by Mitzi Oxford
When you meet a person, especially a young person, and you realize they have a true passion for something in life, you often wonder what fuels that passion. You may even ask yourself if they were born with that passion ingrained in them or if it was cultivated by time or circumstances. The truth is that sometimes passion is just contagious, and Caroline Stanley definitely caught the passion for horses and success from her family.
For almost 200 years, tobacco was the king of cash crops in Kentucky. Tobacco barns dotted the state’s landscape. They were large, wide sheds with sides made of alternating rows of boards or logs that had open slits, allowing air to circulate through the building. A series of beams in the barn's ceiling allowed the tobacco plants to hang upside down from sticks to dry and "cure" the tobacco.
In the 1970s and 80s, most of those barns in Central Kentucky area were built by Charles Parker. He also raised the crop himself to increase his income. Admittedly, he grew up with very little in his childhood and was taught to work hard to achieve his dreams.
Aside from tobacco, Kentucky is also famous for thoroughbreds and horse racing. When the tobacco industry began its great decline, Parker saw the handwriting on the barn wall and turned his building skills towards the constructing of equine barns and facilities.
“I remember my Dad telling me how hard it was to break into that world, but he persevered and grew a business based on integrity and hard work,” said Jennifer Stanley.
When she joined him in the family business it really wasn’t part of the plan, but they became the “dynamic duo” and neither wanted to work with anyone else.
The business has been a resounding success and has now extended into the commercial world, not through typical internet searches or social media, but through word of mouth and personal references. Jennifer, now serves as Vice President and CEO of Parker Incorporated, and her husband, Cheyenne does the excavation for the business.
“I would say that we have built and renovated over 400 equestrian facilities, many of which you can see as you drive through the Bluegrass on the Lexington roads that people consider ‘Horse Country’.”
Over the years Charles and his wife Pam, Caroline’s grandmother, also started breeding, raising and racing thoroughbred horses. They currently own about 55 horses of their own and have a large farm in Paris, Kentucky, and have gone on to win multiple Graded stakes races including a G1 at Keeneland Racecourse.
In this amazing journey, Pam and Caroline have bonded over their love of horses. They have a special relationship, and Grandma is always on hand to pinch hit for Mom and Dad when they can’t be everywhere. In many respects, life has come full circle for their family.
“Our daughter, Caroline, is very smart and precocious. She never played with dolls, but always wanted to be around horses and any other animal that she could. When she was four-years-old, I knew that she needed an outlet for her boundless energy. We bought her a pony, and she took riding lessons at five-years-old,” Jennifer explained.
It didn’t last long because soon she mastered the pony and was ready for a new challenge. She began to ride locally with Swinford Stables in Cynthiana, where the Stanley’s call home. It was never the intention for her to go to shows. However, a couple of months after she started riding, she went to her first show and was hooked!
Like her family, Caroline has built success; hers is in the show ring. It began with Let’s Get Rowdy in 2019, and that’s when things took off. In 2022, the pair won shows across the south and capped off their streak with a world championship in the Owner-Amateur Youth 6-11 All Day Pleasure class at the Celebration.
Five years later, the Stanley’s still have him. Obviously, he is a keeper. Jennifer explains, “When she won that year, we were all so shocked! However, it was truly a feeling that hard work had paid off. Caroline had ridden and practiced so hard in the summer months leading up to that 2022 Celebration.”
Next up was The Tiger Lily. They had always discussed that if a chance came available to buy Tiger Lily they would. Under the direction of Hannah Myatt at Myatt Manor, Tiger Lily was already a world champion and world grand champion prior to Caroline being in the saddle. The winning ways of the new team continued. Last year, Caroline won a world championship and reserve world grand championship in Owner-Amateur Youth Country Pleasure division at the Celebration. “They just clicked from the very beginning.”
Her streak has continued in 2024 with several blues this year including The Pennyroyal, National Trainers’ Show and, more recently, at Christmas In July. Caroline’s other mounts, Imagine Dragons and Let’s Get Rowdy, also with Myatt Manor, and I Like Gin, under the direction of Cottonwood Farms, have also been in the winner’s circle.
“Caroline will be showing all these horses at the Celebration this year. When you don’t see her dressed for the show ring, you will find her grooming for Myatt Manor and cheering from the sidelines for everyone at the barn.”
Winning runs in the family. Their son, Wyatt, has competed in golf since the age of seven, and is now 13 and he and his Dad race drag cars.
“Wyatt won a world championship last year at PDRA level. Both of our ‘littles’, as we call them, had an epic year last year being world champions.”
The Stanleys also have two older sons. Gavin, who is a machine maintenance engineer at Toyota Motor manufacturing, and Brody, who is an electrician.
“We have been blessed with the most amazing children! As a family, we have an epic life backed by hard work, being thankful and the hope that ‘if you do the next right thing’ whatever that is, then life is going to be exactly as it should be.”