The farm has made a commitment to caring for the horses until the end of their natural lives and for that, they will receive the 2008 Lavin Cup for Equine Welfare from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) at their national convention on December 8.

The farm's partners, President Jim Simpson, along with Russell Williams and the Paul Spears family, have long had a commitment to horses no longer able to contribute to the farm's revenue stream. About 1,000 horses, mostly broodmares, but also including Hambletonian and Breeders Crown winner Giant Victory, have lived out their natural lives at the farm, receiving the same level of care as mares producing tens or hundreds of thousands in income a year through their foals.

Dr. John Hurtgen, an AAEP board member whose practice is near Hanover, believes the farm is a worthy recipient.

"Dr. Gary Lavin (past president of the AAEP and namesake of the award) said if the AAEP took care of the welfare of the horse, the horse would take care of us. I think Hanover Shoe Farms really epitomizes what the award is all about. They are the first commercial farm to get this award and it's not based on what they did in 2008 or 2007. Hanover's commitments to retired broodmares, retired stallions, has been going on for years. The reach of the people here at Hanover Shoe Farms goes beyond just the farm. That's why this farm is a leader in the welfare aspects of the horse."

While Hanover has about 100 retired broodmares, the highest profile member of the retirees is 1991 Hambletonian winner Giant Victory, recently repatriated from Italy. Giant Victory was a stallion at Hanover's Pennsylvania and New York divisions before being leased to a farm in Italy throughout much of the current decade. When his commercial value in Italy dwindled, Hanover got the call.

"We said to send him back," said Williams, who noted that his Italian connections paid the cost to shop him back to the US. "He's still owned by Hanover Shoe Farms and Ted Gewertz and his wife Claire. Ted and Claire agreed to share the cost of the quarantine and the shipping and they're contributing every year to his upkeep. For the people who owned him when he was racing to stay involved and be interested enough to look after him now is heartening. He's a lucky horse."

Williams noted that the farm's policy, which includes younger mares with compromised reproductive soundness as well as older mares, stretches back many years.

"For at least several decades we've kept the old broodmares and looked after them," he said, "even when they were no longer productive. It just seemed like the rational thing to do. Some of them had made us a lot of money, some of them hadn't. You can't base your decision on that; they all tried. They get the worming and the trimming and all the other things the others get. It's probably $100,000 in direct and indirect costs. Percentage-wise, that's not unmanageable."

The list of retired mares, average age 25.14, is headed by 33-year-old Mighty Impressive, with a time trial mark of 1:56.3 taken in 1978, when she was a 3-year-old. Other household names in the band are $805,000 winner Saccharum and $545,000 winner Stardrift Hanover, both 26. At the other end of the age spectrum, there are 16 mares less than 20 years of age.

Farm Manager Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky says the staff's diligence is equally applied to all their horses, retired or not.

"Most of the people that work here don't care to know the difference," she says. "They're just as concerned if they see an old 30-year-old hurt as if it was Bunny Lake or D Train. It's just about the horse, as it should be. They know them. They got broken in with them. They have an attachment to them. They're family."

by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

Courtesy of The US Trotting Association Web Newsroom