30 SIDELINES APRIL 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Arianna Delin
There are hundreds of training and
show facilities around the country,
but not many can say that they
are entirely family-owned and
operated. Even fewer can
say that they have multiple
barns spread out across the
nation. Brawley Farms is
the exception. This training
and show barn has four
locations across the United
States, all of which are run
by different generations of
the Brawley family.
In 1968, Judy Brawley
founded the original Brawley
Farms in Seattle, Washington, and
she now runs her business on the
family farm in Salem, Oregon.
Throughout the years, she has
passed the ‘horse bug’ to her
children and grandchildren who
have since taken the business
nationwide. Her daughter, Debbie, has a barn in Portland,
Oregon, while one of her sons, Bob, has a large farm in
Argyle, Texas. Judy’s grandson, Tommy, is currently running
his business in Wellington, Florida.
For Bob, horsemanship was a way of life. He began riding at
the age of five and was in the show ring by the time he was six.
“That was back in the
day when there were no
beginner classes. The
only available classes
were the rated ones so
when I was six years old I
was jumping a large pony
in the three foot division.
That’s where you started
no matter how old you
were,” said Bob. “You
never thought twice about
it.”
Up until 2003, Bob was
the second professional
at his mother’s farm in
Oregon. When he decided
to make a change, Bob
moved to California,
where he and Jean-Yves
Angers established a
thriving business. He met
his wife, Dana, there and
in 2010 she was offered a
job in Texas. For the past
three years, the couple
e
has called the Lone Star State their home.
They are now expanding their already
20-horse business and building a
new, larger facility on 17.5 acres
in Double Oak, about 15 minutes
north of the Dallas/Fort Worth
International airport.
“It’s very exciting, and we’re
looking forward to finalizing
the project, Texas has been
a great place to live and run
a business. It’s the first place
I’ve really put down roots
since I left Oregon,” explained
Bob. “We run a solid, A-circuit
show and training program for
both juniors and amateurs. We
focus on really getting our riders
riding well in any arena they choose
– hunters, jumpers or equitation.
We strive to match them up with
the right horses to make them as
competitive as possible.”
Bob’s branch of Brawley Farms
is structured much the same as
his mother’s and sister’s, as they are all show and training
facilities with small lesson programs. His son Tommy’s
business varies, as it is solely a sales barn.
Tommy, the young equine entrepreneur, spends the year
traveling between Florida, Texas, Michigan and Kentucky, yet
hopes to make Wellington a permanent base in the future. After
his father left Oregon,
Tommy spent his college
years riding horses for
his grandmother. When
he graduated, he decided
that is was “a nice point
to step out of the family
business and get more
experience.” Since then,
he has worked with
professionals such as Joe
Fargis, Frank Madden
and Eric Lamaze.
Working
alongside
these equine gurus,
Tommy gained the insight
he needed to start his
own sales program. This
past fall, he traveled to
Europe and got the start
he needed, purchasing
two horses, a jumper and
an equitation prospect,
and both showed and
produced top results at
the Winter Equestrian
Brawley Family:
Doing What They Love
Flashback! In 1969, 11-year-old Bob Brawley competing Candie, who
lived to be 39 and taught two generations of Brawleys how to ride.
Photo courtesy of the Brawley Family
Judy Brawley founded the original Brawley Farms in
Seattle, Washington. In 1973 she competed The Optimist,
a famous hunter.
Photo courtesy of the Brawley Family
