A novice farm owner wanting to maximize his investment has teamed up with a seasoned trainer getting back into the Thoroughbred business in Indiana after a respite to jump-start the stallion career of graded stakes winner Cowboy Culture.
The 12-year-old son of Quality Road entered stud in 2024 but with minimal marketing only attracted less than a half dozen mares over a couple of years.
Trainer Tom Foley discovered Cowboy Culture in the shadows of the Indiana stallion market and saw potential in part because of Quality Road.
"I bred a mare to him because I love the bloodlines," said Foley, who is getting back into the breeding and training business after taking time to start a family. "My interest in Quality Road had to stop at the price. I could not afford him. But here is a son of his who could run, and I think his Smart Strike broodmare sire line is untouchable. I think he has it all.
"I told the owner of Clearview Equine that if the owner of the stallion ever wants to sell, then give me a call," he said.
Foley got that call right around the time he was introduced to Gary Showalter, who had purchased and renovated a small farm near Fairland, Ind., only a few miles from Horseshoe Indianapolis. Within a few months, Foley and Showalter had a deal.
"We saw the farm as an investment opportunity. It had been a working farm for 35 years, and we felt it had potential," said Showalter, whose father was an avid horse racing fan but never owned a horse. "We remodeled it, and now we'll do some boarding and stand Cowboy Culture."
Foley began training on his own in 2017, starting out in Florida and later moved to racing circuits throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest. He finally settled in Indiana where he started his family. Now, he is looking to get back into the business—both breeding and training.
"I like the full circle," he said. "I am going to breed five to six mares to the stallion, and I think we'll be in a good position if we can get 20 mares to him next year. He's a compact horse that I think is capable of producing good 2-year-old runners and that he fits the Indiana market."
Cowboy Culture is out of English Willow, a daughter of Smart Strike and also the dam of stakes-placed winners Whomping Willow and Dancing Elliebelle. The mare's winning daughter Wolf Gourmet is the dam of grade 1-placed winner White Palomino. The immediate family also produced multiple graded stakes winner Parisian Flight and multiple stakes winner and sire Concorde's Tune.
As a racehorse, Cowboy Culture won the 2017 Arlington Classic Stakes (G3T) at Arlington Park and Centaur Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He retired with a 6-2-2 record from 28 starts and earned $339,494. In 2027, he is expected to stand for $1,500.
