Have you
ever taken the time to go to the Hanover Shoe Farms? Maybe it could be an
activity for you to do with your family this summer. The Hanover Shoe Farms is the most popular
and recognized breeding nursery in North America. There have been many articles and books
written on the farm. A good book that
was written in celebration of the Hanover Shoe Farms’ 75th
anniversary in 2001 titled, “The Quest for Excellence”, talks about the farm’s history.
This popular
farm’s story starts in 1899, with a floundering shoe business. Harper D. Sheppard and Clinton N. Myers had
bought the shoe business and named it the “Hanover Shoe”. In 1901 the Hanover
Shoe opened their first store in downtown York.
Throughout the week, Sheppard and Myers worked in their manufacturing
building in Hanover. On Saturday afternoons they had to travel York to work in
their store for the rest of the day. They
found “horse power” to be their preferred means of transportation to travel back
and forth between the two towns. Thus
started their first stable of horses, which led to racing those horses at fairs
and other events.
Lawrence B.
Sheppard joined his father and Myers in the shoe business while finishing up
school. He soon developed an interest
in the horse stable and became very involved with its operation. A story of particular interest recounts when
Harper Sheppard and Clinton Myers went off on a business trip and left the
stable in Lawrence’s care. When they
came back Lawrence had sold all the horses in the stable. However, all wasn’t lost;
Lawrence talked the men into getting a better stock of horses. In 1926, Lawrence Sheppard purchased an entire
herd from A. B. Coxe who at the time was a very popular breeder. He bought the herd for $150,000. These horses would become the foundation of
the Hanover Shoe Farms. Two of the
horses from the Coxe herd was a stallion named Dillion Axworthy who was known
for his speed, and a mare out of 27 named Miss Bertha Dillion. Most of Hanover Shoe Farms’ horses today and
the champions you see in harness racing from the Hanover Shoe Farms all have
bloodlines that tie back to the horses that were bought from the Coxe
herd.
In 1964,
Lawrence Sheppard had to step down from managing the Hanover Shoe Farms and let
John Simpson takeover because Lawrence’s health was failing. On February 26,
1968, Lawrence Sheppard died at Hanover-General Hospital of congestive heart
failure and emphysema. He was 70 years old.
Today, the
Hanover Shoe Farms is still well-known for producing champion trotters but more
recently has made headlines for helping others.
An April article published in the Evening Sun talks about the Hanover
Shoe Farms taking in 23 horses that were seized from a Mount Airy, Maryland
farm. The owner had called the Hanover
Shoe Farms, because she thought her horses had value, but they did not…at
all. The horses were covered in dirt,
their ribs were showing, their feet were not trimmed, and it seemed like they
had never been out of their stalls. Hanover Shoe Farms doesn’t normally get
involved in rescues, but they didn’t want to turn their backs on these horses
that needed help. So, they brought all
the horses back to Hanover Shoe Farms and gave them veterinary care and
food. The Hanover Shoe Farms are trying
to give these horses a new home, but nothing has come up yet. However,
they are not giving up hope on these horses.
So, next
time your parents are trying to find something to do with the whole family,
take a trip to the Hanover Shoe Farms to see the mares and foals. You’ll get to see some beautiful animals, and
just maybe, one of them will grow up to be the next Triple Crown winner! |
Picture was found on Google at this link: http://www.esc.rutgers.edu/VIPGala/Hanover_blueorange_logo_webpage.jpg
