Breeder Turns To Blogger As Way To Open Farm To Public

It might not be unusual to find a 27-year-old blogging about his or her daily routine (it might not be unusual to find anyone at any age doing so these days), but Adam Bowden’s subject matter probably sets him apart.

Bowden is the owner and manager of Diamond Creek Farm, a Standardbred breeding facility in Paris, Kentucky. His blog, called “From the Inside Out,” gives readers a glimpse into the goings-on at the farm, as well as insight into Bowden’s decisions in running the place.

For example, an entry last week offered his reasons for buying two broodmares at a recent auction; in another, he discusses the birth of a foal and seeks suggestions for a name. Bowden began the blog in December.

“I started it out for a selfish reason more than anything else,” Bowden said. “I started it just to keep track of my own thoughts about the farm. You always forget stories; this was a way to keep track of things. But I enjoy reading (other harness racing blogs) and based on the comments they get, quite a few other people enjoy them. So, I thought it would be fun to let people see the sport from a completely different side. You don’t get insight into the breeding farms very often. I’ve had great response so far. It’s nice.”

Bowden and his father, Chris, started Diamond Creek Farm in 2005. The facility has 65 broodmares and is expecting 54 foals this year.

“If the blog attracts new fans, that would be a bonus,” Bowden said. “If it doesn’t, hopefully it provides good reading. Being here on the farm, I feel secluded a lot of the time.”

While growing up, Bowden watched his father, who is involved in commercial real estate, race a small stable of harness horses in his native Maine. During his college years at the University of Southern Maine, from which he graduated with a biology degree, Bowden spent a couple summers working at Hanover Shoe Farms in Pennsylvania.

“The first summer I was there, I kind of knew this is what I wanted to do. Obviously, not at that magnitude, but something similar,” Bowden said. “After I graduated, I packed my truck up and drove to Kentucky. I was going to either pick any old farm and start at the bottom and work my way up, or go to horseshoeing school. I ended up choosing horseshoeing.

“I wanted to be around the horses constantly and learn a trade I had no idea about. I didn’t work with my hands growing up; this gave me the opportunity to challenge myself a little bit.”

Bowden worked as a farrier and managed a Saddlebred farm in southern Kentucky for two years before starting Diamond Creek.

“My father and I talked for years about getting involved,” Bowden said. “So we moved forward. Probably a little quicker than both of us originally planned, but it’s worked out so far.”

And now those who want to know how can read all about it by clicking here.

“Sometimes, I don’t sleep at night, it’s so much,” Bowden said, laughing. “But, really, it’s been great. I wouldn’t be doing anything else.”

(HRC)