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76 HOOF BEATS october 2013photo by mark hall

Winds of C hange

scion: Barry Skolnick, son of the late Allen and Connie Skolnick of Southwind Farms, has taken over the proverbial reins at the venerable New Jersey facility, which stands such champions as Muscle Hill, Sportswriter and Chapter Seven.

in addition to being one of the elite breeding operations in harness rac-ing, Southwind Farms is also one of the most beautiful facilities in the country. With its lush, green hills

and wooden, picket fences, the 235-acre farm, located in the heart of New Jersey, is like a stallion paradise extracted from the mind of Thomas Kinkade.

Six months ago, however, the beauty was hard to see. Things went from uto-pian to calamitous in the blink of an eye when Allen and Connie Skolnick, the esteemed founders of Southwind Farms, died from cancer in just a matter of weeks.

“It’s not some 235-acre crater in the ground in Pennington, N.J., that Southwind got sucked into,” said farm manager Laura Young. “However, emo-tionally it did feel like that.”

Southwind Farms forges ahead after founders’

deaths

by Jason Turner

HOOF BEATS october 2013 77

Winds of C hange

Picking up the pieces after a devas-tating loss is never easy, but the staff at Southwind Farms—led by the Skolnick’s son, Barry, who has taken over as CEO, and Young—is determined to do just that.

Young said that the transition to life in a post-Allen and Connie era has been difficult for everyone, but their mission has never been clearer.

“When Mr. Skolnick had passed, we gathered our grieving staff and told them, ‘Now we continue being the best we can be and make this facility even bet-ter than it has been, in memory of Allen and Connie and out of respect for the entire Skolnick family,’” she said. “We let their legacy live on through Southwind.

“Everything is the same,” she said, “. . . only different.”

T he legacy of Southwind Farms began in the late 1970s. Already a successful entrepre-neur and owner of a pharma-

ceutical company called Solgar, Allen Skolnick and his wife returned to their

agricultural roots and decided to test the waters of Standardbred ownership. The couple purchased three yearlings—two fillies and a colt.

The colt, Royce, earned $437,177 in purses and was said to be the Skolnick’s inspiration for staying in the sport, and after their two fillies retired from racing they became broodmares. Having board-ed their horses at other farms for several years, the Skolnicks decided they needed a place of their own and purchased their first farm, a 390-acre plot of land in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

Six years later, due to the increasing size of their broodmare band and a desire to be more relevant in the burgeoning East Coast racing scene, the Skolnicks

purchased a second farm in Pennington, N.J., which their middle son, Barry, helped design.

“I was pretty involved in the layout and structure of the property,” he said. “One of my pastimes that I really enjoy is interior and exterior design. Being creative was always the fun part of the business.”

Over the next 30 years, Southwind Farms produced some outstand-ing performers, including Southwind Lynx ($1,763,389), Southwind Tempo ($2,396,362) and Total Truth ($2,022,433). The farm has also stood many of the top sires in the sport, includ-ing the one who started it all—Valley Victory.

“We had no intention of ever standing a stallion,” said Allen in a 2006 interview with The Harness Edge. “When Myron [Bell] inquired if we would be interested in standing one, I asked the name of the horse. When he told me Valley Victory, lights went on. I said it might be a thought, but let me get back to you.

“Whether it was instinct or intuition,

78 HOOF BEATS october 2013

transition: Above: Skolnick and farm manager Laura Young continue to run Southwind in the same spirit as before, with maximum efficiency and minimum overhead. Right: Skolnick played a role in the farm’s original layout and structure, and continues to exercise his love of design in all aspects of its appearance.

Winds of Change

photos by mark hall


‘‘What I learned from my father

Was What to do, not What not to do. he

only Wanted to operate at the hIghest levels

and he brought that same

commItment to the horse

Industry.”barry skolniCk

Valley Victory was the right horse. He recreated the breed.”

A few years later, another important addition was made to the stallion ros-ter when Artsplace came to stand at Southwind. Coming off an undefeated 4-year-old season in 1992, the son of Abercrombie was in great demand, and he validated even the most extravagant expectations, becoming one of the most influential pacing sires of the last 30 years.

Much of Southwind Farms’ success can be attributed to the vision and values of Allen and Connie Skolnick.

Allen had a great mind for business and an uncompromising commitment to excellence that allowed his small farm to compete with even the largest breeding operations.

He did things the right way. He did things the smart way. And he did things his way.

“My father was a brilliant business-man,” Barry said. “He had great busi-

ness instincts and treated people fairly. He never took advantage of people.

“What I learned from him was what to do, not what not to do. He only wanted to operate at the highest levels and he brought that same commitment to the horse industry.”

Those values extended not only to Southwind Farms, but also to the many other business ventures in which Allen and the Skolnick family participated.

In 1998, after more than 30 years in the vitamin business, Allen sold Solgar, the company he’d helped build into an industry leader, and sought out new investment opportunities. This led to the creation of the CAMBR Company (an acronym that stands for Connie, Allen, Mitchel, Barry and Rand), a new fam-ily venture that delved into real estate, research and philanthropy.

Barry, who had always played a role in the family business, found his niche under the new umbrella of CAMBR initiatives.

“I ran a subsidiary of CAMBR that

invested in real estate, commercial and residential properties, office buildings, shopping centers—and that’s pretty much what I concentrated on,” he said. “Vitamins were a great business, but you had to sell a lot of vitamins! With real estate, what excited me was working with bigger numbers, with bricks and mortar. It turned me on a little more.”

Under the CAMBR company, Southwind Farms continued to excel as well, emerging as one of the elite breeders in the Standardbred industry. Because of


Winds of Change

photos by mark hall

passing the baton: Clockwise from left: Allen and Connie Skolnick died within a month of each other this past spring, leaving behind a legacy of solid business values for the Southwind staff to move forward with. • The farm’s 235 acres in Pennington, N.J., have produced such stars as Southwind Lynx, Southwind Tempo and Total Truth. • Barry Skolnick has been involved with the sport since 1992. Here he confers with Southwind syndicate manager Mike Klau and trainer Ron Burke during this year’s Hambletonian Day at Meadowlands Racetrack.

this, Barry and Laura don’t feel the need to change much about the way the farm has been operating for the past 40 years.

“As far as the farm’s daily activi-ties, they will remain unchanged,” said Young. “Our goal is to produce, pur-chase, stand and sell top Standardbred horses.

“We’ll remain on the front lines, but just below the radar, as Mr. Skolnick would have said. We run this facility a lot differently than many farms. We run it at maximum efficiency with minimal

overhead.”One of the key factors in achiev-

ing that maximum efficiency is through self-reliance. Southwind Farms farms approximately 500 acres of land off-site, producing 10,000-11,000 bales of hay and 8,000 bales of rye and wheat straw. The hay yields enough to meet their in-house needs and the majority of the rye and wheat is sold off to generate revenue.

Young estimates that their hay pro-duction alone saves Southwind more than $82,000 a year.

“Farming is very risky,” she said. “It’s not for those with weak stomachs. Sometimes we work so much we forget what day of the week it is, but in the long run if you can do it, it saves a tremen-dous amount of money and helps keep us in the black.”

Another example of self-sufficiency is Southwind’s decision to operate without a full-time veterinarian on staff. Young said many of the routine procedures a veterinarian might be responsible for, including ultrasounds, mare treatment,


‘‘our goal Is to produce, purchase, stand and sell top standardbred horses.”

laura young

and stallion collection and distribution can actually be handled in-house, which results in savings of more than $100,000 per year.

“Everything we can possibly do our-selves, we do,” she said. “But there’s also a balance of responsibility that comes with that. We know our limits. If we have an issue that is beyond our knowledge, we have an army of world-renowned veterinarians only a phone call or text message away.”

It’s hard to imagine Southwind Farms becoming the success it is today without the implementation of good business practices, but the defining characteristic of the business, and of the Skolnick legacy, is a heavy emphasis in the familial nature of their operation.

Allen Skolnick detested the word “boss.” He considered someone who had been with the company less than 10 years “new,” and his definition of family extended not only to his wife and sons, but also to the small, dedicated team of Southwind employees he hired.

“It’s been a difficult time for everyone at Southwind Farms,” said Barry. “But we have a dedicated staff who are very loyal to our family and we all have to pull together to make things work.”

Connie Skolnick was diagnosed with stage four, pancreatic can-cer and died on March 28, 2013.

Less than a month later, on April 24, Allen, her husband of 60 years, lost his battle with prostate cancer.

The losses came as a terrible shock to the Skolnick family, and marked the end of an era for Southwind Farms. But their impact is unmistakable.

“Mr. Skolnick was a genius; I never met someone so intelligent in my life,” Young said. “Every story he would tell had a critical point of knowledge that he was lending you. I was like a sponge when he spoke and I absorbed every-thing.

“Their family has old-school values that are nonexistent in today’s world. Those values have helped to mold me into who I am today, and the knowledge they have given me is unprecedented.”

News of Allen and Connie’s pass-ing seemed to reach every corner of the industry. Friends, colleagues and long-time associates all mourned the loss and

many offered their condolences.“The outpouring was overwhelm-

ing,” said Young. “We did our very best to contact everyone that called, e-mailed and texted, or sent cards and flowers. I had about 300 messages sent to me the day we made the announcement of Mr. Skolnick’s passing. I personally apolo-gize to all the people we weren’t able to respond to.”

Unfortunately, said Young, there were

also some less-than-positive reactions.“I have had hundreds of questions

coming at me the past few months,” said Young. “I have read blogs and e-mails that made assumptions about what would happen to us. It seems as though the sharks are always swarming below anyone’s misfortune, which is really sad that people have to be so negative.

“The most frequent question is ‘What is going to happen to Southwind?’ The


hot WheelsWhether it’s horses or just horsepower, Barry Skolnick loves racing. As the CEO of Southwind Farms, he’s focused solely on Standardbreds, but at home he’s all about anything that looks great in chrome.

Skolnick has been building, restoring and collecting cars for more than 30 years. His favorites include street rods, vintage cars from the ’50s, and the one that got away.

“My father used to tell me, ‘You’re never going to make money with these cars,’” he said. “I used to have a 1935 LaSalle convertible. It looked original, but it was restored and had an updated engine and transmission. I had just pur-chased a home and it needed some restoration; to prove a point to my father I sold the car and made a very handsome profit on it. I’ve always regretted it and I’ve never sold another car since.”

That traumatic experience has not, however, stopped Skolnick from buying more cars. Most recently he’s been collecting exotic, European cars, including a Ferrari F12 he had imported from Italy in July.

And his love of cars extends beyond just collecting and admiring them. Skolnick is also a founding member of the Monticello Motor Club, a 4.1-mile private racetrack about 90 minutes outside of Manhattan, N.Y.

“It’s just a great place to race, meet some people and have a great time,” he said.

Despite his love of both horse racing and car racing, Skolnick said there aren’t a lot of similarities between the two sports.

“Whether you’re dealing with one horse or 700 horsepower, it can be chal-lenging,” he said. “But it’s very different dealing with a mechanical engine versus an animal.”

Winds of Change

photo by mark hall

answer is, nothing. Our goals remain the same, and our future is no different than any other breeding farm in the world.”

W hatever the future holds for Southwind Farm, Barry Skolnick will be the one to lead them there.

From the conceptualization of the Southwind property back in 1987 to his position as president of the CAMBR Realty division, Barry has always been involved with the family business, but his role has not always been the most visible or obvious, particularly to Southwind’s breeding affiliates.

Young said many of the horsemen she spoke with after the Skolnicks had died were not even aware they had another son (their oldest son, Mitchel, owns and operates Bluestone Farm in New Jersey), let alone that he was taking over the farm.

But being unknown does not equal unqualified. Barry’s been preparing for his role for a long time and is looking forward to the challenge.

“I came back to work with my father several years before his passing,” said Skolnick, who has been involved in the sport since 1992. “Before I truly knew that my father was sick he had hint-ed to me [about abdicating control of Southwind to Barry]. When we sold Solgar I didn’t retire completely, but I went my own way and he approached me and let me know he was thinking about selling the business and putting the money into the CAMBR charity. But he said, ‘If you’re interested in running the farm, I won’t sell it.’

“It was my father’s desire for the farm to continue to operate, and I promised him that we would follow his wishes.”

Young said the Southwind staff has an excellent relationship with Barry, and she sees a lot of the same traits in him that were characteristic of his mother and father.

“He is easy to talk to and down to earth. He’s also very intelligent, which is not surprising, and many of his values are a modern reflection of his parents.”

One of the few areas in which Barry and his parents did not agree, however, is aesthetics.

“The farm could use a little sprucing up,” he said. “It’s a beautiful facility, but we’re freshening things up a bit—paint-ing, landscaping, stuff like that. As beau-


tiful as Southwind is now, it’s going to be even more beautiful when we’re finished.

“I have a very different aesthetic eye than my parents did, so I’m going to put my touch on it.”

Barry said he’s also planning to change the name of the family’s charitable orga-nization, which provides funding for edu-cational and research and development programs, from the CAMBR Foundation to the Skolnick Family Charitable Trust to honor his late father.

“My father was a very humble man,” he said. “He was very philanthropic, but he never wanted his name on anything, and I feel like he deserves that recogni-tion.”

Southwind Farms will continue to operate, as it always has, under the leadership of a Skolnick. Barry will take the reigns as CEO, while Young, her husband, Chris, and syndicate manager Mike Klau will oversee the day-to-day operations.

It’s an arrangement that all involved are looking forward to, and there is an expectation that the same combination of integrity, ingenuity and hard work that has brought them this far will also carry them far into the future.

Skolnick said he would like to see Southwind reach the same heights of success they achieved when they stood some of the breed’s finest stallions. More importantly, however, he believes they have the pedigree to make it happen.

“We are very bullish on our young stallions,” he said. “Muscle Hill has made a great start to his career. Sportswriter, who stands at Tara Hills Stud in Canada, will have his first crop of yearlings selling this fall, and our newest stallion, Chapter Seven, who is standing in New York at Blue Chip Farms, just completed his first season at stud. We maintain ownership interests in these stallions and the future looks bright for all of them.”

“We are open for business,” Young said. “The horse racing industry has had its ups and downs, and it will continue to have successes and failures. Many facili-ties have already closed their doors. If the day ever comes when the bottom falls out of the horse business, I can assure you that our farm will be one of the few left standing.”

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