Page 121 - February 2016 Speedhorse

El Duero (shown winning the 2012 West Texas Futurity at Sunland Park), by Haddad mare La Jolla Rocket, was the 2012 Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding
with $45,890 in her one season on the track. She won the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Futurity-G2 and since has produced the graded stakes winner and AQHA Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding El Duero,
by Oak Tree Special, and Emilianos Wagon - named for Jorge and Kitty’s younger son - by PYC Paint Your Wagon. “I bought La Jolla Rocket in Mexico and brought her back here,” Jorge says.
He also has a full sister to FDD Dynasty and a full sister to Jess Louisiana Blue. “I like to race what I breed and always try to keep one or two to race myself,” he says.
A HARDWORKING FAMILY
Just as he branched out from owning to training to breeding racehorses, Jorge has expanded his Texas operations to include running tack shops and renting hot walkers to horsemen at various tracks. “My father is always trying to find something new to do, to stay one step ahead in whatever he does and be more involved in every aspect of the horse industry that we can,” says Jorge Jr. He describes his dad as hard-working and dedicated to everything he does. “He’s always telling me to work hard, too,” he adds.
Although Jorge runs multiple business operations in addition to Haddad Ranch, he says he’s very, very hands-on with his horses. “I saddle my own horses when I train,” he says, “and I deliver the mares and watch them all night long. I love to be involved with all my horses. I love the business and I’m here with my horses all the time.
“There’s a saying in Mexico,” Jorge adds. “Essentially, ‘When you keep your eye on a horse, the horse gets fat.’ You have to be there all the time to succeed. I’ve been really blessed. I could be living in Mexico City, but I like this life better. I like the horses and the ranch and to be here in the country.”
Jorge has passed his love for the ranch and his work ethic on to his kids, who also help out on the ranch. “Everything they do with the horse industry is a family affair,” says TQHA Race Director Rob Werstler. “At the sale, the kids are helping; at races the family is cheering the horses on; and they’re in the winner’s circle when they win. Jorge is a great dad and a great family man.”
When the family travels to races, Jorge says, they talk all the time about what they’re going
to breed. And when Jorge Jr. isn’t studying for his finance and management classes at Trinity University in San Antonio, he spends weekends at the ranch helping out.
CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME
One of Jorge’s biggest challenges was leaving
his extended family in Mexico and establishing
the Haddad Ranch. “He came here and invested everything into the horse business and made it work,” says veterinarian, racing partner and friend Tommy Hays, DVM, of Elgin Veterinary Hospital in Elgin, Texas. “He came to the U.S., set up a farm, got everybody to know who he is, and developed a name for himself. He’s bought really good horses - top mares and stallions. He wants his family to be part of it and proud of it, and they are. Everybody’s on board and pulling in the same direction.”
And despite the state’s racing troubles, Jorge has stayed true to Texas. “Lots of Quarter Horses have left the state but he’s stayed and has been a valiant supporter of Texas racing,” says Martha.
Toward that end, Jorge has made time to serve on various boards and committees. “Being bilingual, he can bridge the gap between Hispanics and non- Hispanics in our industry, and that has helped him and us immensely,” says Rob. “He treats everyone with respect. He’s smart and soft-spoken, which
are traits people appreciate. But he has no problem speaking his mind in a professional way.”
“He loves his family and his horses,” adds Martha. “He’s an exceptional breeder and takes tremendous pride in the horses he breeds.”
And so you could say that Jorge Haddad has achieved - and expanded upon - his dream.
Jorge and Kitty Haddad with sons Jorge, Jr (far right), Emiliano (far left), and daughter Guiliana
These days . . . Jorge, Kitty and their three children . . . work together to build on the dream that led them to Texas.
SPEEDHORSE, February 2016 119
Coady Photography