Page 44 - 2 March 2012

Texas Futurity. His earnings total $538,353. “I know First Klas Fred won a lot more
money,” Denis said, “but Mr Perry Dash didn’t get to run in any of the big races at Ruidoso or Lone Star. Still, he had a phenomenal career. When he did run he had the most consecutive wins, and if he’d had the chance to run in those big races, his career probably would have been tenfold.”
Other Schoenhofer runners who raced successfully include:
• 2006 gelding Tall Order (The Down Side-
First Straw, Strawfly Special)
• Sophomore stallion Fire And Corona (Walk
Thru Fire-Corona Music, Corona Cartel), third in the Texas Classic Derby-G1 behind Champion Tempting Dash. Jointly owned with Randy Burnett, he stands at Belle Mere Farm in Norman, Oklahoma.
• 2008 gelding Father Dave (Shazoom-Tellin It All, First Down Dash)
• 2008 gelding Rhinestonecowboy (Finding Nemo-Traffic Maze, Dash Thru Traffic)
• 2009 gelding Gold N Boy (Gold Medal Jess- Flirtinwiththecartel, Corona Cartel)
“Those first few years, I don’t think we could miss,” Denis said. “If we weren’t in a
futurity or a derby, we were winning a futurity or a derby. The year 2009, especially, was phenomenal for us.”
THE THRILL OF IT ALL
Denis says he and Julie derive their pleasure from very different aspects of the business. Julie, Denis said, handles the books, so she likes seeing the bottom line grow.
He, on the other hand, is all about the buildup. “I like the pictures and the trophies; I like to win and I like the sport. But it’s the anticipation—the mystery of what’s going to happen, that I like best,” Denis said. “From qualifying to finding out what hole you’ve got to the finish. It’s all an adrenaline rush.”
To feel that rush as often as possible, Denis likes to have five or six horses paid up in each
of Ruidoso’s Triple Crown races—the Ruidoso, Rainbow and All American Futurities. Yet he and Julie are realistic in their expectations.
“Probably the thing I admire most about them is that they’re resilient,” Mike Joiner said. “They learned at an early stage that not all horses can run, and they don’t have a problem with that. They take their lumps and keep right on rolling.”
“They’re very gracious winners and losers,”
echoed trainer Heath Taylor of Ledbetter, Texas. “It’s not a miserable scenario if they lose.”
ALL ABOUT THE HORSES
Although they both enjoy the sport, the thrill and the business of racing, their favorite aspect is their hands-on time with the horses.
“We’ve got a farm now and have about 25 horses here,” Julie said. “No matter what kind of challenges get thrown at me during the day, they just dissolve when I’m around the horses.”
Not only are the horses good for Julie, but she’s good for them as well. “She loves each horse as an individual,” said jockey G.R. Carter, who has ridden many of the Schoenhofers’ mounts.
“I think our horses are happy,” Julie added, crediting their staff for a great job. But she admits that she sometimes struggles when it’s time to send a horse down the road. “I get attached; I’m kind
of protective that way,” she said, adding, “Denis sometimes calls me a horse hoarder.”
LOOKING AHEAD
The couple built a new 14-stall barn with
an indoor arena so they can start their horses
at home before sending them out for training, provide a place for horses to rest during layups, and accommodate a few broodmares. They have three broodmares, and welcomed their first foal in 2011.
Their goal is to get 10–12 new yearlings each year and continue on the path they’ve been following. Among their new acquisitions is a Paint filly that their 7-year-old daughter, Drew, will race this year.
“They don’t race to make a living,” said jockey agent Donnie Stewart, who represents G.R. Carter. “They do it because they love it. It’s something they enjoy doing together. In this day and time, doing things together that they love, and with their daughter—it’s just a good thing to see.”
Melding their passion has brought them joy, as well as accomplishment. “They’ve enjoyed quick success,” said Carter, “—success that a lot of owners dream of.”
The year 2009 was a fabulous one for the Schoenhofers, whose First Klas Fred was the Champion 2-Year-Old Gelding after wins such as this one in the Hobbs America Futurity-G3.
42 SPEEDHORSE, March 2, 2012
Lone Star Park
Lone Star Park
Denis and Julie Schoenhofer have combined their individual horse passions to form a winning race team.
Fire And Corona, shown winning a trial to the Texas Classic Futurity-G1, is the Schoenhofers first venture into stallion ownership, as the young sire stood his first season at stud in 2011 at Belle Mere Farm.
Coady Photography