Little guy does big things (Continued from Page 833) spare acreage there, he put in a few horses for the family to ride. Equine interest whetted, Mills then acquired a couple of brood mares and began dabbling in the breeding business. “We bought our first racehorse before we even ever attended a race, because a friend suggested it might be a good business,” recalls the quiet-spoken, full-time horse breeder. That was in 1965. It was about a year until the Mills family had their first win, when their entry Gun Talk came in first in a race at Timonium. In 1971, on the recommendation of his veterinarian. Mills claimed the four-year-old Captain, My Captain at a Pimlico “claiming race.” Claiming races are one method of marketing young race horses, in which owners list a selling price on their entry. After the race, an interested buyer can “claim” the horse by paying the pre-stated price. Captain, My Captain is Ken tucky-bred, a son of Tum-To, out of a daughter of Double Jay. Most of Tum-To’s offspring have proven to be good runners and breeders, and Captain was no exception. The handsome, now-15-year-old sire, has proved to be a powerful Phone; 717-464-3321 Cor-Lok™ flooring has a corrugated surface which provides added strength while retaining the smooth surface desirable for bin sweeps and dean tog,-devices, flpohd perforations cover the entire width of the aurface area Chwicut lofc Hoorfnpis a newly refined flooring offering more openings than ever before Interlock ing joints provide strong tight connections. Closer slotted extrusions mean more uniform air move ment and strength 'Qrvtd 9tMSd" 7M Floor Supports for Cor Lok end Channel Lok floors Fewer pieces and absence of rails makes installation easier Snap-m Hooks* hold support securely to the floor preventing shift mg when bin is empty and fan is on Now with ad ded opening for bettw under floor air how *rnmM -J? i Uk insm nsM Spmi sw*®** lliiiii aefttnn systems clmowb device* JSTromiunn* needed sales, service, installation, leasing available EAIHBK Serving The Poultry Industry for Over 20 Years transmitter of desirable charac teristics, siring youngsters that both run and breed for long periods of time. About 60 of his offspring, or about 86 percent, have raced, which Mills estimates probably puts Captain in the top fifth of the better racing sires. His services continue to be steady demand by other thoroughbred breeders, and Captain recently saw his second heaviest season of use, servicing about 35 mares. Service fee is $5OO, which in Mills’ opinion makes the well-proven stud one of the best values around. Breeding season for the thoroughbreds runs from the beginning of March through June. Ideally, though, foals should be born soon after Jan. 1, since any animal bom after that date is considered a yearling the following January. As two-year-olds, all race in the same age bracket, regar dless of January or June bir thdates. Foals are weaned from three to six months of age, and go on the 14 percent protein feed custom mixed for Mils by Spangler and Sprenkle of York. Mills has switched from straight alfalfa hay, which he feels may be a bit rich for the equine : 6 Fan Trans Mona are available with precut faceplates lor all sizes of GSI fans when specified with an order Ease of assembly and attachment to bm’makes the transition a necessary item m the GSI air delivery system - 7 Plan for a little Farm addition © Grain Systems, Inc | pi iirtn TTln ifiti. TT FULL LINE PARTS DEPARTMENT H«wh Boor Aeration System* are available for gram conditioning when a raised floor system is notdesirabfe Selected pieces can be combined to form r* ‘ i and U shaped aeration layouts All pieces bort together and use a perforated cor rugated sheet for covers with GSI Leasing Today! EQUIPMENT, INC. RDI, Rt. 272 S. f Herrville Rd. f Willow Street. PA 17584 Phone: 717-464-3321 or Toll Free: 800-732-0053 system, to a forage of good-quality, mixed hay. Once mares toal, they are ted timothy hay. , Breeding back is on the nine-day return heat period after foaling, with about 25 to 30 percent of the mares settling back at the first service. Another 50 percent generally settle with the second heat in 20 days. During the breeding season, more than one hundred mares are sometimes running in the 100-acres of pasture, split into several ' ‘.ions. About 50 head are in residence at Willow Tree Farms. Mills’ top priority in his breeding program is to continually upgrade his breeding stock, primarily using his own animals with practically no outside buying. Captain's daughters are being crossed into a different blood line, using their farm’s new stallion Con Man. All foals must be registered with the Jockey Club, out of New York, by Aug. 30 of the year they were born. Education for the yearlings begins with Willow Tree Farm’s resident trainer, Joe Whitehead, who also is in charge of exercising the youngsters around the 3/8 mile track on the farm each morning. The year’s foal crop, usually about 15, begins then: “classes’’ in September and continue in training through mid-November Paak Collar Aaeombty and Cap has a «0 diameter opening standard on ail GSI bins allow mg greater air flow reducing the need for addt lional openings in the roof 24 spreader ring comes as standard equipment We at E.M. Herr hope you will take the time to discover how a grain handling system can improve the efficiency of your grain farming. We are ready to assist you today with your farm needs. Please give us a call or write E.M. Herr Equipment, Inc. when they’re turned out for the winter. In March, their training begins again, until they’re taken into residence at Penn National Race Track, Grantville in late spring for “further education.” That includes introduction to such track amenities as the starting gate, plus learning to race with competitors. Proveh racers will go in stakes races, such as the Keystone at Penn National. One daughter of Captain, a seven-year-old named Count On Captain, is in her fifth year of racing and has earned $120,000. Last year, she took a second at the Keystone. The entire Mills family is in volved in the Thoroughbred business. Son Dennis trains the farm's 15 racing horses kept at the Grantville track on a regular basis. His wife Gwen also lends a hand. Daughter Kay is in charge of the bookkeeping, and Paul’s wife, Pearl, assists at the track, is in charge of the brood mare bam and puts in extra hours during the foaling season. “I just like to stay here and do the work at home,” confesses Mills, who points with pride to the rolling green pastures that he keeps trimmed &s neatly as a suburban lawn. Mills’ affability and ac complishments have earned him j 3| Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 14,1982—835 AREA CODES 717 & 213 Call Toll Free: 1-800-732-0053 Safety Blofl nk.v-*yir w «*) lnid» Bridging Rina 9 t Safety King comes standard with all GSI bins 18 AS Safety Ring Bracket ties Safety Ring to each roof panel forming a strong integral roof system Bridging Ring comes standard with GSI bins 42* and 48 completing roof supporting system rs? s Jt ~ _ * Please send me additional B information on the following: J NAME | ADDRESS ■ PHONE the respect ot tellow equine breeders, who recently elected him vice president of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association. One of that group’s prime goals is to have state legislators revamp the sale tax law to exempt their costs from the six percent levy. Horse breeders have battled for several years against the ruling that they’re not considered agriculture and must continue to pay the sales tax on such major items as feed, tack, hay, and straw. Breeders are optimistic they will be effective in having the law changed, which would add incentive to keep race horse breeding farms in Pennsylvania and to bring in others. Probably the biggest incentive for Pennsylvania breeding and foaling is the Pennsylvania Breeding Fund, which Mills has topped in winnings for the past five years. Pennsylvania races pay a premium to state-born animals, with the breeder getting 20 percent of the purse, and the stallion owner and present owner of the com peting animal each claiming ten percent. "Every little guy has a chance the Thoroughbred business,” Mills’ evaluation of the industry. Roof Vont provides • large unobstructed opening to increase air movement through gram and eliminate excessive condensation deposits on the inside of the roof Eliminates climbing on roof m bad weather conditions to open peak ring cap In eludes bird screen Oblonf Manway ■$ another added feature of GSI bins The e»u» large odiong manway provides an opening for easy access Top hinges completely out of way when open Rounded edges provide sale entrance and ent through manway , OSI Acc«m Equipment consists of adders Cages and Bin fave Platforms All are galvanized requiring no field dulling or cutting Cages provide safe access to bin Platform which has slip resistant floor and galvanized handrails f'&l M: * t" *ir« 4* t. »•?©<. " * *) I I I I
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers