Bevins Haunty’s future is shaped by passion and purpose
by Chris Lomon
“The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever.”
Those words were never spoken directly to standardbred caretaker Bevins Haunty, but they have guided much of her life.
The quote, delivered in the 1993 film A Bronx Tale, has remained with her since childhood.
“It’s one of my favorite movies,” she said. “I would watch it with my dad and every time I heard that line, it stuck with me. I always wanted to make sure that I didn’t have any regrets and that I didn’t go after something I didn’t want.”
The horsewoman from Bridgeport, a city in eastern Harrison County, West Virginia, has had to make several choices — big, small, and everywhere in between — throughout her time in horse racing.
Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of those decisions turned out just as she’d envisioned.
A lifelong horse lover, Bevins’ first hands-on experience came in her early teens when she was offered the chance to work at a local show barn.
“I always had a gut feeling I loved horses and I wanted to be around them, but I never had the connections growing up,” she said. “Then I got an opportunity to start working at a show barn on Sundays.”
The experience proved transformative.
“This is when I knew horses are what I wanted to do,” Bevins said. “I would work from sun-up to sundown on the farm just to be around the horses. A lady who I worked with, Jayne, taught me everything I needed to know, and started letting me ride her horse Silent Arrays Barb, also known as Sophie. One day, Miss Jayne asked if I would like to buy Sophie and she would be my own horse. With tears in my eyes, I said yes and saved every penny I made. This little sorrel cow horse is what started it all.”
Bevins opted to take her high school courses online, affording her the chance to work every day and spending more quality time with Sophie.
Little did she know at the time that furthering her equine education would lead her to an entirely new horse world.
“I stayed at the riding barn until I was introduced to standardbreds,” she said. “I started working for a smaller trainer who raced at The Meadows, where I learned the basics of harness racing and grooming. I was there for a year.”
At 18, she made a major life and career decision, packing her bags and heading off to the Blue Hen State.
“I moved away from my family and everything that I knew,” Bevins said. “I didn’t go to college, so I always said Delaware was my college. I learned even more – grooming, equipment, I even started jogging on the track and I was paddocking every day.”
She also saw a new side of the industry.
“I raced at Dover, Harrington, Ocean Downs, and Rosecroft,” she said. “I was a part of a good team with good horses, so winning became an addiction. I stayed in Delaware for a year. I gained a lot of knowledge and met a lot of amazing people and some great friends. At this time, I was also training my own off-the-track horses to be riding horses.”
Despite all of the upside to her new racing life, Bevins felt something was missing.
Once again, she had to make a difficult decision.
“When I turned 19, I started to get homesick, so I packed up my cow horse and an OTTB [off-track thoroughbred] that I gained while I was there and came home,” she said.
Bevins, who lives her life “taking things day-by-day,” had no idea what was in store for her when she returned.
The lure of horses brought her back to The Meadows and an unexpected job offer.
“I had no clue what my next step was, so I started paddocking,” she said. “One day, [trainer] Norm Parker asked me if I would work for him. I was just supposed to be a fill in, but he ended up giving me a full-time position as a groom. I immediately fell in love with the Parker stable, the team, the horses, the program – it was perfect.
“I started with five colts, who were just starting to be broke. This is where I learned how to break baby racehorses. I love working with the babies, growing trust and a bond, and teaching their little minds how to be horses. A lot of people think training horses is just in the saddle or on the track but all of it is actually in the stall.”
It was with Parker where she met a pair of top-shelf talents, namely, Hamlet Hall and Mr Big Spender.
She took an immediate shine to both.
“They were always both smart, easy to work with, and have great personalities,” Bevins said. “Mr Big Spender really stood out to us. Being one of the first Captain Corey colts, we didn’t know how he would turn out. Further into his training, we realized he was fast. He won his first qualifier and then his first race and he kept going up from there. This is when I learned about stakes races and stallion series. We started to travel with my colts to different tracks. I loved every bit of it. Almost every week was a bigger race and another new track for me.”
Bred in Kentucky by Kentuckiana Farms LLC, Mr Big Spender took her places she had never been before.
“He made his way up to be eligible for the Breeders Crown, so the whole team was ecstatic,” she said. “Last year, the Breeders Crown was held at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Canada. I had never left the country before, so Norm helped me get my passport. We went for the first time for eliminations and he finished second, so we were in to go for the Breeders Crown. The pressure was on and we had to make sure everything was perfect for the next race. We went back to Mohawk for the finals and we were all nervous.
“It was a lot different from any other race. There were photographers everywhere and all the best trainers in North America. We were definitely the underdog, but the whole team was rooting for us at home. Mr Big Spender finished third and that was good enough for us. We were just happy to be there.”
When she returned home, she realized just how profound the Breeders Crown experience was and prompted a look back on her horse racing journey.
“It was everything,” said Bevins, who owns retired standardbred Blacktree, a 15-year-old son of Dali. “I looked back at 14-year-old me, who would do anything just to be around a horse to being 20 and at the biggest race in the sport. I owe it all to Norm, taking a chance on the kid with an unknown last name.”
Perhaps one day, even more horsepeople will know that name.
Working in the Parker barn remains her sole focus for now.
There is a chance, however, that she will follow in his footsteps in the future.
“I love working for Norm and for however long he is training, I want to be there with him and his team,” Bevins said. “I have thought about maybe going out on my own at some point down the line and having my own stable and horses.”
It’s also a reminder that every choice she makes is a stride toward a future shaped by passion and purpose.
