Matings Advice

Suzi Shoemaker
Owner, Lantern Hill Farm

All sales and racetrack success starts with one crucial choice each year, and there is no substitute for the guidance of someone with a thorough knowledge of pedigrees and an expert eye for the conformation of a given mare and stallion.

The first step will be to define your immediate goals:

• Will you breed to sell or race?
• If you breed to sell, where is your market? Who is your buyer?
• If you breed to race, will it be dirt or turf, sprints or routes, state-bred or worldwide?

Ultimately no breeding program survives without keeping one goal foremost: to produce the best racehorse possible.

The use of the most up-to-date pedigree software and tools such as biomechanical analysis and heart scores will narrow the field of stallion choices for a given mare, but too often these ?paper? matings ignore the physical merits of the particular cross. In short, even an A+ nick will give disappointing results if the stallion and mare are, for instance, back at the knee.

Each year, Suzi Shoemaker inspects the new stallions in Central Kentucky, and she maintains an extensive conformation library on each. With nearly 30 years of looking at hundreds of stallions in the Bluegrass, plus the thousands of progeny from these sires in the Kentucky sales, Suzi can offer a unique perspective in planning a successful mating for your mare.

Mating advice is always free of charge for Lantern Hill Farm LLC clients.

Seasons

If you would like to purchase a season to a Kentucky stallion, contact us. There may be discounts we can negotiate for you, based on the volume of business we have with the farm standing the stallion.