Perhaps it isn’t a tale as old as time, but the history behind Hanover Shoe Farms is quite the story. It dates back to the first part of the twentieth century and has seen the perennial breeding leader in terms of earnings power on for 92 years. While Lawrence B. Sheppard is rightfully lauded as the driving force behind the Hanover Shoe Farms, the story actually begins in February 1899 when Harper Donald Sheppard arrives in Hanover to become part of the Charles Heiser Shoe Company. By the end of December in that same year, Hesier was out of the picture and Sheppard along with Clinton N. Myers would run the new Sheppard & Myers, Inc. which later became Hanover Shoe Farms. According to Hanover: The Greatest Name in Harness Racing by Donald P. Evans, Sheppard and Myers shared an intense interest in horses and had approximately 21 head in 1922 in their racing operation. Enter Lawrence B. Sheppard, the son of Harper and grandfather of current co-owner and chairman Russell C. Williams. As the story goes, Harper and Clinton would go away on vacation and come back to find just one horse remaining in their stable after Lawrence sold the remainder of the lot. Lawrence was instructed to reassemble the barn. Slowly he began adding top horses such as Baron Worthy and Peter Manning, but it was in 1926 when A.B. Coxe passed away that Sheppard struck gold, purchasing his entire breeding and racing band of 69 horses for $150,000. That business deal is the official start of the modern day Hanover Shoe Farms. Lawrence Sheppard would build quite a dynasty at Hanover but perhaps the modern-day name synonymous with the great breeding farm is that of Simpson, with James (Jim) W. Simpson currently the President & C.E.O. of the organization. The Simpson name entered into the picture in 1950 when John Simpson began training for Hanover Shoe Farms. He would become GM in 1951 and leave Hanover in 1954, but return to become GM in 1965 and ultimately President in 1968 when Lawrence Sheppard passed away. “Granddad (Lawrence Sheppard) really wanted John Simpson to succeed him because he recognized John’s gifts,” said Russell Williams. “He became very close to John. My grandfather lost his only son and John was almost like a son. John was highly trusted and also extremely intelligent. He knew the business and my grandfather was going to do anything he could to get John to take over.” Simpson’s return to Hanover was vital because Sheppard was prepared to disperse Hanover without the trusted horsemen at the head of the table. This situation would play out again more than 20 years later when Williams and Jim Simpson began to take a more active role out of necessity. USTA Photo    Hanover Chairman Russell Williams. “I owned a small piece beginning in 1983 when I became a director. I’ve been a director for 35 years,” said Williams. “As things went along I acquired more stock. I was practicing law until around 1990 and then I came up to Hanover and got directly involved around that time. After my grandmother died, it became clear that if I didn’t come up along with Jim Simpson and get involved in management, it was going to have to be sold off. “It is hard to keep horse farms going for very long. They don’t lend themselves to going on forever because you really have to have a passion for it. Running a horse farm is not a job where you go to school and select it from a menu of occupations.” The other issue with running a farm is the amount of land required and whether it can be better used for other public and private ventures. “The value of land quite often exceeds the sanity of keeping it going,” said Williams. “A good example of that is Yankeeland Farm, which is now being developed because it is part of the city of Frederick and it is valuable. Therefore, the economics make it very difficult. We are fortunate that we’ve been able to get this far to 92 years.” As the century mark approaches, the decedents of three families currently own the historic farm. Williams carries the torch for the Sheppard side, and the Simpson and Spears families complete the troika. Each entity has seen their time at the helm of Hanover, with Sheppard and Simpson already mentioned and Paul E. Spears serving in that role from 1992 to 1997. Spears also served as President of the second arm of the Hanover operation, the Standardbred Horse Sales Company, from 1968 to 1997, a position currently held by son Paul (Pete) F. Spears. The Standardbred Horse Sales Company was founded in 1939. It operates separate of Hanover Shoe Farms but Williams (VP, Chairman) and Simpson (Senior VP) play vital roles. “Each one is a separate corporation,” said Williams. “The sale started in 1939. Hanover had been selling in the Old Glory Sale in the armory in New York City. That sale went out of business and my grandfather decided to start a sale company and hold the sale at the Pennsylvania Horse Show Complex. Except for the PA Farm show itself, we are the oldest tenant at the complex. Other farms started selling with us and it grew into a successful operation.” With Hanover selling the majority of its yearlings in the Standardbred Horse Sale and the overlap between management, one would think that they would see special treatment, but Williams said for the most part that doesn’t happen. “I can tell you we absolutely don’t get preferential placement in the catalog, that’s for sure,” said Williams. “Hanover is the primary consignor in the yearling sale. If Hanover demanded something and it was reasonable, Hanover would get it. Whether someone else would get it or not, I don’t know. We don’t do that (give Hanover special treatment) because we want to have other consignors and we want them to be happy. “We do get placement right across from the main office area, but we were there first, so why wouldn’t we,” joked Williams. Hanover Shoe Farms is not just a huge part of the Harness Racing landscape. The breeding operation also plays a major role in the economy for Pennsylvania. The farm itself accounts for 3,000 acres of green space located in York County. “Periodically they do economic impact studies. When you look at the role that the horse business plays in the Pennsylvania economy, whatever that number is, we are a big piece of it,” said Williams. “We do a lot of lobbying because we have a very good racing and breeding program in Pennsylvania. But since it has been there, a whole new generation of legislators have come along and you have to get them up to speed on why it is there. It was not a gift. It was a contract that made between the racing and breeding industry, the casinos and the government. In order to maintain the equilibrium of that, we have to be up in Harrisburg lobbying all the time.” Hanover Shoe Farms has a broodmare band numbering well over 300, 11 stallions and a total horse population of about 1,200 located in Hanover, Pennsylvania. They lead all breeders in 2018 earnings with nearly $28 million and posted an amazing total of $31.4 million in 2017. While the breeding operation is clearly big business, with over 300 yearling to name each year, there is some time for fun. Someone has to name hundreds of foals each year and for a long time Williams was the sole source. With a limit of 18 characters and seven reserved for “Hanover,” which falls at the end of every horse from the farm, Williams needs to be creative. “I now have a lot of help with that,” said Williams on naming. “We have a little system where people make naming suggestions and we get a lot of great ones every year, so it is not quite as difficult as it once was. I was kind of running out of ideas,” said Williams, who admits he takes pride when a horse with a name he likes goes on to greatness. “Donato Hanover, I named after the architect of St Peters and a number of other things, and he turned out to be a great racehorse and a good sire. I love it when it works out. I hate it when I come up with a brilliant name and he is never heard from again. And of course people are allowed to change names. You can’t help that. Cruzado Dela Noche is a Hanover-bred and “night cruiser” in Spanish is a good name, but then I have to go around telling everybody he is a Hanover bred because they may not know.” Through thick and thin, Hanover Shoe Farms has lasted the test of time. Its slogan, “The Greatest Name in Harness Racing” rings true in many ways. For Williams, it’s all about reputation. “I think that Hanover is a trusted name in the business. We don’t bid on our own horses at the sale. It is the same thing with stallion deals. We don’t fool around. We do the best we can. If someone else gets a stallion, so be it. I’m really proud to be part of an organization with integrity. That’s not me slamming anybody else; of course I don’t mean it that way,” said Williams. “It has been a real honor and also very satisfying to contribute to something that is greater than myself.” Now 79 years into the Standardbred Sale and just weeks shy of 93 years of operations at Hanover Shoe Farms, the legacies of those behind the success – Harper D. Sheppard, Clinton N. Myers, Lawrence B. Sheppard, and John F. Simpson – are secure. The culture at Hanover is strong and will hopefully live on past the century mark and beyond.