The Best Layover in America: Slipping away on a carefree highway to Allen Quarter Horses

By Delores Kuhlwein

Imagine, if you will, a place to stop along the highway when your eyes become bleary – a place for your horses to rest their weary heads, and a place where your cares can be cast away to the wind.

It’s not fiction or a stretch of the imagination – this place does exist, and it’s along North US Highway 45, off interstate I57 and I70 in Effingham, Illinois.  Tired travelers know once they see the big cross coming into Effingham, their respite for the most particular horse-hauling travelers will be in sight soon, a place whose owners see over 350 horses from the AQHA show circuit alone in the months of October and November, with a grand total of 805 horses in 2023 from January through November.

Horsemen like Bruce Vickery, Ted Turner, Geno Spagnola, Robin Frid, Jeffrey Pait, Will Knabenshue, Adam and Kelley Wainscott, Ryan and Andrea Kail, Jason and Julie Smith, Whitney Lagace, Julie Voge, Anthony Leier, John Shepard and countless others all sing the praises of this place that’s a home away from home for show horses accustomed to creature comforts.

“They know exactly what horsemen and horses need: lights on timers, pre-hung buckets, deep shavings, heated barns, solid 12 x 12 walled stalls, level stalls with great bedding,” says Kelley Wainscott.  “Every detail is thought through and everything totally ready, and they keep the place meticulous.”

The Caretakers

Owners Kent and Dawn Allen have had a lot of practice as they’ve hosted travelers for the past 26 years on the three-generation farm where Kent was born and raised, and like many success stories, it started out innocently, as a simple favor for a fellow horseman

“John Boxell is the one who got us started doing this,” explains Dawn Allen.  “Kathi Lawrence knew him and contacted him, and he gave her our name. She called me and wanted to know if we had a couple of stalls when they were going to Congress that year, and she wanted their trainer, Mike McMillian, to stall there. Then she called back again with another trainer who wanted to stop: Jerry Wells.”

Dawn says that the first year was just the beginning, because Mike, Jerry, and Kathi told other trainers, and then everyone was calling, requiring them to add another barn, so they did.  “This past year was the first year we didn’t take any broodmares, because the layover business has really picked up,” explains Dawn.

She says their total of 805 horses in 2023 (as of November) is up by about 150 horses this year compared to 2022. Congress and World Show times are their particularly busy times, but they’ve also seen their APHA business pick up, and their Arabian business is booming, too.

Since Kent trained for many years, and since Dawn married into the show world, they know their way around the industry as exhibitors. As breeders, they also stood more than twelve studs at one point, including horses like A Legend At Last and DC Precision.

The Facility

Their knowledge of exactly what horses and their owners need comes from that experience, Dawn reveals.  “Coming from the halter horses, they’re so big, they can easily hurt themselves, so we try to go above and beyond with safety first for the horse,” she says.  “We offer 12 x 12 stalls that are matted and heated, and we bed them deep like all halter horses.  It’s important to us that the horses to get to their destination the best they can be.”

“It’s the best place I lay over by a long shot,” explains Anthony Leier. “The communication and cleanliness is over the top.”

John Shepard of Holly Glen Farm, says that he lives in Harrington, Delaware, which is about as far east as one can get, and they always make Allen Quarter Horses part of their journey with their World and Congress Champion Halter horses. “In my opinion, there is not a better layover in the country,” he explains.  “Big, clean, safe, rubber-matted alleyways, deep-bedded stalls, heated barns, with full, fresh water in buckets when you arrive. Kent and Dawn are horse people who understand the stress of the haul and make the horses’ comfort the top priority when they arrive and during their stay.”

Many are surprised to hear both Kent and Dawn have full time jobs in addition to their detailed level of care at Allen Quarter Horses.

Dawn is a vet tech, but she currently works for the county health department, managing the records of approximately 500 foster kids.  “I really enjoy it – vet medicine and human medicine have a lot of similarities,” she explains.

Kent is an electrician by trade, but he’s presently building wooden flags for the NRA, with a contract to build 725, and Dawn says it’s an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.  “It’s the second year we’ve contracted with them, and Kent’s really enjoying the work.”  This also enables Kent to be on-hand to have stalls turned over when one breed leaves and another comes in.

Allen Quarter Horses is still a complete labor of love for them, however, and like all great things, the farm has evolved with the times to transform into what today’s horse industry needs.  The farm that has been in Kent’s family since his mother was a baby (she’s now 80 and his parents live on the property, too) also served as a venue for their son’s wedding during the busy time between Youth World and NSBA World on July 30^th, but it comes as no surprise the Allens pulled it off beautifully.

The family farm encompasses the horse industry as family as well.  “We love it when our customers report back to us when they’ve won,” says Dawn. “One year at Congress, of the stallions that lined up for Grand and Reserve, all but one had laid over with us.  It’s a joy to be a small part of that.”

To learn more about Allen Quarter Horses, a place with “Great friends!” according to John Shepard, that’s safe and warm in the wintertime with room to accommodates two semis plus multiple trailers all at once, horse owners can visit Allen Quarter Horses on Facebook, or they can contact Dawn directly at 217-343-9201, or by email:  kddallen@frontiernet.net.