by Victoria Howard

Amy Cruise Husted was born in Oneida, NY, to a renowned harness racing family. Several champion horses were trained and driven by Amy’s maternal grandfather, Dick Farrington.

Farrington had superstars such as: Warm Breeze, Tender Loving Care and the gorgeous grey horse, Laag.

Husted’s uncle is Hall of Famer and six-time national driving champion, Bob Farrington, who at one time owned a horse that everyone has heard about, Rambling Willie “The Horse That God Loved.”

“My mother, Robin Cruise, has been involved in the sport her entire life,” Husted said. “She can do it all. Mom helped my father Jimmy Cruise, campaign a lot of great horses, including Magician, who made over $ 3.5 million. Currently, she is working for trainer Carter Pinske at the Red Mile.

“My paternal grandfather, Jimmy Cruise Sr., is also in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and raced mostly in New York and California. Both of my grandmothers were dedicated hard-working horsewomen who worked alongside their husbands.”

Husted started working in the business at an early age.

“I’ve been in the barn my entire life,” she said. “When I was 14-years-old I trained my first horse and never stopped.”

In addition to those she worked for in her family, Husted worked for some very recognizable trainers.

“I have worked for some of the best trainers in the business, such as Erv Miller and Tony Alagna,” she said.

It’s obvious Husted picked up the best tips from those top trainers, since last year she won the Hawthorne trainer title.

She met her future husband, horseman Kyle Husted, at a Halloween party in New Jersey. Kyle also comes from a harness racing family for his mother, Pam Coleman, was a trainer, as were his grandfather and great grandfather.

The couple married in 2021, became proud parents of a beautiful baby girl named Emma and relocated to the Midwest to run their stable.

“The first yearling Kyle and I bought together was Fox Valley Exploit,” Amy said.

Today, the 6-year-old mare is the best horse in their stable.

“When we first formed our stable, we had only three horses, but today we have 32 horses that we stable at Joe Putnam’s farm in Indiana,” she said.

The Husteds work together hand-in-hand, toting along their most precious cargo — fifth generation little Emma — who just happens to love being with her parents at the barn.

“Emma began going to the barn with us when she was 4 days old and has been there mostly every day since,” Amy said. “I love to win races, but it makes it even more special that she is with us. Emma absolutely loves the horses and she can pick out her dad on the racetrack and cheers him on. She jumps up and down and claps her hands. And she loves to get her picture taken in the winner’s circle, too.

“Recently I hired a sitter for Emma. [She] is at the stage where she is into everything, but she comes to the races with me almost every evening to cheer daddy on.”

Amy cared greatly for all the horses she’s cared for, but when pressed, she did name a couple of standouts.

“I’ve had so many favorites, but I would have to say it is Fox Valley Exploit, because she really is the one that got my husband and I started,” Amy said. “She has made just shy of a half-million dollars and is undefeated in all four of her sire stakes finals. She really opened a lot of doors for us and is very special to my family.”

Another one of Amy’s favorites would be Caprice Hill who she helped care for while working for Alagna.

“Donna Lee [Alagna’s mother] and I had the best time racing her in Canada,” Amy said. “I learned so much from Donna Lee and really admire her work ethic. She is one tough cookie.”

Caprice Hill is by Kadabra out of the stakes’ winner, Bramasole.

“Caprice was as close to perfect as they come,” Amy said. “During her career she won the Peaceful Way, the Ontario Sire Stakes Super final, the Matron Stakes and was second in the Hambletonian Oaks.

“As far as the fastest horse I have ever taken care of, it would be Dr J Hanover, who set a world record in 1:46.4.”

Today, the Husteds race mostly at Hoosier Park in Indiana, but also ship to Kentucky and Illinois, living out their dream and building a future for little Emma.

Note: Rambling Willie was voted the North American Older Pacer of the Year three times in the 1970s. He was purchased, as a 3-year-old for $15,000 by Bob Farrington for his wife, Vivian, as a birthday gift. Vivian owned 50 per cent and her partner Paul Siebert, owned the other 50 per cent.

Being the daughter of a pastor, Vivian tithed 10 per cent of Rambling Willie’s earnings to his church.

Rambling Willie, the son of Rambling Fury—Meadow Belle was born in Monroeville, IN, never raced at age 2. During his racing career, Willie won 128 races in 305 starts, broke many records and won the U.S. Pacing Championship in 1975.

His lifetime best of 1:54.3 was made when he was seven years old, a world record at the time, and he earned $2,038,219.

Remember this was almost 50 years ago.

What makes this horse so special is that Rambling Willie raced with two bowed tendons.

When his career as a racehorse ended, Rambling Willie lived out his golden years at the Kentucky Horse Park with his pet goat, Billy, until he was euthanized due to laminitis.

If you visit the Kentucky Horse Park, you can see where Willie and Billy are buried, near his paddock at the Hall of Champions.