Josephine Abercrombie, 95, died peacefully at her home on Pin Oak Stud in Woodford County, Ky., Jan. 5, just 10 days shy of her birthday. Born Jan. 15, 1926, in Kingston, Jamaica, Abercrombie greeted every new day of her extraordinary life with the quest to see what came next. The only child of Texas oilman and Cameron Iron Works founder J. S. "Mr. Jim" Abercrombie and Lillie Frank Abercrombie, she spent her childhood in Texas.
At the age of 7, Abercrombie's love of horses led her to begin showing American Saddle Horses. This was the start of an illustrious career where, as a young woman, Abercrombie became a record holder at Madison Square Garden for the most blue ribbons won in a single season, winning 17 out of 20 classes. She was also one of only a handful of amateurs to show a World Grand Champion. Her passion for the sport, combined with her strong desire to support civic projects, led Abercrombie to join her father in creating the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show in the mid-1940s. This highly successful Houston fixture on the national circuit dedicated its support to Texas Children's Hospital, which Mr. Abercrombie had played a major role in establishing.
Abercrombie's success on the horse show circuit eventually led her to major competitions in Louisville and Lexington, where she fell in love with the land and being surrounded by horses. In a short time, she began to turn her energies toward Thoroughbred breeding and racing. In the 1950s, she and her father purchased a nearly 4,000-acre farm, which they named Pin Oak, in Woodford County, and established a Thoroughbred breeding and farming operation. Abercrombie quickly developed a deep respect and passion for the land and all it nourishes.
After 35 years on the original Pin Oak, where they grew tobacco and bred Simmental and white-faced Hereford cattle in addition to the Thoroughbred operation, Abercrombie decided to move to a smaller 750-acre farm just down the road to focus solely on Thoroughbreds. The new farm, named Pin Oak Stud, became a labor of love for Abercrombie. She relished the daily interactions on the farm and enjoyed the tranquility and mix of wildlife, along with the constant companionship of her beloved Weimaraner dogs. A hands-on owner, Abercrombie was present at many of the births of her Thoroughbreds and adored watching the young foals develop. She was active in the early schooling of young racehorses and eager to see her blue and gray racing silks, the school colors of her alma mater Rice University, in competition on the racetrack. Abercrombie always wanted what was best for her horses, her farm, and for all the people who cared for and were involved in their well-being.
To date, nearly 70 stakes winners have been bred or raced by Pin Oak Stud, including classic winners in America and England and grade/group 1 stakes winners in three countries. A source of great pride for Abercrombie was racing some special homebreds, such as Eclipse champion females like Laugh and Be Merry and Confessional as well as top colts who went on to become successful stallions, including Peaks and Valleys and Broken Vow. For nearly 15 years, Pin Oak Stud sponsored the graded Valley View Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland, which she won twice with homebreds. Recognized as the National Breeder of the Year, Abercrombie also has been honored by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders with the Hardboot Award as well as the William T. Young Humanitarian Award. Additionally, she was inducted into the Texas Horseracing Hall of Fame. In 2018, Abercrombie was the Honor Guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America in appreciation for her "enduring sportsmanship, acumen, and vision, and her devotion to the loftiest principles established by earlier leaders on the Turf."
Asked to share her most satisfying accomplishment as an owner/breeder in the 2018 winter issue of Keeneland Magazine, Abercrombie listed earning TOBA's national breeder of the year award in 1995.
"I felt like the world was my own. It was just wonderful," she said.
Graham Motion trained for Abercrombie, who he called "Mrs. A," for more than 20 years, and credits her in advancing his career by sending him Confessional, Broken Vow, and Trajectory to train. He said she approached her racing stable with a no-nonsense attitude.
"She didn't pull any punches," Motion recalled. "You knew where you stood with her—let's put it that way. She wasn't afraid to say if she agreed with something or not. But very fair and extremely loyal."
During the two years Confessional was with Motion, she was an outstanding sprinter who won nine of 10 starts, only losing when Motion ran her in a one-mile stakes race at Kentucky Downs.
"I suspect she had a few choice words for me afterwards," he quipped about the competitive Abercrombie.
Mike Stidham, who trained graded stakes winners Whimsy and Synchrony for Abercrombie's Pin Oak Stable, noted that the late owner "was just an amazing woman that accomplished so many things in so many areas."
He said that Abercrombie and Clifford Barry, Pin Oak's manager who has been stationed there more than three decades, didn't stumble across their success by luck. He remembered having "a few starts and stops" during their owner/trainer relationship, but he always understood her rationale.
"It wasn't like you were on board and stayed on board," he remembered. "She was a businesswoman, and you had to make things happen, and if you didn't, you weren't necessarily invited back for the next group.
"When I went to the farm to look at yearlings, it was her and Clifford and they ran it like a military camp. You could eat off the floors when you walked in the barn. That was the way she ran her operation. And with Clifford Barry, she made everything happen the way she wanted it and it was second to none."
With a strong sense of responsibility to future generations, Abercrombie was passionate about conservation and education. She provided generous philanthropic support of civic, educational, and Thoroughbred industry projects. In addition to her generosity to her alma mater Rice University, it was the founding of The Lexington School that was perhaps her crowning achievement. There are legions of grateful parents, alumni, and students whose lives were all enriched by the educational journey sparked by this institution.
Late in her life, Abercrombie revisited her lifelong love of ballroom dancing and spent many years training for and competing in ballroom dancing competitions all over the country. Her zest for life and quest for new challenges never faded.
Abercrombie is survived by two sons, George Anderson Robinson IV and Jamie Abercrombie Robinson, as well as grandchildren George Anderson Robinson V and Blair Abercrombie Robinson.
Funeral arrangements are private. For those wishing to honor Abercrombie's memory, contributions can be made to The Lexington School, attention Una McCarthy, 1050 Lane Allen Road, Lexington, KY 40504; Woodford Humane Society, attention Katie Hoffman, P.O. Box 44, Versailles, KY; or the Thoroughbred Charities of America, attention Erin Crady, P.O. Box 910668, Lexington, KY 40591.
