Ruleen Lilley is an active member of the management team at the multi-faceted Mac Lilley Farms of Dutton, ON.
She’s married to Jeff Lilley, son of the farm’s founders, Mac and Ann Lilley,
and is the mother of horsemen Alex and Gerald Lilley. Ruleen is also currently
on the Board of Standardbred Canada as a Breeder Director.
What is your background in the horse business and what role do you
play in your operation?
I started working at Mac LilleyFarms Ltd. in 1981. After paying me $125 per week for a few months, Jeff decided he would save all that money in wages and marry me. Poor man, he’s been paying dearly for that decision ever since.
I work in the office and the barns. Right now I’m on the vampire shift–11:00pm to 9:00am, watching the broodmares and assisting with foaling.
Can you describe your breeding farm for us and how the business
operates?
Mac Lilley Farms Ltd. was established in the 1970s, around the same time that the Ontario Sires Stakes began. Zip Tar was their first stallion. Since that time they have stood over 42 stallions, and bred almost 12,000 mares.
We collect stallions, breed mares, foal them out, and raise the offspring. We also train on our farm track and race them. I think our diversification has helped us survive many of the ups and downs of the business.
Mac and Ann Lilley are both still active in the business. They gave up their lease on the Hawkinsville Training Centre in Georgia after 10 winters of running things down there.
Mac was seriously injured in a training accident at the Centre a few years ago and it took him almost a year to regain his strength. But now he’s back at full force and will probably continue to outwork the young’uns around here for a long time yet. He enjoys work more than any man I know.
What advice could you give someone just starting out in the Standardbred breeding business today?
Standardbred horse racing and breeding is one of the best careers you could ever consider. Your whole family can participate in one aspect or another of the industry.
Who do you think you have learned the most from about the breeding business?
I have definitely learned the most from my husband, Jeff. He has had a passion for this business since he was just a boy. He quit school at fifteen under protest from his teachers who said he would be on welfare if he gave up his schooling. He now manages the entire Mac Lilley Farms Ltd. operation.
Jeff collects the eight stallions we have standing this year. If he has an owner call to ask about one of the 250 mares on the farm, he can relate their breeding progress by memory.
Jeff’s motto has always been,”Watch people who are successful and try to learn from them.” His quiet and unending support has encouraged me to try many jobs I might not have considered before.
What do you look for in a breeding farm employee?
I look for a smile, and then the fortitude to go out and do any of the tasks that a breeding farm presents. I look for a quiet and patient individual; the rough and loud don’t mix well with horses.
Some people are good at fixing machinery; others are great at computer skills. The folks here on the farm are very good at reading horses. Horses have a language of their very own. You have to look at their eyes, interpret their body language, and watch for changes in appetite and mood to understand how they feel.
What do you enjoy most about the business?
I enjoy being able to work with my husband and children every day. We have a granddaughter (Coral) and her Mom and Dad, Melissa and Alex, bring her to the farm every day. She’s two and can’t wait to see the new “baby ‘orses.” Maybe she will be the fourth generation to fall in love with this business.
What do you think it takes to succeed in the breeding business today?
Optimism!
But folks in the breeding business are eternal optimists. We are all looking down the road for the perfect cross to produce the perfect foal to become the next world champion race horse.
How do you monitor mares about to foal?
At one time we considered using Foal Alerts and cameras, but with 80 mares foaling, it is easier to have someone stroll through the barns every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day. We have found it’s the best way to monitor for any changes in the mares and spot problems before they become catastrophic.
What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead?
I ‘m working on starting a career college to teach people how to work with horses. We’ve built a classroom on site here, completed our textbooks and are hoping to open for business in 2012.
The provincial Ministry of Colleges and Universities has approved the name, “The Ontario Standardbred Horse College,” and we will offer 10 week courses on grooming, and stallion and broodmare management.
About 80% of the teaching will be practical– working hands-on in the barn. We hope to start with class sizes of 6 to 10 people so each student can get a chance to work with a horse of their own. Most of our instructors have 10-20 years of horse experience.
With so many auto industries closing in our area, we think there could be a number of people in their 40’s and 50’s who have always wanted to try something like this.
But who knows? Maybe most students will be 18 to 25- year- old girls who love horses. A good mix of students would be interesting.
We also see potential for eventually expanding into other areas of the standardbred business such as blacksmithing and standardbred promotion classes.
