Sierra Seidner is involved in harness racing on many levels and wouldn’t have it any other way
by Victoria Howard
Sierra Seidner grew up around horses. Born in Youngstown, OH, she spent much of her time on her great-grandparent’s farm enjoying the mules and what she called “hillbilly horses.”
Although her family was not involved in harness racing, they loved horses and participated in many trail and endurance rides.
In 2013, when Seidner was a junior in high school, her great-grandmother introduced her to Dr. David Swaney. Not only was he the family’s veterinarian, but he was also their friend who accompanied them when riding the horses.
“Dr. Swaney owned standardbreds who I would help jog,” Seidner said. “As the saying goes, ‘Once it’s in your blood, it never goes away.’ Thus, I never left after I was bitten by the bug.”
Decades later, Seidner is deeply involved in the sport.
“I train my own horses and I also drive,” she said. “As I have gotten older, I found I have more fun training and fine tuning my horses then letting someone else drive in the race. I feel that sitting behind my horses I notice fine details that otherwise may get overlooked.”
Seidner currently owns five trotters.
“My broodmare is Warken To Win, a yearling named Blazing Bruce, 2-year-old Somolli Hill who will be renamed soon, 3-year-old Jet Joanna, named after my great-grandmother, and Tristar Carmen who is now 6 years old,” Seidner said.
Seidner owns a small place with a pasture and trains at Dr. Swaney’s farm with some help from her significant other.
“I usually race at Northfield Park and Shenandoah Downs, along with the Ohio Fairs in the summer,” she said. “My husband, Ben, who was never involved with horses before meeting me, has become more involved over the years and enjoys jogging and comes to the races.”
Not only is Sierra heavily involved in the business, but she is also the owner/founder/president of Iron Horse Animal Health.
“Iron Horse offers a line of nutritional products for horses and other livestock,” she said. “Our main product is Hoof-N-Sole, a product Dr. Swaney formulated in 1990. Customers love it for its ability to stimulate rapid hoof growth and its affordability. It is available for purchase at Big Dee’s and on Chewy where it is ranked as one of their Top 10 hoof products.
“Egg Enhancer was my creation and is now our biggest success. It helps laying hens produce more eggs with stronger shells and richer yolks, even through stress and seasonal changes. It has been available on Chewy for almost two years and recently I got a contract with Tractor Supply and it is available in 715 stores nationwide.
“Tractor Supply is the largest Farm and Ranch store in the country with 2,200 stores. This has been huge and I am very proud of this achievement, considering Iron Horse did not even have a website when I got it in 2021.”
For harness horses, Sierra has a probiotic, ProBiome-80, and a molasses flavored electrolyte, Molassolyte.
“Probiome-80 is rich in lactic acid bacteria and great for stimulating gut flora and supporting gut health,” she said. “Molassolyte entices horses to drink water better than any other electrolyte out there. We sell it in 25-pound buckets to larger stables… All our products have been formulated keeping price and quality both in mind.”
In what little spare time Sierra has, she said there is at least one thing she does to have fun.
“Well, I enjoy skijoring,” she said with a laugh. “Skijoring has quickly become popular. I love to ski and of course I love horses, so skijoring is the perfect blend of my two favorite hobbies.
Skijoring is a winter sport where a person wears skis and is pulled over snow or ice by a horse or vehicle.
“My friend Chrissy and I decided to give it a try this past year,” Sierra said. “We traveled to Topsham, ME, to compete. I skied while Chrissy rode her horse, Bubba. We had the time of our lives and look forward to doing more of it.”
