Masterson Farms A stunning Quarter Horse facility By Nancy Brannon Nestled in the slightly rolling hills of Fayette County north of Somerville, TN is a stunning Quarter Horse breeding and show horse facility: Masterson Farms, LLC. Owned by Ken and Marilyn Masterson, the Farm hosts some of the finest western pleasure show horses around, and three handsome stallions. The Mastersons started their breeding program in 1993 with Zippos Sheik, and then expanded in 2006 when they purchased RL Best of Sudden. A third stallion Last Detail, owned by the Whitaker family, now resides at Masterson Farms, LLC. “Our objective is to establish a leading breeding, sales, and training operation for western pleasure horses,” Ken explained. The 350-acre farm with multiple barns provides the finest facilities to house horses, and their two stallions certainly fill the bill. “And we can’t forget Last Detail, NSBA Hall Of Fame Stallion and a leading hunt seat sire,” Ken added. “He is a World champion and has raised multiple World and Congress champions.” Ken and Marilyn have been interested in Quarter Horses for years and they always wanted to have this type of operation. Ken worked for many years at Fed Ex, where he learned, “An organization is no better than the people involved in it.” Ken had much praise for the staff at Masterson Farms. “Marilyn and I are very fortunate to be working with the people we have at the farm. We appreciate our customers and want to provide the best experience we can for breeders and purchasers.” Ken grew up in southeast Missouri, where his parents raised Saddlebreds, but moved to Memphis to practice law and then later work for FedEx. Marilyn is a native of Lexington, KY, where her father and brother are Saddlebred breeders and trainers. The Mastersons were involved in the horse business as a side interest for several years, but when Ken retired from FedEx in 2005, they got involved full time and started construction of their facility. By 2007 the Mastersons were ready to open their new facility. Breeding Manager Janne' Stewart is the key person in the breeding operation. She collects the stallions, processes the semen in the lab, supervises the foaling, and imprints all the foals. All the mares have a foaling alert, so she comes to the barn when each mare is foaling. From January to July she is very busy with foaling mares. She is very involved with handling the foals from the day they are born: she rubs them down, runs the clippers over them, makes sure she can handle all their feet. Because of her work, the weanlings are very friendly to humans, making catching them and haltering them easy. Trainer Shannon Curl is responsible for breaking and training all the horses, with assistance from Brian Rastall and Caitlin Rashid. Shannon and Brian coordinate their work with all the horses, from yearlings to adult show horses. “We train all the show horses n in walk, jog, lope n to go around the arena on a loose rein and look like they’re doing it all on their own. They look like, and are, a pleasure to ride,” Shannon said. “We want a balanced, solid two-beat jog, a three-beat lope with good cadence.” To achieve this, correct conformation is important, “so the horse will go in the frame naturally,” she said. An equally important attribute is willingness and a good mind. Shannon, Brian and Caitlin have all worked elsewhere with horses of other bloodlines. “But the great thing about RL Best of Sudden is that he produces horses with good minds that are trainable and very willing. He produces very quiet, good natured horses,” Shannon said. “We make sure the horses know their cues and have solid basics. We want the horses to be good enough for anyone to be able ride them. Most important to this is the starting point n the ground work. You can make or break a horse in the first thirty days n make them scared and non-trusting or very trusting and willing.” This is why Janne’s work is so important to the horses later in life. Only the stallions standing at Masterson Farms are bred there. That assures that the horses are clean and disease free. They do, however, allow outside mares to be bred there. Under Janne’s supervision, the farm provides full breeding services, embryo flushes; full foaling services. Mares are generally brought there one month before foaling. Dr. Colin Anderson, whose main interest is equine reproduction, provides the Farm’s veterinary services. Buffy Porch is the Business Manager and keeps the operation running smoothly. She handles public relations, tours, and all the details of running the business. She also gets to spend some time in the barn with the horses, especially petting all the cute weanlings. For more information on Masterson Farms, visit http://www.mastersonfarms.com/.