Hilltop Farm, today one of America’s most respected breeding and training centers, had its genesis in the special effect horses can have in the lives of children. The idea of a riding center began with the relationship between owner Jane MacElree and riding instructor Jill Hassler, who played a key role in the life of Jane’s youngest daughter, Ann Hill, one of the early survivors of spina bifida, and to this day an enthusiastic and accomplished horsewoman.
The relationship between the Hill/MacElree and Hassler families grew as Jane supported the riding career of Jill’s son, Scott, and purchased the stallions Nurejev and Cabaret, which Scott Hassler had been competing. Cabaret became the one of the foundation sires of the Hilltop Farm breeding program, and was joined over time by the stallions that are featured on this website, among them successful international competitors and successful producers of international competitors. In addition to our own stallions, Hilltop stands a small number of select client owned stallions, offering stallion owners marketing, breeding, training and competition services in a comprehensive package, and offering breeders a wide selection of elite sport horse types and bloodlines, coupled with the expertise to assist in selecting the optimal match for each mare.
Breeding at Hilltop Farm is a “state of the art” operation. The home office of Select Breeders Service, Inc., respected worldwide as the very best of equine semen collection and processing laboratories, is located on site at Hilltop Farm, making the expertise of SBS owner Paul Loomis and his staff readily available to Hilltop, and to the owners of other stallions from a wide variety of breeds and disciplines that come to the SBS facilities at Hilltop for semen collection, evaluation, processing and storage.
Formerly a church related camp, the current farm was purchased in 1990, and various existing buildings were remodeled into our brood mare barn, the current SBS breeding center and several units of lodging both for the staff who live on the farm and for short term use by those staying at the farm for lessons, to try sale horses, and to attend the breed inspections and educational programs that take place at Hilltop. The main stable and arena complex, familiar to many from our advertising and the Hilltop logo, was designed by Jane MacElree and the Hasslers, and built by Risk Construction. Sixteen years later it remains one of the finest equine facilities in America.
While Hilltop stallions are primarily bred to other owners’ mares, Jane loves having foals around as much as anyone, and Hilltop keeps a small, elite broodmare herd to produce future riding horses for the farm and for sale, as well as providing interested breeders the opportunity for an “in person” look at what our stallions produce. We look forward with particular excitement to the first foals of two FEI level mares recently retired from competition to the broodmare herd.
Young horses grow up at Hilltop with playmates of the same age on large pastures, receiving regular care and handling while having the freedom to grow up in social groups with plenty of room to romp and develop. Joining Hilltop’s young horses in our fields are others whose owners may not have adequate space or appropriate company for their young horses. The young horses are socialized both by the other horses and by Hilltop’s experienced handlers, and each year several of the young horses gain valuable experience traveling to breed shows, with the culmination of the season at the prestigious Dressage at Devon in nearby Pennsylvania.
Life under saddle begins at age three for the young horses at Hilltop, where horses in training range from newly backed horses that have grown up in our fields to head trainer Christopher Hickey’s double Pan Am Gold medal partner Regent, owned by client Brenna Kucinski, and now steadily working toward his Grand Prix debut. Hilltop’s talented training staff includes Grand Prix Dressage veteran Chris Hickey and Michael Bragdell, well known over the past several years for his handling at breed shows and his work with young horses. Now also competing more mature performance horses, Michael earned his USDF Bronze medal this year in just four shows, riding three different horses. They have recently been joined by graduate Young Rider Jocelyn Wiese, now competing her own Lamborghini at Prix St. Georges, as well as several Hilltop and client horses at lower levels. Dressage training at Hilltop is supplemented with regular hacks through the beautiful landscape of the farm and occasional jumping sessions, either under saddle or free jumping through the chute, to keep horses fresh and happy in their work. In addition to the resident horses in training at Hilltop, riding students regularly trailer horses in for single lessons or multi-day sessions, some traveling from as far away as Maine and the Carolinas.
It’s been a magical year for Hilltop, with Chris and Brenna Kucinski’s Regent winning both the team and individual gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games, and then Chris and Hilltop’s Contucci son, Cabana Boy, bred by Doug and Shannon Langer, representing the United States at the World Young Horse Breeding Championships, becoming only the second U.S. bred horse ever to participate in that prestigious competition, and making Hilltop Farm, Inc. the first U.S. owner to have sent four different horses to those championships. Chris and Cabana Boy went on to win the Markel/USEF Five Year Old Championship, as well as North American Breeders Futurity for Five Year Olds at Dressage at Devon and USDF Horse of the Year honors for the Young Horse Five Year Old division. 2007 also saw the return of Royal Prince to the competition arena after a season at home, and the importation of Bugatti Hilltop from Germany, after several years of successful competition with Michael Klimke, making him available to U.S. breeders for breeding with cooled semen for the 2008 season. We look forward to both of these talented stallions continuing their competitive careers, and watch with great expectation as their offspring begin to enter the performance arenas in larger numbers. It’s been a good year for the owners of Hilltop stallion offspring as well, with a trip to the World Pairs Driving Championship and the 2007 U.S. Pairs Championship for Larry Poulin with Natasha Grigg’s pair of Riverman sons, Cody and Rivage among the many accomplishments.
Every member of the team at Hilltop Farm continues on our mission to provide the very best in breeding, training, educational programs, client service and support to promote well informed breeding and correct training. We believe our horses say more about the results than we ever could.
Photo: Erik Chaves
Photo: Sue Stickle
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