Charlton’s Abbotts Retiring on Own Terms

Anyone of a certain age knows that forced retirements are no fun—it’s always better to leave on your own terms. That is exactly what Rick and Dixie Abbott are doing as they wind down after nearly 40 years of operating Charlton Bloodstock in eastern Pennsylvania.

The couple will have their final sale consignment at the Oct. 4 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling sale in Timonium, Md. They have sold their 160-acre farm near Coatesville, Pa., and Nov. 4-5 they are holding a sale of farm equipment and supplies, as well as equine art and household furnishings.

The Abbotts, who were both active in show horses and hunting when they met and married in the early 1970s, earned a reputation as conscientious, honest horse people with a strong work ethic.

"One of the nicest guys you will ever meet," one sales company executive said of Rick Abbott.

Among the horses bred, raised, and/or sold by Charlton over the years have been graded stakes winners Miss Union Avenue, Palmeiro, and Afleet Again.

The couple's retirement is a culmination of a five-year plan the Abbotts, both now 68, hatched during a rare weekend away from the farm four years ago.

"We decided we needed to go off and figure out what we're going to do for the rest of our lives," Rick Abbott said. "(At the time) we said we were happy doing what we were doing now, but not sure we were going to be happy doing this when we're 70. So we came up with this five-year exit strategy."

Abbott said running an operation like Charlton is a 365-day, round-the-clock endeavor, which has been rewarding, but left little time for anything else.

"I've never been able to imagine lying in bed while a mare was being foaled," Abbott said. "We have good people who work for us, but we have attended every foaling that has happened on our farm. The farm is relentless. It never sleeps."

Once they decided on their five-year plan, the Abbotts thought the biggest challenge would be selling the property because of the tepid market for farmland. They were right, since it took four years to sell. On Dec. 1, they will turn over the deed to Meghan and Dan Cowan and move into a home in Unionville, Pa.

The Cowans purchased the farm for their non-profit operation Lasata, a therapeutic horseback riding, equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning center with summer camps for riders, with and without disabilities, founded in 2008.

 "We couldn't be happier with the outcome," said Abbott, adding that Dixie plans to volunteer at Lasata.

Abbott said any emotions attached to retirement is associated with the farm, and not the business.

"The emotion is not about giving up the business as much as it is about giving up the farm," he said. "We have been there 36 years. We raised our children there. It's a beautiful place and we love it, but it really needs to be a business. We're sentimental about the farm, but I'm ready to give up the business. We've been doing it for 40 years."

Abbott said one of the biggest changes he has seen in the industry over the last 40 years has been the emergence of "the mega-consignors who want to scoop up every horse that is available. My philosophy of the horse industry has always been, if you try to do everything, you don't do anything very well. So we've tried to concentrate on our own little niche in the market and have been very happy with it."

Free from the confines of the farm and business, the Abbotts plan to travel more. Abbott also hopes to hone the woodworking skills he developed over the last five years, perhaps even selling some of his homemade furniture.

"If you own a farm you have to be one-half a carpenter, one-half a plumber, one-half an electrician, and one-half a mechanic," he said. "I always enjoyed the carpenter part more than the other parts. I'm mostly doing stuff for family, but have sold a few things. I haven't found a way to market it."

Once everything is sold, the couple will still have two broodmares, including Christmas Strike, an 18-year-old daughter of Smart Strike who has been Charlton's blue hen mare.

Christmas Strike descends from a rich Edward P. Evans family and was purchased privately for $10,000 after failing to meet her reserve as part of the Lane's End consignment to the 2001 Keeneland November sale. Produced from multiple grade III winner Christmas Gift, Christmas Strike is a half sister to grade I winner Christmas Kid, who was sold for $4.2 million at the Evans dispersal.

Among the 12 offspring of Christmas Strike have been Double Down Vinman, a 20-race winner who earned nearly $450,000 and four stakes-placed runners, including Holy Christmas, the dam of stakes winner and graded-placed Holy Lute. Also, one of her yearlings topped the 2010 Midlantic October yearling sale when sold for $250,000.

For Charlton's final consignment at this year's auction, the Abbotts have a solid consignment on behalf of their clients, including some whom have worked with Charlton for a long time.

Included among the 19 cataloged by Charlton are a Tapizar   filly, a Pioneerof the Nile   filly, and colts by Eskendereya, Sidney's Candy  , and Tale of the Cat  .