Whitney Farm Stepping Up to Ease Indiana Foaling Demand

A Central Indiana farm with a history of breeding and training show horses is stepping up to help the state's Thoroughbred breeding community face a shortage of broodmare boarding farms offering foaling services. Josh and Andrea Whitney own Whitney Farm about 25 miles southwest of Indianapolis, which started out as a 140-acre family farm purchased by Andrea's father-in-law. The Whitneys are going all-in in the Thoroughbred business at a time Indiana-bred program participants have been scrambling to find farms to foal their mares. "There are so many mares coming in, we were really worried about where they were all going to fit," said Robin Berryhill, the former owner of Hidden Springs Farm near Palmyra, Ind., which typically foaled 30-40 mares annually through the 2021 season. Berryhill and her husband, Dale, recently sold their farm with the intention of retiring to Alabama, but she still has a few mares in Indiana and is very much invested in the state-bred program. "Farms are busting at the seams and people need some relief. We want to make sure we don't lose mares out of the program." With Hidden Springs out of the mix for foaling, available facilities seemed able to handle the demand as of December. Then tragedy struck Jan. 6 when Christine and Vince Cagle had their Springcliff Farm, near Martinsville, destroyed by a barn fire and overnight the need for foaling services turned dire. Already looking for a new challenge, the Whitneys have opened their gates for boarding and foaling and recruited Berryhill to jump-start what they envision to one day be a full-service Thoroughbred operation. Whitney Farm had been the home to a national-quality Quarter Horse and Applaloosa breeding and training business the Whitneys started 17 years ago. The farm later added an adjoining veterinary clinic to the property in 2014. Fast forward to 2021 when the Whitneys decided it was time to sell the clinic but not to return to the heavy travel schedule required to compete with show horses at the highest level as they had done. Both Whitneys had horse racing in their backgrounds so they began to see an entirely new direction for the farm. Josh's grandfather raced Quarter Horses in Oklahoma, and Andrea once worked at Swifty Farms near Seymour where, among other duties, she applied her skills getting horses ready for the show ring and prepping Thoroughbred sale horses. "The Indiana program money is so good right now, the program is strong and we're right in the heart of it," said Andrea. "We thought it was silly for us not do what each of us has an interest in." Strictly by word of mouth, the Whitneys began testing the Thoroughbred market waters last year by prepping sales yearlings. A couple of previous clients from Hidden Springs sent them horses, and Berryhill said her clients were impressed with how polished their sales yearlings looked. As more people in the Thoroughbred community started coming out to the farm, they began urging the Whitneys to do more. The Whitneys were happy to oblige. The farm has 60 stalls, facilities to stand stallions, a covered arena, and is laid out so stock residing at the farm can be separated from the transient mare population or even layups from Indiana Grand, which is a 40-45-minute drive away, depending on traffic. "We put a plan in place, but we thought it would take awhile for us to prove ourselves, you know, pay our dues and show what we were capable of doing," said Andrea. "Now it's just snowballed. We kind of jumped in head first. It's growing and we're headed in the direction we want to go." Berryhill is a big part of the Whitneys' launch this year into offering foaling services and mare care. They were aware of Berryhill's reputation for high quality care of mares and foals, so they asked her to put off retirement for at least a year. "We asked her to come up here, get our feet wet in this deal, and guide," Andrea said. "She has the connections, we have the amenities, and in about week simply from her talking to people we have 25-30 mares coming." "I was going to go to Indian Stallion Station with my mares this year and Joyce (Baker) said, 'No, go to do this with Whitney.' She was worried about where the mares would go, and the Whitneys have a beautiful facility," Berryhill said. "A lot of people have been urging them to do this, so I'm going to help them run it and get it set up right. I've hardly had time to be retired anyway." As they expand the services offered at the farm, the Whitneys are also expanding their Thoroughbred stock. They bought their first Thoroughbred broodmare in 2020 at the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association Fall Mixed Sale and have since acquired nine more. They have one horse in training, too, with Aaron West. "People should know we're here for the long-term," Andrea said. "We're not going to do this for a couple of years and then retire to Key West. The Indiana program is at its peak right now, and we're riding this out."