About Us

MDS Farms was established in 1972 and is located in Salisbury, New Hampshire. For over 35 years the Hodges and Sanborn families have been competing in National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) events with the horses they breed, raise, train, and show.

 

For maps and directions, click the MapQuest icon, at the bottom of the navigation bar, below.

Our GPS coordinates are:

• Latitude: N 43° 24.091'
• Longitude: W 71° 47.390'

 

Dan Sanborn: Weekend Warrior by Susan Morrison

Dan Sanborn never imagined a career riding reining horses. Although his parents and grandparents had been active in the horse industry for years, Sanborn chose a related position but kept his feet on the ground. “I started shoeing horses at 17 and did that for a living,” said the 33-year-old Salisbury, NH, resident.

But life often deals some unfortunate hands, and that is what happened just before Christmas in 2001, when Sanborn’s younger brother, Matthew, was killed in a car accident. As the entire family was reeling from the loss of the young man, who had been showing reiners, horses somehow gave them strength. In the process, Sanborn’s interest in reiners was renewed and the direction of his future was changed. “The whole family was devastated,” he said. “You always think it can never happen to you. The reining family up here is very close – the Northeast Reining Horse Association is a very tight knit group of people. We all found comfort with the horses and going to shows and being around those people. It just filled a void for me at the time, and then it turned into a passion.”

Although Sanborn had shown briefly as a youth, it had been many years since he’d ridden at all. “My family was always very horse-oriented, but I really wasn’t riding,” Sanborn said. “I didn’t ride from the age of 17 to my mid-20s.” All that changed six years ago when Sanborn climbed aboard Velvet Bueno Chex (Bueno Chexinic x Enter Velvet x Be Aech Enterprise), the mare who helped him get his feet wet in the show pen as a non-pro.

“That was the first mare I showed once I got going,” he said. “I didn’t know anything and she really took good care of me.” Most of the mare’s $4,789 in earnings came with Sanborn in the saddle between 2002 and 2004, and she gave him the confidence he needed in the show pen.

By 2003, Sanborn started showing MDS Sailor (JH Enterprise x Sailing Doll x Topsail Cody), and the gelding quickly became a favorite. “He was a great horse, and he’s still showing today,” Sanborn said. “I think he won 15 non-pro reinings in a row for me. He just kept me going and going and going. I won my first Lawson [trophy] on him. He did a lot for me.”

Sanborn’s favorite memory of MDS Sailor, whose earnings total $21,465, is when he won several classes at the 2005 Matt Sanborn Memorial Derby, an event named in honor of his late brother. He showed in both the Open and Non-Pro with success. “MDS Sailor marked a 148.5,” he recalled. “That was a memorable run for me. It was my brother’s derby and I got to win it.”

Both those horses were owned by Sanborn’s grandparents, David and Joanne Hodges, who also own Northern Enterprise, a gelding Sanborn is presently showing. Catherine Achtenhagen showed him to third place in the NRHA Non-Pro top-10 standings in 2005. The horse is leading the NRHA Intermediate Open this year with earnings of $1,810 at the beginning of May, and has total earnings of $67,341. Dan’s parents, Barry and Joanne Sanborn, also are deeply involved in the reining horses industry.

The family’s operation, MDS Farms, was formed when they rolled the Sanborns’ Five Maples Farm and the Hodges’ Mountain Side Farm into one entity after Matthew’s death, and named the facility in his honor. When Sanborn gave up his non-pro card to become a trainer last year, his brother, Michael, took over the shoeing business.

Today, Sanborn and his family – his wife, Teri; daughters, Lindsey, 9, and Lauren, 6; and son, Matthew, 3 – are making it clear that the reining tradition will be carried on. The girls already show in short-stirrup classes, while Matthew has his own pony.

Sanborn said he considers working closely with his family as a blessing. “They’ve given me so much support. They have just been fantastic,” he said. “I’ve got a few outside horses, but most of the show horses I have are family-owned. There are less people to keep happy, but you’d better do a damn good job! But they’re so understanding.”

The trainer also gives credit to NRHA Hall of Fame member Charles Smith, who has helped him fine-tune his program. “I’ve been fortunate to have Charles coach me. He has been instrumental in my career,” Sanborn said. “We buy and sell horses back and forth, and he coaches me, even though I’m an open rider. I was family-taught, but Charlie put the finishing touches on it. He’s phenomenal.”

Sanborn added with a laugh that Smith “beats me up for every little stupid thing I do,” but said the trainer also has given him invaluable advice. “He’s always said just go show what you have, and show the way that you know how to show,” he said. “I was making mistakes. I thought I had a plus-half turner and I’d go in there and try to plus-1 it, or I had a zero stopper and I’d try to plus-1 it, and it would just fall apart. Charlie just said to do your strong things strong, and do your weak things the best you possibly can.”

Sanborn, whose earnings now total $53,206, often goes to two shows a month, and although the hauling can be difficult, he said the people and horses make it all worthwhile. “The best part is the people,” he said. “The more you go, the more people you meet and the more fun you have.”

Now that he’s coaching others, Sanborn said he thinks one of the most important things any rider should remember is that showing horses is always a challenge. “There are ups and downs. This is a very humbling business,” he said. “If you have a bad go or a bad run or something doesn’t go right, just leave it behind you, pick your chin up and get right back in the pen, because it will turn around. That’s been the hardest thing for me to overcome. I get emotional, thinking I had a horrible run. But I’ve learned from hauling that you’ve got to let that stuff go. If you drag those thoughts or those bad runs with you, they’ll haunt you. Everyone has them. Just learn from them and get right back in the pen.”

 

Samantha Silver

Samantha Silver has been riding reining horses since 2003, when she started in the youth classes doing very well, winning multiple NERHA year-end championships.

She eventually started showing in the non-pro classes and aged events where she was very successful. She has won the Florida Classic Derby, the Spring Celebration Derby in North Carolina, the Top Ten at the All American Quarter Horse Congress multiple times, the NRHA year-end Top Ten, and the NERHA non-pro and novice horse year-end buckles.

Sam’s lifetime earnings are in excess of $35,000.

In 2009 Sam decided to enter the professional ranks of reining, working for MDS Farms. She will be assisting with the training of non-pros while maintaining the MDS brood at the highest levels.