On the afternoon of August 12, 2019, Edwin, Louis and Grace Merryman of Anchor & Hope Farm in nearby Port Deposit, Maryland suffered the unthinkable when a fire completely destroyed their historic main barn. Due to the quick thinking and beyond-heroic actions of their former farm manager Heather Cellinesi, all horses in the barn at that time made it out safely, including stallions Bourbon Courage and Imagining. Imagining was the most in peril as the source of the fire was closest to his stall and the heat was already beginning to melt the bars in his stall door. The fact that no living souls were harmed or lost remains miraculous to this day.
Anchor & Hope is a beautiful property high on a bluff above the Susquehanna River here in Cecil County, just about 20 minutes south of Fair Hill. The thick black smoke could be seen for miles that afternoon, and word spread quickly of the fire and its destruction. Within hours, the community of local horsemen did what we do best – we offered help and sprang into action. The Merrymans’ loss was devastating, leaving them with barely more than a few lead shanks at best.
Anchor and Hope was scheduled to have a sizable consignment of homebreds to Fasig-Tipton Midlantic’s Fall Yearling Sale just six weeks later. Faced with such a catastrophic situation at the farm, there was no way they could move forward toward that Timonium sale. A quick pivot to Plan B, and what Grace Merryman called “The Fire Sale” began in earnest.
I went down to Anchor & Hope just two days after the fire and was immediately struck by how horrifying the ordeal must have been. Their gorgeous old bank barn complex was a heap of rubble and twisted metal, still smoldering from the tons of burned feed that had been delivered right before the fire.
What I did not see that day was despair or self-pity. Instead, the Merryman family expressed overwhelming gratitude and thanks – gratitude that all of their horses were spared, and thanks to everyone who reached out to help in any and all ways possible.
We set to to work photographing the yearlings for their consignment….and there were some nice ones. Among them was Exculpatory (Mineshaft – Elusory, by Broken Vow). A favorite of Grace’s, he was offered instead at Keeneland’s November sale that year and was a $37,000 RNA. He came back home to Maryland and went on to run in Grace’s colors, break his maiden at first asking and became a stakes winner of $240,032.
But it was the sharp bay filly by former Herringswell trainee Bourbon Courage out of Taylor Jagger (by Student Council) who has since found her way to our Fair Hill barn. SHE’SAROLLINGSTONE joined us in November 2023. She has run twice in 2024, most recently finishing second in an allowance at Laurel Park on February 16 for owner John Davison.
Shortly after that race, I received this text:
“Hi Maggie, it’s Grace Merryman – hope everything is well! I saw She’sarollingstone is with you guys now. I don’t know if you’ve put the years together or not, but she’s one of my Fire Sale yearlings you came to take pictures of. Funny how things work out.
She looked great! I was happy to see her coming back to her old form. Please tell her caretakers I appreciate it! She really looks awesome.”
Glad we’ve played a part in her wonderful story, Grace. There’s absolutely nothing we love more than a happy ending.
She’sarollingstone as a yearling at Anchor & Hope Farm
From the BloodHorse, August 21, 2019:
Anchor & Hope Farm Rebuilds From Fire