Christon Jackson, a 24-year-old native of Lexington, was destined to become involved with horses, one breed or another. Jackson grew up surrounded by Arabians and Saddlebreds bred by his parents. From a young age, he was hands-on with horses and frequently in the saddle. The summer before entering the University of Kentucky, where he would graduate in 2023 with degrees in agricultural economics and business/managerial economics, he worked on a Kentucky breeding farm. That first brush working alongside Thoroughbreds hooked
Jackson and he continued with jobs in the industry while attending college.
Since February, Jackson has been in the full-time role of buyer liaison at the renowned Taylor Made Farm near Nicholasville, Ky. While continuing his work with Taylor Made this summer, the ambitious Jackson, who always hungers to learn more, is also participating in an externship in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as a hotwalker in the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
Jackson's answers are edited for clarity and space.
BloodHorse: What role did horses play in your early life?
Christon Jackson: I grew up showing Arabians and Saddlebreds and trail riding. My dad broke all the horses we had, so it was always a family affair. I was always surrounded by horses.
Coming out of high school, I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to do, and at that time, I actually was not involved with horses. My family sold everything going into high school, so it had been quite a few years since I had been actively around horses, and horses had been a big part of my life. I was looking for a way to get back into this.
The first time I worked with Thoroughbreds was the summer of 2019; I worked part-time for Tim and Nancy Hamlin of Wynnstay Farm.
BH: How did you take that experience to the next level?
CJ: (The job at Wynnstay) got me intrigued. But what really got me into it was when I worked the Fasig-Tipton Night of the Stars sale in 2020 for Taylor Made. I grew up with Mark Taylor's oldest son, and Mark approached me one day and asked if I'd be interested in working the sale. Of course I wanted to do that. I hadn't really any clue about the industry and the level which some of these horses are worth. It was eye-opening to see the phenomenal horses that sold at that sale, the high-dollar horses. That's what got me hooked.
From there, I spent some time on both the yearling and broodmare side at Taylor Made. Then in 2023, I went full-time in the office with Taylor Made. I went in underneath (sales recruiter) Steve Castagnola as the assistant sales recruiter. I was helping him track down and communicate with owners or trainers about potential November prospects that were going to be retiring from the track. That year was extremely beneficial for me. It taught me a lot about the industry, a lot about the bloodstock side that I just hadn't been exposed to yet. I learned a lot about what goes into dealing with the clients and the relationships that you need to build with owners, breeders, trainers, and how that can pay dividends at the end of the day.
Ultimately, Taylor Made wants to sell those horses for the most we can, getting the best value for the horse (while) pleasing the customer and the buyer by providing a quality product.
BH: From there, you spent some time outside of the United States. Tell me about that.
CJ: I decided I wanted to venture out and get some international experience. Dan Pride (COO of Godolphin USA) put me in touch with Henry Field of Newgate Stud Farm in Australia. I went over there for six months during the sales season, which was phenomenal. Henry has a great team. I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time in the office there as well, helping them do research and marketing for their mare consignments. I was able to pick up the little differences between how we had done things at Taylor Made and how Newgate and the Australian market worked.
After six months, I came back to Taylor Made, and started helping with the sales again. At the end of the (Keeneland) September sale, I went over to Europe and worked a month of yearling sales in Ireland and England for Baroda Stud. That was another wonderful experience to have; getting that (exposure) to the European market there. I currently have sales experience in the States, Australia, and Europe. After Europe, I came back and started this role as buyer liaison with Taylor Made.
BH: What does the buyer liaison do?
CJ: The idea behind it is giving Taylor Made a specific person to reach out to clients and follow sale grads and to keep that relationship going post-sale. A lot of what I do is to reach out to owners or breeders after Taylor Made grads have won and congratulate them while helping to potentially drum up further business down the line with those owners and previous buyers.
The next part of it is that going into sales season, I will be the liaison between our team at Taylor Made and new buyers at the sale. Anything post-sale moving forward will be headed up by me. If they need post-sale records, (if) they would like photographs, I will handle that interaction between the buyers and our team at Taylor Made. That will be for all sales, including digital sales. One thing we do for digital sales is I, along with our digital sales coordinator, send out a buyer information sheet with the horse's current location and a point of contact. We're just trying to find new and easier ways to smooth that transition between the previous owner and the new buyer while giving the new buyer the help they need to transition that horse onto their farm or into their trainer's stable after they have purchased that horse.
BH: What's it like working for such a well-regarded family operation?
CJ: I'm definitely very lucky to be with them and in the position I am. They do their best to treat everyone, not only employees in the office and on the farm, but clients as well, as if they're part of the family. That's what they always strive to do. (The Taylor family) really take the time and want to teach people. There's been a lot of successful individuals in this industry to come through Taylor Made. They have a very good track record for developing and teaching young individuals the basics of this industry and giving them the tools to succeed in their own careers.
