Matt Dorman | Photo Keeneland
Via Jessica Martini
Matt Dorman, who started a boutique broodmare band last year, has officially got a new home for his Cloves after purchasing Susan Hudon’s 216-acre Sierra Ranch in Lexington.
“It was a turnkey operation,” Dorman said of the property on Mt Horeb Pike. “I have a lot of respect for what Ed Hudon and his wife did there. Ed unfortunately passed away a few years ago, but they have built an extraordinary horse farm. It’s horse ready and it’s human ready – this is hard to find. But it fits perfectly with what we’re doing because it’s really geared towards mother hens and chicks. So we got lucky.”
Dorman first made headlines with a livestock stock sale last year, buying a few brood chickens at a premium, and his original plan was to start a band in his hometown of Maryland.
“I made the decision, with investments in nurseries, that maybe it was better to have a farm in Kentucky than try to build a farm in Maryland,” Dorman said of the change in plans. . “With COVID and supply issues, the cost is really hard and we can’t get a guarantee period. So that forced me to look at different options. We reviewed several different properties in Kentucky. There are really nice farms and obviously some good land. And then everything combined with the property sale here in Maryland allowed me to look at another level. Sierra has been on the market for a while, so that only falls in place as far as size. “
Ed and Sharon Hudon founded Sierra Ranch in 2006 and Sharon took over the burgeoning business following her husband’s death in 2018. Sierra had its first seven-figure sale when Larry Best bought one. American pharoah colt for $1.4 million at a September 2018 sale in Keeneland, and the ranch is also the birthplace of 1st place winner Nadal (Blame).
“It’s bittersweet, but perhaps this is the right time for everyone in the field,” longtime Sierra ranch manager Mike Callanan said of the deal. “Anyway we’ve been working towards this for the last couple of years, after Ed’s death, just reducing the number of horses we have and the horses we’re training.”
Sierra Ranch sold four mares at its November sale in Keeneland last month and will offer six mares and two macaques at its January sale in Keeneland next month.
“That will be the last Sierra Farm sale,” Callanan said of the January shipment.
The remaining horses of Sierra Ranch will move to Greenfield Ranch.
“There are 14 weaners to be sold next year. And I think there are 12 mares left,” said Callanan. “My father-in-law is Bruce Gibbs, who owns the Greenfield farm, and the plan is that everything else will get there and then we will work out the next phase.”
Dorman expects his cubs to begin moving to the new facility next spring.
“Scott [Mallory] and I got together and decided we were going to get through most of our time and then move on,” Dorman said. “So we probably won’t be there until March or April. We just wanted to keep the mares where they were and keep them happy and not having to deal with the challenges of foraging season and moving to a new facility at the same time. Once they become ponies, we will start moving them there. “
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