Brogden, de Meric Join Next Generation of Pinhookers

Whether its weanling to yearling or yearling to 2-year-old, pinhooking a Thoroughbred can be a gamble. For many horsemen, the subtle art of spotting early talent is a kind of scientific undertaking that takes years of study and practice. But then there are those lucky few who only have to trust their gut and the right horse, rather than being found, finds them. Such is the case for Layne Brogden and Lizzy de Meric, whose first venture into the world of pinhooking at the ages of 13 and 10, respectively, is already shaping up to be quite the success story. Brogden comes by her love of horses honestly. She is the daughter of Carrie and Craig Brogden, who own and operate Machmer Hall Farm in Paris, Ky. Longtime Thoroughbred breeders, the family also offer consignment services for yearlings under Machmer Hall Sales. An avid rider of show hunters who has grown up helping her parents during sales season, Brogden said it was her older sister Isabelle who first floated the idea of pinhooking a weanling. "I thought it was a great idea," said Brogden. "So we decided to go ahead and do it." Brogden soon had a partner in her venture in the form of de Meric, who, like Brogden, hails from a family with deep ties to the Thoroughbred industry. De Meric's parents, Tristan and Valery, assist in the breaking, training, and sale of 2-year-olds under the banner of de Meric Thoroughbred Sales which is owned and operated by her grandparents, Nick and Jaqui. "Our families buy a lot of horses together," said de Meric, who lives in Ocala, Fla. "My mom and Layne's mom have been friends for a long time." With a plan set, the pair worked with their respective parents to put together a budget and decide on a game plan. In the end, Brogden and de Meric settled on the idea that they would focus their attentions on finding a filly, rather than a colt, for resale. "We wanted to buy a filly," said de Meric. "I think fillies sometimes have better temperaments." Brogden, who lives in Kentucky, did the legwork for the partnership in Kentucky, identified two potential pinhook prospects on the sales grounds, and reported back to de Meric. While both were consigned to the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Brogden said one of her choices, a flashy chestnut filly by Darby Dan Farm's Tapiture stood out immediately. "I went all around looking at different horses at different consignments with my dad one day and then again on another day with my grandmother," said Brogden. "One I found was selling the first day, which is our Tapiture filly, and the other was selling the next day. But I had a feeling that the Tapiture was the one I was going to go for and that she would be a great one. So I went for her. "I liked her and her personality—she just seemed right. It's like when you get a gut feeling that you know it's the right horse and the one you should choose. I knew she would be the one we would be able to do well with and that she would be a nice horse. So we got our budget together, figured out what we needed, made sure the horse looked good, and that we had looked at all the X-rays and everything. We went through all of the steps my parents would usually go through when looking at a horse." Brogden and de Meric's filly was Hip 3887. Bred in Kentucky by EVADI Farm Team out of the Dixie Union mare Elke, the weanling was consigned to the November sale by Taylor Made Sales Agency. With de Meric in Florida, it was left to Brogden to do the bidding. "My dad was next to me and would say, 'You bid now' when we were standing in the background," said Brogden, who admitted the process was a bit nerve-wracking. "If they didn't see me my dad would raise his hand to make sure they saw me." With a little help, Brogden won her filly on a final bid of $15,000. Nicknamed "Sweetie" by the girls, the filly was shipped to de Meric in Florida, where the younger of the two partners helped take care of her for four months over the winter. She was later returned to the Brogden's Machmer Hall in the spring to begin prepping for the yearling sales. "From the very first day she was very kind and that is why we called her Sweetie," said de Meric. "She's very smart and the people that took care of her before us did a very good job." Whatever gut feeling the partners may have had about their Tapiture filly has proven especially correct, and perhaps lucrative, over the past week when her 2-year-old half brother Weston (by Hit It a Bomb), took the Best Pal Stakes (G2) at Del Mar for owners Chris Drakos and Ryan Hanson. The update is a timely one for the filly who is slated to make her second appearance in the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale. Brogden, who is currently in Virginia with family competing in horse shows, said she will get more involved with the filly's prep once she returns to Kentucky. "We were planning on getting one to sell in October so we could let her grow up a bit instead of doing a quick flip," said Brogden. "We always planned to keep her for a longer period of time. My mom's favorite part is prepping horses and taking them to the sales and I love helping her do that." While de Meric said she will make the trip up to Kentucky to watch Sweetie sell, she admits that it will be a bittersweet moment to watch the filly go through the ring. The pair both agree that they'll wait on the results of their pinhooking adventure before making the decision to dive back in at the next sale. "We are going to end up paying our parents back for all of it and then we will have what is left over," said Brogden. "I think we will see how this one goes and what we end up doing. I would also need to go to the sales again and look around to pick another one out so that will depend on what happens with COVID-19 too. But it has been really fun having her so we might do it again."