was seek out young trainers that Peter and I could teach our way of training. We’re very fortunate to have Jonathan Ramsay, Gabe DeSoto, Sharon Blendinger and Ashley Roberts, and we have an office staff that includes Joanne Fox, a great horsewoman and trainer. Jim and Wendy Bowman handle stallion management, breeding and foaling, and Jim is in charge of the health needs for all the horses on the property. It makes it a lot easier.” There are now 35 employees at Stachowski Farm. In addition to searching for young horse people with potential, he pays attention to training and marketing techniques in other breeds. The bottom line for him is that if there is a better way of doing things, he is not afraid to try it. At the same time that his professional life accelerated, Jim Stachowski’s personal life grew as well. In 1995, he married
Shawn Moros, and the couple are the parents of Ava and Jim Jr., and a son from Shawn’s first marriage, J.P. Oravets. A horsewoman herself and the daughter of a successful businessman, Shawn has reinforced her husband’s comprehensive perspective on the horse operation. “My dad bought a show horse for me when I was 11,” she says of how long her family has been associated with Jim; Paul Moros was the owner of her husband’s first national champion, Whirlwin Decision. “He thought Jimmy was just a natural businessman [as well as] had so much talent with the horses.” Having also worked for him at one time, she was prepared for the life she leads as his wife. “Everything, every day of his life is an obsession with this farm and what he’s doing for Stachowski Farm,” she observes, “and what’s the next step and how are we going to do it better. Every single day, and I’m not kidding. Obsessed. Driven.” She smiles. “He’s actually mellowed out with his workers. He expects a lot—he demands a lot—but I think they respect his drive and what he can get accomplished. And nothing is personal with Jimmy.” Even when he is upset and critical, he states his case and moves on. “My dad always liked him because, he said, Jimmy was fair with you,” she continues. “I think that’s what customers like about him. He’s not high-pressure, he listens to what they want to do, and he doesn’t get personal about anything.” “What is very fortunate is that my wife understands horses and understands the business,” says the lucky recipient of that support. The fact is, Shawn loves showing horses and Ava and Jimmy Jr. ride, so the horses are a family affair. And she does a lot more than just understand. Jim solicits her opinions on advertising and promotion, and values her input when evaluating horses (as do others). As it turns out, she was a critical factor in the story of Baske Afire, one of the most successful stallions in today’s Arabian breed.
Baske Afire as a yearling on the front cover of the Arabian Horse Times.
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Baske Af ire was the next chapter in the Stachowski story after Jim left Double Diamond and returned to Ohio to