Hayley Clark's childhood was every young girl's dream. The daughter of professional horsemen Joe Clark and the late Jen Knox of Top Rail Farm grew up with a literal barn full of horses, ponies and miniature horses at home. Whether she wanted to ride them, drive them, show them. . . all were there for her choosing.

 

She became active in 4-H, showing ponies in hunter and Western pleasure classes and driving the minis. One, Elfie, captured yet another driving title at the Pennsylvania State 4-H Show in Harrisburg.

"He has won six times, five times with me and four years in a row," she said. "My grandmother had some minis and you could compete them in 4-H, so I started doing it. He had been sitting at my grandmother's for about three years, so we thought why not try him. We also jump them in-hand and do trail. And I've had him for seven years."

Clark's success has not been limited to those disciplines. With both parents involved in the racing industry, there have always been off-track Thoroughbred projects. One favorite, hot-headed powerhouse Target Sighted, is the polar opposite of the diminutive Elfie.

Bred in Maryland by Charles and Cynthia McGinnes, Target Sighted was foaled at their Thornmar Farm in Chestertown May 7, 2006 (also a Maryland-bred, Clark is from the crop of 2007, making her a year younger than her mount). By perennial leading sire Not For Love, the dark bay gelding is out of the Shelter Half mare Cranberry Muffin. A black-type winner herself, Cranberry Muffin also produced stakes winners Two Punch Gal and All Smiles.

Target Sighted began his career as a 3-year-old May 26, 2009, at Delaware Park for owner The Maltese Cross II and trainer Fran Campitelli. Breaking his maiden at Penn National in his second start, he vaulted to stakes company in Laurel Park's Humphrey S. Finney Stakes, which he won. He followed with a score in the Maryland Million Turf, and returned to run in that race in 2011, 2012 and 2013, finishing fifth, fourth and third.

He spent the 2010-2011 seasons running for Cynthia McGinness and Francis Clemens. After an 11-month layoff, he returned to the races in September 2012 for owner/trainer Jessica Campitelli. She took the horse to Gulfstream Park before losing him in the claim box to trainer Wayne Potts and owners Worcester Investments at Pimlico April 19, 2014.

Target Sighted changed hands again three months later at Delaware Park, going to Thomas Iannotti IV for The Elkstone Group. Making just two starts for those connections, he ended on a high note with a win at Delaware Aug. 25, 2014. He took with him a record of 38-7-7-1 and $274,561.

The gelding spent the next several years with Travis and Wendy Kinnamon, foxhunting and competing in jumper classes. When the Kinnamons divorced and relocated three years ago, they reached out to Joe and Jen about rehoming the horse.

"We just got a call that he needed a spot, so we took him," Clark said. "We were a little hesitant at first; he was 17. But there was no reschooling involved. I jumped on him the first day he came. And there was just something about him. Sometimes you get on one and right away you think 'All
right . . .' So then I thought, 'Well, I've always done hunters, so why not do some jumpers with him?' We've been doing that ever since."

At one point, Top Rail Farm had nearly 40 horses on the property. While Joe Clark specializes in layups from the racetrack, Hayley's mother Jen ran a thriving lesson and horse show business. They relocated from Cochranville, Pa., to Fair Hill four years ago.

Hayley Clark now works mornings as an exercise rider at Bruce Jackson's Fair Hill Equine Therapy Center. Among her colleagues there is Jonathan Joyce, who steered Target Sighted to that 2009 victory in the Finney Stakes.

Since her mother's passing in June, she has concentrated on scaling back the business and helping her father with the layups and off-track Thoroughbreds. When Target Sighted came to the farm, he was that right place/right time horse.

"He was kind of a schoolmaster and I was looking for something that knew a little more," Clark said. "He's not an easy horse to ride. But he's going to jump -- he's always there for you, so I took him over to Second Nature Farm in Oxford, Pa.; we just did a little jumper show. He won a bunch of classes there. I took him to the Cecil County Fair too."

“He gives me so much confidence,
and he always has. He’s still a monster and a hothead. He can be strong.
But he’s reliable. . . he’s always
going to jump.”

– Hayley Clark

 

And with that, Target Sighted's next chapter began.

In both 2024 and 2025, he and Hayley competed in the Real Rider Cup, the Fair Hill-based charity show jumping event which raises funds for Thoroughbred aftercare. The pair finished seventh individually in 2024 as part of the third-place Young Riders team. Back for 2025 as part of Team Fair Hill Equine Therapy Center -- which finished fourth -- they were eighth individually. They raised $1,400 in 2024 and more than doubled that this year, receiving $2,515 in donations.

The 2025 renewal was undoubtedly the biggest outing to date for Target Sighted. For the first time, the Real Rider Cup collaborated with the Maryland 5-Star event and took place after cross country on Saturday, Oct. 18 -- unquestionably the biggest and busiest day of the international competition. Calling the atmosphere sensory overload puts it mildly.

Thirty-five riders -- on seven teams -- assembled to familiarize themselves and their horses (unmounted) with the arena before the official course walk. While there were a few initial snorts and balks, the majority of horses handled it calmly.

Target Sighted -- oldest of the group at 19 -- was not among them.
As Clark left the ring, the 16.2-hand dervish that was Target Sighted spun around her, scattering bystanders near the gate. Accustomed to his antics, she marched on undaunted.

"He was being so bad. I knew he would be electric in that ring," she said. "He was fired up schooling, even out in the grass ring. I think it was a lot of the energy, but he is a very high-strung horse in general. But I'm that type of rider; I like horses that are a little hotter."

With this show season in the rear view, Target Sighted will get the winter off before gearing up for 2026 (as a 20-year-old). He and a few pasture mates live outside with a run-in shed, as "he hates being kept in a stall."

And what's top of the list for next year? A third appearance at the Real Rider Cup.

"He's probably been my favorite horse I've ever jumped," Hayley said. "He gives me so much confidence, and he always has. He's still a monster and a hothead. He can be strong. But he's reliable. . . he's always going to jump. I knew nothing about him when we first got him, but he was just a class act from the beginning."