Jay
Heater/Idaho State
Journal - The Hadley's
(left to right) Susan,
Sherman, Garrett and
Jordan, continue to
train horses the way
they have for years.A year after Dreaming's big win
May 17, 2011 - At the moment, it seemed like a life-changing event.
The families of Sherman Hadley and Mark Brown all clung together ... mostly smiling, some actually weeping ... after the long shot Dreaming of Kisses won the $100,000 Bitterroot Futurity last May at Pocatello Downs.
But when all was said and done, the Hadleys and Browns really didn’t want their lives to change. They loved horse racing before lightning struck that day at the local track, and they will love it long after Dreaming of Kisses’ victory becomes a distant memory.
Take Jordan Hadley, for instance, the 19-year-old, rookie trainer who sent Dreaming of Kisses out to win that day. Hadley has increased the size of his barn, just slightly to 10 horses, but he has veered off course a bit to follow his dream of becoming a jockey.
Not exactly the course you might expect from a trainer who just won Idaho’s most prestigious race as a trainer.
His mother, Susan, was asked if Jordan has changed much after Dreaming Of Kisses’ victory. “He tries harder,” she said after a pause to consider the question. “It makes him open his eyes. He sees what is possible.”
If Jordan needs a bigger hat these days, it certainly isn’t visible. He is willing to put in the work, “Just to be a part of it.”
Being part of it means staying in the family business that his father, Sherman, carved into the Idaho horse racing landscape. Sherman was injured in a hay bale accident four years ago and he isn’t able to do the hands-on labor necessary to train these days. However, ever present at the barn, Sherman got a hug on Saturday from his wife of 21 years, who then noted that she has learned every trick of the trade from the master.
One trick Sherman has passed along to his wife, and his sons, Jordan and 15-year-old Garrett, is that one race doesn’t make a career. Horse racing isn’t the lottery. It is day after day of work to produce quality in their lifestyle of choice.
On Saturday at Pocatello Downs, Jordan sent out 2-year-old maiden Maniac Zac to a victory in his first race while the first-timer Hardtac was seventh later in the day in another 2-year-old maiden race. Racing, which runs every Saturday and Sunday in May at Pocatello Downs (along with Memorial Day), still has its ups and downs.
