Horse Careers: Racing, Sales, and Stallion Manager

Carrie with California Chrome.

Carrie Gilbert
Racing, Sales and Stallion Manager
Flaxman Holdings

Having grown up riding and showing horses and then visiting Saratoga Race Course at the age of 6, New York native Carrie Gilbert knew that she was wanted to work horses—and not just horses: racehorses.

Carrie went to the track every summer after that, spending days on the backside and going to the races, and it helped shape her dream of living in Kentucky. Immediately upon graduating from high school, she accepted a groom position at Lane’s End Farm. She jumped in head first, learning how to groom and how a first-class Thoroughbred farm operated.

It was there that Carrie was introduced to the Kentucky Equine Management Internship (KEMI) program, and her manager encouraged her to apply.

“This [program] allowed me to meet people my own age working in similar positions who also had a passion for all things equine,” she said. “The opportunities to learn, grow and network appeared endless.”

Carrie also go to see firsthand the ins and outs of an industry she knew she had always wanted to be involved in.

“To be able to handle, care for and help raise some of the best equine athletes in the world was priceless,” she explains. “You form relationship with the management and staff on the farm along with the veterinarians, farriers and so many more key figures who can you can easily call upon in the future for just about anything.”

Once she graduated from the KEMI program in the spring of 2001, Carrie enrolled full-time at the University of Kentucky to obtain her Equine Business degree. At the same time, she began working for Flaxman Holdings part-time as an office administrator, managed a polo barn for a local Lexington polo player, and worked all the major sales in both Kentucky and New York.

“Once I completed school, I began working for Flaxman Holdings full-time, took many side jobs and volunteer opportunities, and I accepted board positions in varying associations, clubs, and organizations in all facets of the Thoroughbred and equine world. My husband and I opened and ran a horse farm with part of the focus on rehabbing, retraining and selling off-the-track Thoroughbreds, which we thoroughly enjoyed.”

Carrie has been with Flaxman for nearly 20 years, and her job has evolved into the role of Racing, Sales and Stallion Coordinator.

“The job is a smorgasbord of duties, including some of my favorite aspects of farm photographer and traveling,” she explains.

While Carrie’s background is vast and varied through her own dedication to deepening her experiences in the Thoroughbred industry, she feels very strongly that her time in KEMI placed her on the path to success.

Article edited and published with permission from Kentucky Equine Management Internship. KEMI is dedicated to improving the opportunities for college students wishing to pursue a career in the field of equine management. The program offers a comprehensive educational experience for students enrolled for academic credit through a sponsoring college or university, or for recent graduates of such institutions. To learn more about this program, visit www.kemi.org.