Olivia Hoecker – A Passion for All Things Equine
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68 – October, 2014
By Susan Winslow
Olivia Hoecker is the founder and owner of Pine Meadow Quarter Horses. Through hard work and dedication she has created one of the premier American Quarter Horse breeding programs the breed has to offer. Her stallion roster reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Quarter Horse bloodlines, and the horses produced through her breeding program are consistently at the top of today’s level of elite competition. She is living every horsewoman’s fantasy, but she has worked long and hard to reach this personal goal of making her lifelong dream into a reality.
From horse loving toddler to successful exhibitor and owner of Pine Meadow Quarter Horses, Olivia’s passion for equines has been a constant touchstone in her life. She recalls, “I remember sitting on my grandfather’s draft horse when I was one-and-a-half or two, and I just fell in love right away. Even now, it’s still a powerful memory. Horses have been my passion since that time.” Olivia’s parents bought her a pony, followed by a Quarter Horse during her teenage years. She laughs as she remembers long days on the trails with her best friend, “I didn’t even have a saddle! I rode that horse everywhere. I was always reading horse magazines, researching about horses, and I had a plan to someday raise horses. Quarter Horses were always my favorite because of their gentle nature.”
Hoecker pursued college, earning a degree in Accounting as well as an MBA in Finance. She soon began to create a successful career in the industry that led to a position as the Manager of Corporate Tax and Treasury at Robbins and Myers, Inc. Although her family had horses for a short time, she put most of her effort and energy into raising her four children: Debbie, Susan, Tracy, and Ken, while she put her dreams of owning a Quarter Horse breeding operation on hold. Although her primary focus throughout most of her adult life was on her children and career, Olivia’s passion for horses never waned. In 1998, when her children were older and her career was solid, she purchased three show horses from Patty and Jerry Robertson. She recalls, “I had always dreamed of competing, so it did not take long before I started to show in AQHA. In 2000, I purchased Mr. Notibily Zippo and decided to add the breeding program to Pine Meadow Quarter Horses.”
She deftly juggled a busy life, maintaining a balance between family, work, and managing the breeding, showing and sales operation at Pine Meadow Quarter Horses. After retiring in May of 2014, she is thrilled to now be able to devote more time to her true passion: competition and breeding some of the best Quarter Horses in the industry. Although, Pine Meadow Quarter Horses’ first barn was erected in Tipp City, Ohio in 1998, the first crop of foals wasn’t born until early 2000. When she considered expanding her farm, Reddick, Florida was the natural choice. Having spent time there, she fell in love with the scenery, and she believes strongly that her foals need a warm, rich environment in which to grow.
Hoecker quickly jumped at the opportunity to call Florida her new home base and fulfilled her dream of making a contribution to the industry. Olivia takes pride in maintaining active involvement in every aspect of the program in Reddick, and she has surrounded herself with a valued team of experts. Dennis Haberstroh manages the breeding program alongside Hoecker, and well-respected professionals Josh and Trisha Robertson oversee the training program, assisted by Jay Southerland and Rebecca Spellman. The team’s focus on quality is rooted in Olivia’s positive approach to life and her determination to stay completely involved in the breeding and training programs. She explains, “My motivation comes from within, to be the best that I can be. I have always strived to do this in all aspects of my life. In creating Pine Meadow, I was compelled to produce the best Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle prospects the breed has to offer. This is what we are committed to achieving at Pine Meadow Quarter Horses.”
Since the farm opened, they have produced multiple foals that have gone on to achieve World Championships, Congress Championships, NSBA World Championships, and AQHA Superiors. Such foals include HRZ Make Mine Gold, Heza Radical Zip, Sweet Movin Hotrod, Ionlyluvchocolate, Luvme4myprinziples, Hotrods in the House, Kiss My Hotrod, MNZ Invitation, and Tara’s Blue Boy, to name a few. Olivia made the decision to purchase Thoroughbred stallion NonNegotiable in 2006 to add as a Hunter Under Saddle influence to the breeding program. World and Congress Champion Hotroddin Zippo, by Zips Chocolate Chip and out of The Sweet Hotrodder; Congress Champion Sire Mr Notibily Zippo, by Zippo Pine Bar and out of RS Nancy Marlbec, Superior Western Pleasure Champion My Favorite Zippo, by Hotroddin Zippo and out of My Favorite Hotrod, and Congress Champion and World Show Bronze trophy winner in Junior Western Pleasure, Strutin On the Range, by Open Range and out of Time For Kathy, make up the carefully chosen Western Pleasure breeding herd.
In 2011, Hoecker purchased Congress Champion Hez Plum Poison, and he’s currently leading the nation in Junior Western Pleasure. “We are still determining whether he will join the other stallions in the breeding shed, but for now, I’m very excited to see what this gifted young horse can do with Josh’s training. I believe there are great things ahead for him. When he’s ready to start breeding, it will be very exciting to see his offspring,” she says. Hoecker describes the qualities of the stallions she has chosen for her breeding program and her preference for the Zippo bloodline. “I believe they have the athleticism and ease of training that the Zippo lines provide, but most of all, we value their disposition and their gentle minds, as exemplified by Hotroddin Zippo and Mr. Notibily Zippo. They are great horses with such incredible dispositions. I can lead them in and out of the paddocks because of their smart, easygoing temperaments. They also produce substance, and their offspring have won multiple World and Congress Championships. I have never regretted my decision to purchase these magnificent stallions.”
Strutin On The Range has been retired from the show ring for now, and Olivia is very excited about his contribution to Pine Meadow’s reputation. “Having already proven himself at the highest levels of Western Pleasure competition, we’re seeing a lot of interest in his first foal crop. With the upcoming breeding season, we feel it’s in our best interest to keep Strutin on the Range in the breeding shed. His babies are very mentally and physically mature, and they’re stunning. They possess short backs, big hips, long necks, and Ranger’s gentle disposition. However, beyond that, even when bred to diverse mare lines, his foals exhibit a uniformity that we feel is the mark of a great sire. As his offspring grow, you can really see the strength in their muscles and the stamp he puts on them. I have high hopes for them to have a successful future.”
Foals from Pine Meadow Farm are eligible for a variety of Incentive and Futurity programs including the AQHA Incentive Fund, Tom Powers Triple Challenge Futurity, NSBA Futurity, American Paint Horse Breeder’s Trust, and the American Paint Horse Association. In addition to having a good eye for breeding stallions, Olivia believes in devoting the time, effort, and expense into giving them every advantage they need to succeed. Her purchase of Radical Rumors as a broodmare in February of 2012 is an example of her ability to see exceptional performance quality in a horse. After getting to know the mare and realizing that she still had the potential to excel in the show pen, Hoecker dedicated time with experts to give her a chance to come back from an old show injury. The pair hit the show circuit and had a magnificent season, winning the Amateur Select Western Pleasure Circuit Championship in Venice, Florida.
Olivia has high praise for the outstanding mare, “She’s been doing really well for me, and I’m very excited about her future. I hadn’t ridden in a few years when I bought her, but she got me back into the show ring. She taught me a lot, and she was very forgiving. I qualified for the 2012 Novice World Show with her, but I decided not to go because I let my granddaughter show her instead. She showed her at the Congress, too, and I made it to the finals at the Congress with her. In the ring, we came around the corner and stumbled, and she picked up the wrong lead. Even though we didn’t place, just going to the Congress with her felt like a huge accomplishment.”
Olivia’s affection for Radical Rumors is evident when she describes the effort she has put into keeping this special mare comfortable and show ready. “We’ve worked hard to help her with an old suspensory injury by doing water therapy, giving her massages, and long trotting. We didn’t even ride her for two months, but I took her out to the NSBA World Show this year, after her rehabilitation, and she rode the best she ever has for me in a long time. I didn’t make my split, but that’s okay, because there were a lot of really good, seasoned competitors in the class, including World and Congress Champions. I wasn’t disappointed at all, because she went so well, and I was really proud of her. It was also nice that the Kimmel family, who I bought her from, saw her go and thought she looked great. Unfortunately, I’m not taking her to the Congress this year, and I don’t know how much I’m going to show her in 2015. I will be trying again to get some embryos from her in the future, because she is such an exceptional mare.”
With plans to continue competing, growing the breeding business at Pine Meadow Quarter Horses, and spending time with her beloved family, retirement for Olivia has been anything but sedate. When asked how she does it all, this lively grandmother of seven smiles and says, “Since retiring in May of this year, I’m excited to be able to focus more time on my riding, the breeding program, and the future of Pine Meadow Quarter Horses. I also want to get more involved in the Quarter Horse industry and ultimately promote the fine horses from my farm. How do I do it all? When I want to get something done, I just focus and work hard. I guess I’m kind of stubborn that way.” With her energy, drive, and love for the American Quarter Horse, it’s clear that Olivia Hoecker will continue to make her mark in the Quarter Horse industry, both in and out of the show pen.
For more information on breeding and sales at Pine Meadow Quarter Horses, follow them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn or visit them at their new website at: www.pinemeadowquarterhorses.com (352) 591-9743
