. I found it to be quite the contrary. But that was many years ago and his Fair Hill base has grown since.

Sorry I don't recall meeting you. Nomad died October 18, 2007, 13 years and 6 days after I first met him. Lucky you that you got to ride such a great horse, Nomad was wonderful. The biggest barn I boarded Nomad at was Greenfields.

I am so sorry about Nomad, as I remember your thread and believe I posted my condolences. We were both at Shady Home in the mid 90s. I was just a barn rat. ;)

[Susan P]

Tell me who you rode, did you know Wineberry has a son named Newt who is now ridden by Tracey, the girl that owned Nomad prior to Shady Home? It's a small world. Now I have more bad news, Billy "Emerald Hill Nabiel" has just recently died. My granddaughter (4 years old) takes lessons with Brooke and she told us about a month ago. They were very upset. I understand he was a very impressive stallion in his day. Did you ever ride him, he was a bit tricky wasn't he?




I could be wrong, but I thought he was focusing more on the therapy center and less on training these days, which is why I was hesitant to mention him. :)

Motion's barn is definitely not a place where horses get lost in the shuffle, at least not when I was there. I found it to be quite the contrary. But that was many years ago and his Fair Hill base has grown since.



I am so sorry about Nomad, as I remember your thread and believe I posted my condolences. We were both at Shady Home in the mid 90s. I was just a barn rat. ;)

[Dispatcher]

Bruce Jackson has really pulled himself up from the ashes, his facility is awesome. We have a mutual friend and she speaks very highly of him and his wife, but he has a large barn too. Also Porter's barn is very nice and modeled after the biggest barn Perfect SKY I is a perfect name, it's fabulous. There are a lot of small trainers at FHTC and a lot of them just have a few horses there and keep others at their home barn.

I think I would contact the training center office at 410 398-2992 and talk to Sally if you wanted to get some information. But the web site has a list of trainers to consider. http://fairhilltrainingcenter.com/trainers.html (http://fairhilltrainingcenter.com/trainers.html)
You can see their barns in the photos too.

I see Bobby Manchio is in Chevation V, he's really gone far, from the barn on Election Rd. to his own farm on Rt. 472 with a little training track. I hauled a friend's horse there a couple times for breezing and we also took him to FHTC a couple times too. She ended up not racing him though, but it was fun. I got to walk him to cool him out. He's a really nice horse, seemed to love to run even in his later days, really has a big heart.

Literally. It was his barn that burned down. An acquaintence of mine had a horse in his barn who died in the fire. Very sad.

[Susan P]

My farm is just a couple miles from the training center. I had just got done feeding my horses, it was just dark and I heard and saw sirens while I had paused to call a friend who was leasing my horse and he was living at Fair Hill Stables. When the fire trucks raced down Rt. 472 on the way to the training center I told my friend on the phone about it. I was concerned because I always worry about barn fires. This is one reason why I don't stall my horses and always worried when my horses were at a barn where they were in stalls. I'm almost phobic about it. I can't imagine witnessing this fire. I was going to take a ride over in that direction to make sure that the fire wasn't at Fair Hill Stables but something distracted me and I didn't go. Instead I went straight home. (my house is 10 minutes from my farm) The next day I read about the fire at the training center. I can't tell you how horrible I felt but if I went I would have only been in the way, and of no use to anyone. I only wish they had gotten all the horses out, what a horror, what a tragedy. I wish they could come up with a way to release horses in those situations, maybe equipment to do it. Maybe in the high end barns they could have automatic door releases, wouldn't that be nice. And if all barns had a fence surrounding the doors you wouldn't have to worry about them running into the roads. Maybe sprinklers above the stall doors would buy time to rescue the horses. Sorry, my mind runs all over this issue, trying to think of ways to prevent future nightmares.


[color=red]

Literally. It was his barn that burned down. An acquaintence of mine had a horse in his barn who died in the fire. Very sad.

[holmes]

Bruce does break (at his farm) and train too -

[unclewiggly]

Margy Alexander, not only is she a life long horsewoman but has a small string. She was one of the trainers who lost all of her familys horses in teh BRuce Jackson barn fire.
Every single horse gets personal 1-1 attention, she makes the time to patiently talk to her owners.
I sent her a lovely stakes horse who needed that extra TLC and finely tuned horse person experiance for his aging tendon. The vet who routinely attended his needs gave 2 thumbs up in the trainer choice highly recommending the attention to detail and knowledge. That attention to detail is what gets lost in those bigger strings. GM and MM depend alot on their assistants once a string gets to triple digits you know its hard for anyone to know every horse and every leg. But they both produce fabulous race horses no dispute there.
Before sending your fancy 2yr old make an appointment to talk w/ each trainer, walk the barn ask good guestions about who does what and how the chain of communication works. Do not be blinded by ancy trappings, spotless shed rows or state of the art barns, horse only care about food n water and being treated well on a schedule.
theres nothiing worse than showing up to see your horse, have a non english speaking groom and a trainer who doesn't even know what your horse looks like.
As an aside many cats get left behind and those barns are never empty, there is help and horses all year round so maybe its just that no petty cash was left for cat food or no one ordered any from the feed store.