Smullens cut from the same saddlecloth
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – They share the same passion, work ethic, and dedication for their job. It’s what makes working together quite comfortable for Robin Smullen and her niece Heather, two main components behind the development and success of Tiz the Law, the leading 3-year-old colt in the country.
“She’s a mini-me,” Robin said of Heather. “She feels the same things I feel, sometimes she feels more than what I feel and I feel a lot when I’m on a horse.”
Said Heather: “We grew up learning from the same people, the same stuff, and as long as you always keep your mind open you’re going to learn something from everyone you meet whether you take away from it what you do want to do or what you don’t want to do. As long as you go into everything with an open mind and try to put the horse’s best interest first then you’re in a good place.”
Robin, 57, and Heather, 38, are certainly in a good place this week as they help trainer Barclay Tagg prepare Tiz the Law for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Tiz the Law, a New York-bred son of Constitution, figures to be a strong favorite in an expected field of eight. A win Saturday would most likely send Tiz the Law to Louisville in September as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
Robin gallops Tiz the Law every day, and Heather is aboard for his workouts. Usually, Robin is in the head of Heather via two-way radios. Last Saturday, for Tiz the Law’s final work, however, the radios didn’t work. Tagg wanted Tiz the Law to work in a minute. Tiz the Law went in 59.99 seconds.
“Barclay really likes someone to work horses that are less than 125 pounds, and I haven’t seen 125 in a real long time,” Robin Smullen said. “She’s always had a good clock in her head.”
The Smullens grew up on a farm owned by Robin’s parents in Oxford, Pa. Robin’s oldest brother is Heather’s father, but Heather lived with Robin’s family when her parents divorced. Robin’s parents were in the show-horse business, and Robin began riding at an early age.
“I was competing in jumping when I was 4,” Robin said. “Mom told me if I couldn’t put my own tack on, I couldn’t ride, if I couldn’t get on my own horse, I couldn’t ride either, so you find ways. I didn’t have to tighten the girth because I wasn’t strong enough, but I could put it on, [mom] would tighten it, and then I’d climb on any way I could.”
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In high school, Robin worked for the Mid-Atlantic-based horsemen, Dr. John R.S. Fisher. Smullen trained on her own from 1988-90. According to Equibase, Smullen won 17 races from 139 starters. Down to four horses, she went back to work for Fisher before she met Tagg and started dating him in 1997. A year later, she quit Fisher and went to work for Tagg.
“We work pretty good together,” Robin said. “We don’t fight, we argue. There’s a big difference between fighting and arguing. If you agree to disagree then you’re fine.”
Tagg simply answers “no” when asked if it’s easy to work with your significant other, but he’s also quick to point out how vital Robin is to the operation.
“She never stops until everything’s right, she’s a great worker, she’s got a great mind, she’s a top-quality horseperson,” Tagg said.
In 2002, Tagg’s operation was big enough to warrant having horses based at two locations. Heather Smullen, who went to college for digital photography and visual communications, began overseeing a 25-horse string based in Fair Hill, Md. That fall, a 2-year-old New York-bred named Funny Cide began to show himself as a talent. In 2003, Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before losing the Belmont Stakes. Robin was his regular exercise rider.
“That horse didn’t like anyone except for his groom and Robin,” Heather said. “He tolerated everyone else.”
As Tagg’s stable later condensed into one operation, Heather took a break from the racetrack before returning, where she worked for a number of different trainers including Ralph Nicks. She helped develop Caledonia Road, the 2017 Eclipse Award-winning juvenile filly.
Currently, Heather splits time working for Arindel Farm and Tagg. During the winter, in Florida, her agreement with Arindel allowed her the ability to get on horses for Tagg – most notably Tiz the Law – when needed. Heather is currently overseeing three horses stabled in Saratoga for Arindel – including Grade 1 Ballerina hopeful Cookie Dough – while getting on a few horses daily for Tagg.
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“She’s smart and she’s small enough and strong enough and she does what I ask her to do and she does it well,” Tagg said of Heather.
Heather said at one time she considered training, but now believes the industry is geared too much to the large-size outfits.
“There’s no operation out there that has 100 to 200 horses that treats them the same way that someone that’s dedicated that has 20 to 30 horses treats them,” she said. “The attention to detail; you can’t employ enough people to take those horses out and graze them every day.
“It’s not the way I grew up to commercialize things. I don’t want to start now,” Smullen added. “I’d rather be around good horses with a good income and enjoy what you’re doing than be put in a place where you have to cut corners and not do things the right way.”