Page 98 - September2021

“Stephen’s a go-getter.” If he sets his mind to something, he’s going to stay after it until he gets it if he possibly can.” – Lanny Keith
Stephen with his father Steve and Tate Farms trainer Lanny Keith
Stephen considers his biggest success to
be winning the Million in Louisiana with TF Racee Runaway, whose dam he had bred. “I saw that colt as a weanling and told Stephen that I wanted to run him,” says Lanny Keith, Tate Farms’ trainer since about 2013. “It took
a lot of finagling around to get him in my
barn and I kept telling Stephen over and over that I was going to win the Million with him. Stephen kept telling me, ‘Okay, Okay,’ and as we got closer to doing it, one day he finally said, ‘Do you really think you can do it?’ I said I’d told him so, so I guess I had no choice. So, I just had to wiggle that horse to a win!
“I wanted that horse real bad so I kind of had to blow a little smoke to Stephen so he’d let me get it and train it, and it worked out for both of us,” Lanny says. “That’s something he and I will laugh about from now on.”
HIS PASSION YIELDS SUCCESS
Stephen’s passion for his breeding and racing endeavor lies in watching the babies growing up and then picking the ones he wants to run. “TF Racee Runaway was a nice, nice colt and he didn’t have one black type on his page, but we gave him a shot and went ahead
and kept him. His sire, Sir Runaway Dash, was a really big part of our operation; he’s done really well. Last year, one of his babies ran second in the Lee Berwick.”
Stephen’s passion also extends to Tate Farms residing in the upper echelon of Louisiana Quarter Horse breeding and racing, and to Tate Livestock Supplies as well. “Stephen’s a go-getter,” says Lanny. “If he sets his mind
to something, he’s going to stay after it until he gets it if he possibly can. That’s the way
he is with his feed business and his stallion business. He’s always striving for better mares and looking to sell more feed. You just don’t see him that he’s not on the phone, trying to get a better stallion or looking for better mares or trying to sell feed to somebody. He’s just a hard-working guy and he stays busy.
“He can relate to people, and I think that’s what helps him,” Lanny adds. “He can get along with anybody. I tell him he could sell an ice box to an Eskimo. He just has a knack with people; he’s good at having what people want and if he doesn’t have it, he tries to get it.”
“He’s a yes man,” adds Buddy Deville of Denham Springs, Louisiana, Stephen’s partner in TF Racee Runaway and other horses. “He
doesn’t want to turn business away, so anything a customer needs, he tries to accommodate. And he works. You can call him at 6 in the morning and at 10 at night and he answers the phone. He’s infatuated with his business and his horses and he puts a lot of effort into them.”
His aptitude for success extends from the business world to family life: He invests in time with his wife and boys and still takes advice from his dad. “Ninety-nine percent of the time when you see him, he’s got his family with him — his boys, his wife, and his dad,” says Buddy. “They’re a really close family and I’m the same way.”
“My kids love to hunt and fish,” Stephen says. “I’m not really a fisherman but I love to hunt.” So, they’re looking at some property in south Texas where they can do those things together.
“Dad is still involved in the farm,” he continues. “Every time I breed a mare or if I want to keep one to run, he comes over and takes a look at it and tells me what he thinks about it.”
The knowledge Louis Steve has imparted
to Stephen has combined with Stephen’s own passion and thirst for excellence, to yield a top- class enterprise. The TF prefix not only stands for Tate Farms; it stands for Truly Fine horses.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time when you see him, he’s got his family with him — his boys, his wife, and his dad.” – Buddy DeVille
Stephen and Buddy DeVille
Stephen’s son Rowdy working at the LQHBA Yearling Sale.
96 SPEEDHORSE September 2021