Goebel Keeps Family Love of Horses Alive and Well

For Jon Goebel, the sport runs in his veins. His late father, Al, was the president of the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association. His sister Claudia sits on the board of the Minnesota Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association. "Growing up you never know what you want to do, but you see what they've done and you hope someday that you can grow up to fill their shoes and proceed from there," Jon said of carrying on his father's legacy. Along with his children, Jon Goebel runs Almar Farm in Paris, Ky. And after years of working with consignors at sales, the Goebels have decided to take on that role themselves. They've decided to consign their own horses at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Goebel spoke with BloodHorse MarketWatch about the decision to run their own consignment, what he likes about the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, and his love of the industry. MarketWatch: How is the sale going for Almar Farm so far? Jon Goebel: Good. We had two sell today (Sept. 17, a McKinzie filly for $45,000 and a Maclean's Music filly for $125,000) and we have the final two selling Tuesday (the Dialed In filly, Hip 2466 and an Instagrand filly, Hip 2635). Overall I'm pleased with how we got them sold. Now I want to finish out strong Tuesday. MW: Is this the first sale where you're consigning on your own? JG: Yes, it is. We sold for a number of years with other consignors, and this year went out and did it ourselves. We sold with good consignors but love showing our horses and just feel we can do a good job, too. MW: What inspired you to change the way you are approaching sales? JG: I think from a number standpoint, we figured we could sell our own. Instead, with consignors who have to emphasize 20 or 30 different owners, I can just emphasize my own horses. I felt we had a really strong bunch of horses here, so it was a good time to try it this year. MW: What were your expectations coming in? JG: I guess from an expectations standpoint, like I said we had a strong group (of horses) so they sold themselves and I would definitely like to get them all sold and turn a profit. MW: What all does Almar farm encompass on the Paris, Ky. farm? JG: The farm itself is a 75-acre farm and we have 15 year-round mares and in springtime, we'll get more in for breeding and transition over to sales, where we typically prep anywhere from five to 10 a year. We aren't a big operation, but trying to have as high quality as we can. MW: The industry is one that your family has been a part of for multiple generations. What is it about the industry that you love so much? JG: The whole process, to realize what a long process it is and how rewarding it can be by the time you get to either the sales or race track. Even with as hard as it can be sometimes working with horses, it's maybe easier than working with people. Overall the entire rewarding aspect of seeing horses develop and being able to share the involvement in the final product they become. MW: Getting back to consigning for yourself this year. You've got two down and two to go. How would you describe the experience so far? JG: I think it's very rewarding, and you live with your successes, and you also live with the failures, but they're your own and you're able to control that aspect of it. Hopefully, it will be a successful result, but either way, they were created by yourself. It's important that way. MW: What do you like about this sale in particular? JG: I think it's the high energy. You get to compare your work against everybody else's and give yourself a rating (of sorts) to see how you compare, almost like a competition. MW: And even though the sale is not over, how would you rate yourself? JG: Well, right now, incomplete, a work in progress. We'll see when the sale is over if the grade is there. MW: What haven't we touched on that you think would be really important for our readers to know about you and your operations? JG: You can succeed at any level, you just have to choose where you fit in and go from there. Whether it's a large or small operation, somebody just getting started, or somebody that's been in it for a while. With perseverance and hard work, hopefully, that pays off, and you can succeed.