About Us

Whysper Wynd Farm is owned and managed by Justine and Marc Howell of Chester
County, Pennsylvania.  While Marc married into the business, Justine is the third
generation of Thoroughbred racing professionals.  

Justine's grandfather, James Hammer, bought his first racehorse in the early 1970's when
the track in Erie, PA opened.  Jim and his wife Evelyn had regular riding horses since the
early 1940's that they successfully competed at local and regional shows, but there was
something more thrilling about the racehorses.  Jim purchased a few Thoroughbreds and
hired a trainer for them.  A short while later Jim, being a horse person, was dissatisfied
with the level of care and treatment his horses were receiving.  He took it upon himself to
learn everything there was to know about the training side of racing.  The next season he
took on training duties himself, brought on both Evelyn and his daughter Kathy (Justine's
mother) as his assistants, hired a young jockey from Minnesota named Larry (Justine's
father), and had a fantastic season.  Hard work, coupled with discipline, and
compassionate care have long been the foundation for our success in the horse world.

Justine grew up on an active Thoroughbred breeding and racing farm.  At the age of 10
Justine began breaking horses with her mother and by the age of 13 she broke her first
young Thoroughbred on her own.  Aside from her parents, Justine has found guidance and
inspiration in the United States Pony Club.  From age 7 Justine was an active USPC
member gaining advanced riding experience, knowledge in horsemanship, competition,
and leadership.  During that time she also led 5 consecutive teams to compete on the
national level and rode with well known individuals such as David O'Brien.

While we specialize in breaking and pre-race conditioning of Thoroughbreds, if space
permits we will also work with other breeds including small ponies and restarting off the
track Thoroughbreds.  We use the same system to start all young horses with the goal of
not only making them "racetrack" ready, but also giving them the proper foundation to
move seamlessly to other careers later in life.

Due to medical issues earlier in the year I was forced to give up my facility.  I am
not currently training horses but hope to again in the near future.
TM