Lexington, KY - The Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club (TFMC) will present its 2011 Farm Manager of the Year Award on Sept. 30 to Sandy Hatfield, who is only the fourth woman to receive this prestigious award.
As stallion manager at Three Chimneys Farm, Hatfield knows Big Brown, Point Given, the formidable Dynaformer (17 hands tall), and all of the Thoroughbred stallions standing there well. It's part of her job to know as much as possible about these horses. That's why she likes her work.
"You get to know their personalities," Hatfield said. "Yearlings are leaving, and broodmares, there are so many of them. But with stallions, you get to know each horse as an individual."
Hatfield's favorite of all the stallions she has cared for is Wild Again, who stood at Three Chimneys.
"I spent a lot of time with him," she said.
Aging, retired stallions are respected for their past contributions to the industry and the financial support their stud fees bring to their farms. These pensioners are cherished and well cared for until the end of their days. Often they can't be turned loose in a paddock because they might injure themselves.
Recalling other special stallions, Hatfield said, "Slew o' Gold - I spent a lot of time on the other end of a shank lead with him, hand grazing. And Quiet American at Gainsborough. You get to know horses in that situation, in and out."
Hatfield is busiest during breeding season, when she supervises about 10 employees. Three Chimneys has three scheduled breeding sessions: at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., every day of the week.
"I'm here at 6:30 in the morning and I leave at 7:30 at night, seven days a week for five months (during breeding season)," Hatfield said. And all year, she has her phone with her 24 hours a day and seven days a week, she said.
Hatfield's husband, Greg Magruder, understands the long hours that her job requires. He made a picnic table and brought it to Three Chimneys so the two of them could enjoy picnics during Hatfield's meal breaks.
Hatfield grew up riding and caring for Quarter Horses on her father's ranch in Oklahoma. After studying at Oklahoma State University, she transferred to Murray State University and earned a degree in animal science. Then she started her career in the horse industry, working at various farms, including Crescent, North Ridge, Overbrook (then called W.T. Young Farm), Calumet and Gainsborough. She managed yearlings, broodmares and foals, but she was always drawn to stallions. She was often called on to lend a hand with various stallions, and so she had the chance to learn about them.
When Dan Elliott offered her the job of stallion manager at North Ridge, Hatfield hesitated, even though she wanted to accept, because a woman in that position "was certainly not the norm."
Elliott told her that he wanted the best person for the job, and it didn't matter whether the person was a man or a woman. Hatfield took the job. Later she served as Gainsborough's stallion manager for eight years.
In early 2000, Hatfield moved to her current job as stallion manager at Three Chimneys, then run by Robert Clay. When Clay's son, Case, succeeded his father as president of Three Chimneys, he said he was glad to have such an experienced stallion manager as he took over operation of the farm.
"I call her the voice of reason," Case Clay said of Hatfield. "She's an integral part of management at Three Chimneys. I lean on her a lot for day-to-day management. We rely on her. I don't know what we'd do without her."
Hatfield served as president of the TFMC in 2000, so she knows about the selection process for the award.
"It takes a broad sweep. It's horsemanship and it's what you do in the community," she explained.
Hatfield has strong credentials for the community service aspect of the award, too. She serves on the board of the Life Adventure Center in Versailles, Ky. Through wilderness programs, environmental education, an equine leadership class and other programs, the organization helps both children and adults gain insight, confidence and new skills.
Though she and her husband have no children, Hatfield was attracted to the center because its programs "help young people follow the right path."
Hatfield has been involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass for a number of years. She also serves as secretary for the Kentucky Equine Management Internship Program, which is a gateway into the horse industry for young adults.
For Hatfield, winning this award from her peers is "overwhelming," she said. Other females in her field who have won the award include Libby Welker (co-winner with her husband) and Jeanne Cox-Owens, and Calumet's inimitable Margaret Glass, who won the first time the award was presented.
"You look at that list of (previous winners') names of people I respect and admire ... It's humbling. It's definitely a milestone," she said.