Show Ring to Racetrack, Harmon's Life Goes Full Circle

Jerri Harmon is a self-proclaimed perfectionist who notices every detail in a horse. It's part of why she is a world champion halter exhibitor, professional horsewoman, and clinician. Her success with Quarter Horses includes successfully campaigning halter stallions to lead the nation in earnings and wins and developing and maintaining quality breeding operations. In September, she was named Swifty Farms' newest farm manager and shows a spark to rejuvenate the Seymour, Ind., farm's breeding, sales, and racing programs. Harmon spoke to BloodHorse MarketWatch about her journey from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds, what brought her to Swifty Farms, and what she looks forward to in the 2022 breeding season. MarketWatch: How did you go from showing halter horses to managing Thoroughbred farms? Jerri Harmon: I have managed horse farms and shown horses nationally for 25 years, starting first with Quarter Horses. I was fortunate enough to get involved with JMK Quarter Horses. I was an integral part in advancing the farm to national status, promoting their big halter stallion Mr Yella Fella and their breeding operations. The funny thing about the horse industry, no matter the breed, is that it is a small world. Chris Baccari of Baccari Bloodstock started with the same background as me, in halter horses, years ago. My dear friend, Tim Hamlin of Wynnstay Farm in Winchester, Ky., also started in Quarter Horses. He's somewhat responsible for me to be here at Swifty Farms. He's always been after me to get involved in Thoroughbreds. MW: How is that? JH: He would always say that there was a niche within the Thoroughbred industry for folks "like us" that started with the same background as Tim and myself. After Mr. (James) Kifer retired and JMK Quarter Horses was dispersed, I went to work on a farm in Mississippi, managing the breeding side of things of the dual cattle and horse farm. Horses have always been my primary love, and I learned there that managing breeding farms is what I thrive on. So, I went to work at Silver Oaks Ranch and Swan Racing in Jones, Okla. Pat and Tomey Swan ran a multi-breed racing stable, which gave me insight into the racing industry, and I learned a lot about what it took to get a horse to the track. MW: Is there a transition to go from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds when managing a breeding farm? JH: Not really. The actual breeding of the horse is something I have become quite efficient with. At JMK, we'd breed 250 mares to Mr Yella Fella each year. I've always had my hand in all the aspects of the act of breeding: from preparing the mare, to the cover, to the checkups, and the foaling. Mares are all prepared for breeding in the same manner—whether it's through live cover or artificial insemination. There's no difference. I've never thought about the routines and practices being different between the two breeds. The mission is precisely the same, no matter the breed or discipline: from having a healthy mare ready for breeding, the conception, the foaling, and all the neonatal things we do to ensure a healthy start to life for the newborns is exactly the same. In a nutshell, managing horses at a high level is the same, no matter the breed. Now, there are some things that you adjust for the Thoroughbreds. Like the growth curves, you want to keep those in check and have a smooth growth curve, so the foal doesn't grow too fast and, in turn, doesn't have those problems. MW: Three new stallions will be standing at Swifty Farms in 2022, including the sought-after Sleepy Eyes Todd. Owner David Cobb said part of the decision to bring his horse to Indiana was because of you. What did you say to help bring American Pastime and Sleep Eyes Todd to Swifty? JH: It's weird. I try not to sound cocky, but when speaking with stallion and mare owners, I guess I just instilled in them a level of trust, and they felt like my experience speaks for itself. I have more than 20 years of experience, and they recognize that. When Mike (Mowrey), Miguel (Silva), and David (Cobb) called, I just answered their questions in the most honest way. Breeding horses and managing a farm is a customer service industry. Yes, it's horse breeding, but you need to be a people person because these owners have a tremendous amount of money invested in their horses, and they expect high quality and a high level of care for their horses. Owners expect communication, so I feel like perhaps I instilled a high level of trust that I could help them achieve their goals in a patient manner. MW: Why Swifty Farms? JH: I was told the farm was undergoing some restructuring, as far as the management team was concerned. Dr. Tony Wolfe had spoken with Tim Hamlin, and Tim came to me with the idea of moving to Indiana. Mrs. (Dana) Myers passed away in December 2020, and her granddaughter, Tiffany (Johnson), took over the reins. Tiffany and I spoke over the phone, and she wants to maintain her grandfather's legacy and continue what he had started with the Indiana Thoroughbred program. In her words, she wanted to make her grandparents proud. So, she wanted to bring someone on board that could get Swifty back to its roots and help with a rebranding and a grand reopening of sorts. MW: How can you help Swifty do that? JH: I've made it a lifelong goal to take the very best care of the horses as I possibly can. I'm a combination of perfectionist and control freak, in a moderated sort of way. I'm hands-on and walk every pasture every day. I lay my eyes on every horse on the farm every day, whether I need to or not. I have people in place that I trust to handle the day-to-day chores, but I am involved with every aspect of the horses daily. That's what keeps me grounded, so to speak, to have my hands on a horse every single day. I'm super excited. It sounds almost cliché, but I feel like the stallion roster we have to offer for 2022 is all-inclusive and so exciting. With the stallions we offer, we have a wide array of bloodlines and distances for anyone. We offer something for everyone. If anyone wants to participate in Indiana, which Indiana is the regional market hot spot, we are the place to be. Things are looking up and the future is getting brighter here at Swifty and in Indiana in general. I'm looking forward to the future of these stallions and the program here. MW: How does your halter-showing background help you in this new position? JH: Sometimes people think there's no way that someone from the Quarter Horse world can make a successful transition to the Thoroughbred world, but there are so many similarities. Your eye gets trained to look at babies when they hit the ground—no matter what the breed is. Whether it's Thoroughbreds or Quarter Horses, I'm capable of evaluating conformation and stature as soon as they're born. I've foaled out over a thousand mares over the years, and you learn to assess those babies young. Either breed, when they're born, you're still looking for the same thing. You're still looking for balance and a structurally correct individual. Anything that deviates from optimal, what can you do to help the foal achieve better balance and perpetuate correct balance. Working through early intervention with the farrier and nutrition. The breed doesn't matter. As far as evaluating conformation, conformation is not an opinion. I have done some public speaking and conformation seminars, and I say conformation is not an opinion. That's something I've always said: good conformation is good conformation, no matter the breed, no matter the discipline. MW: What excites you about the coming new year? JH: I'm excited to see Isotherm's first crop hit the ground, and of course, to see the start of our new stallions' second careers. Sombeyay, Sleepy Eyes Todd, and American Pastime have added a rejuvenated excitement to our stallion farm. Unbridled Express and Ready's Image have been perennial leading sires in Indiana, and we have so much potential with our other stallions, as well. It's always exciting to see the fruits of our labor when the first crops hit the ground. After breeding season, we'll turn our focus on our sales prep facility, where we have several weanlings that will be prepped for sales as yearlings in 2022. We'll start walking them through their development and hopefully prepare them for someone to take them to the track and make racehorses out of them. While the rewards are further out with a racehorse, ultimately, that's what you hope for and what you dream about. That's my eye on the prize. I want everyone to be happy with their breeding season and program results.