By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Brenda Black
As a child, Joni Werthan loved traveling with her parents to New York City. Although the Werthan family had horses at home in Tennessee, Joni was fascinated by the carriage horses she saw walking the streets of the city.
“The New York City carriage horses were the crème de la crème of my childhood dreams. I knew then that if I could, I’d love to adopt them all and bring them home with me,” Joni said. In the spring of 2018, Joni turned her dream into a reality when she adopted her first New York City carriage horse, Max, and brought him to his forever home at her Warioto Farm Inc. in Franklin, Tennessee, with the help of the EQUUS Foundation.
Warioto Inc. isn’t just home to rescues and retirees; Joni has spent over four decades raising and showing champion hunters. A lifelong equestrian, Joni was first introduced to horses by her grandfather, Joe, and her father, Howard.
Both Joe and Howard operated Warioto Inc. Although horses for them were just a hobby, they happened to be very successful at their hobby.
“My grandfather opened Warioto Inc. in the late 1930s. He had American Saddlebreds, fine harness, five-gated and three-gated horses. It closed when I was 6, and my father started his Werthan Angus Ranch at a different location, at a farm in Franlkin where he kept his horses and cattle,” Joni said. “We spent many a weekend in Franklin riding and overseeing his cattle.”
Some of Joni’s happiest days were spent riding the trails with her dad. “We kept a pony for me, a horse for Mom and a horse for Dad at home. Although everyone else was doing hunters, I really started riding in my backyard and on the trails with my dad in my little Western saddle,” she said. “It was such a pure way to start with the horses. That was such a loving time that my dad and I shared.”
At age 13, Joni’s world was rocked when her father passed away. “It took me a while to even want to go see the horses and ponies again,” she said. However, with the help of a friend, Jim Williams, she got back in the saddle and rediscovered her love for horses.
“Every day after school, I would ride my horse over to where Jim was. We didn’t have fancy horses, but we made the most out of the horses we had and would take them to local shows and we foxhunted,” Joni said. “Jim became my best friend through our adventures with our horses.”
When Joni headed to Boston in 1971 to study fashion design in college, her mother reluctantly agreed to send Joni’s horse. “She knew how much horses meant to me and was the first mom she ever knew of who sent a horse to college for their child. The school had a riding program, so I had the opportunity to ride every day and grew more and more serious about horses,” Joni said.
Warioto Inc. Reimagined
Although Joni thought college would lead her to design, she returned home with a different plan. She wanted to breed hunters with the disposition and conformation for the show ring, and reopened Warioto Farm Inc. in 1981. Unlike her grandfather and father, this wasn’t going to be a hobby farm. Joni wanted to make Warioto Inc. her full-time career.
After years of watching pony breeders breed specifically for the pony industry, Joni decided it was time to do the same with horses. “I thought, If the pony breeders can do it, why can’t we? We don’t need horses from other disciplines; let’s breed specifically for the show ring. My dream plan was to have show hunters that weren’t ex-racehorses or ex-anything,” Joni said.
It was watching legends like Gene Cunningham, Rodney Jenkins and Kenneth Wheeler, to name a few, show their breeding horses that encouraged Joni to focus on breeding and developing show hunters at Warioto Inc.
Joni’s first conformation horse, Bold Affair, opened the next chapter of Warioto Inc. “When I bought Bold Affair, I needed someone to take care of him. Everyone told me I needed to contact Julie Bush. I talked to Julie, and she moved out here,” Joni said. “I told her I wasn’t sure how long this would fly; it may be a day or week, but we will see how it goes. We ended up working together for 35 years before she got sick and passed away.”
Together, Joni and Julie were an unstoppable force at Warioto Inc. “Warioto Inc. has owned and represented some of the top hunter stallions in the country such as Viscount, Fabled Monarch, Texas Fuel, Zarr, Perrell and Absolute. Warioto Farm Inc.’s horses have been USEF Horse of the Year, WEF Champions, HITS Champions and Best Young Horse at Devon and Upperville,” Joni said.
Although Warioto Inc. closed their breeding shed in 2008, the vision of developing hunters for the show ring remains at the center of what Warioto Inc. does today. Joni attributes that to her amazing team at Warioto Inc. It’s only fitting that Joni’s best childhood friend, Jim, who helped her rediscover her love for horses, is part of the training and teaching team.
“A friend of Julie and myself, Theresa DeHoff, joined the team 12 years ago and has taken over the bulk of the management duties as the general manager. We have Kelly Mullen riding, training and showing our horses,” Joni said. “Maddie Matz rounds out our team as the assistant manager.”
Forever Home
While Joni is still active in the horse show world, her real passion is in the rescue and retirement of all creatures great and small. “We have a photo of me in our field where I’m surrounded by the horses, cattle, donkeys, miniature horses, dwarf minis and NYC carriage horses. When I look at it, I think, I could be Dr. Doolittle,” Joni said.
In 2018, when Joni adopted her first carriage horse, Max, she paved the way for creating a forever home at Warioto Inc. for other at-risk horses. Through her partnership with Valerie Angeli and Lynn Coakley at the EQUUS Foundation, Joni not only adopted Max, but Warioto Farm Inc. became the first EQUUS Foundation Forever Farm.
“After talking to Valerie and Lynn, I thought it would be great if we could financially help secure the future for these special horses by providing them with a Forever Farm. Once a person commits to being an EQUUS Forever Farm, they’ve committed to being a responsible, kind, loving home to any horses they adopt. The horses they adopt will never be resold, traded or rehomed once they arrive at their Forever Farm,” Joni said. “I’m so proud to be the first EQUUS Forever Farm.”
Max lived his best life at Warioto Inc. “After everything he had seen and done on the streets of New York City, he continued to be the sweetest, gentlest, kindest horse I’ve ever known. He really flourished during his time with us,” Joni said.
Shortly after Max arrived at Warioto Inc., Joni’s mom asked if she could pay him a visit. Not super mobile at this point in time, Joni’s mom was planning on visiting Max from the comfort of her car.
“I led Max up to the car thinking, I’m not sure what’s going to happen here. He walked up and dropped his nose so she could pet him,” Joni said. “It was so special. Just two old souls who had never met but both trusted each other in that moment.”
Max roamed the fields of Warioto Inc. for nearly a year. “He was treated like fine china and knew what love was. He was so loved, but his body was so worn out. He’s buried here,” Joni said. “Max opened doors to us being able to work with EQUUS. Since he arrived, we’ve been blessed to have retired nine carriage horses total.”
In addition to working with the EQUUS Foundation, Joni also works with Josh Dolan’s The Peeps Foundation and Kelly Smith of Omega Horse Rescue. “Josh is a miracle worker with miniature horses and dwarf minis that have been abused and neglected. We connected through show horses and immediately hit it off. I’ve adopted a number of minis from him, including Little Joe, Lucky, Charm, Blueberry, Toulouse and Mary Poppins,” Joni said.
Joni has adopted a mini, Clementine, from Kelly as well as a calf, Josh, from the dairy industry. “When I started meeting these calves, I decided that I want them all. We’ve adopted a total of four calves, but I definitely want to have more,” Joni said.
While Joni is the one providing these animals with a second chance at life, she believes they give her back just as much as she gives them, if not more. “They have given me a direction that I cherish. Whenever they see people, they’re joyful, loving, playful teachers who teach me something all of the time. They are such forgiving creatures, much more so than humans. I wish we were as forgiving as they are,” she said.
Helping Others
When not actively involved with the animals at Warioto Inc., Joni is busy helping others in her local community. She cares deeply about the welfare of all who are around her, regardless of whether they have two or four legs.
“I come from a family that raised me and my sister to be aware of the needs of people and animals. I was very lucky to have parents who really pushed that,” Joni said. “My mother was very much a part of the community, and was a real friend to and active in organizations that meant a lot to her.”
Joni is involved in a number of organizations such as Park Center, Family & Children’s Service in Nashville, Alive Hospice, Legal Aid Society, Saddle Up!, Fifty Forward and more.
One of her more memorable community interactions was when her family started the Generations Fund at the local Planned Parenthood. “It was my grandmother, my mother, my sister and myself—three generations of women helping to give other women the opportunity to make their own medical decisions through Planned Parenthood,” Joni said. “I thought it was really neat they named it the Generations Fund.”
Alive Hospice is another organization that holds a special place in Joni’s heart, as she volunteered there with her service dog prior to Julie ending up there. “After Julie passed away, I funded a support group room for Alive Hospice here in Franklin in Julie’s memory. It’s a place you can go talk to counselors and work through the grief process,” Joni said.
As Joni looks towards the future, she wants to further expand her involvement with the community, via Warioto Inc. “Warioto Inc. has its own legacy; I feel like I’m just the caretaker. As long as I have it, I want to share it more. Not just with clients and boarders, but I want to be able to have people from the community come out to experience the animals and the sense of serenity we have here,” Joni said.
“In a perfect world, I hope people come out to Warioto Inc., enjoy it and leave feeling a little closer to nature and animals than they ever have before,” she concluded. “I hope after time spent at Warioto Inc., we can all begin to learn from the animals that live here and are loved unconditionally.”
For more information, visit wariotofarminc.com
Photos by Brenda Black
