About Us

Over 30 years of winning

Triumph Stables trains, shows and markets Morgan and Saddlebred show and breeding horses in Roanoke, IN, just minutes from Fort Wayne and two hours from Indianapolis.

John Hufferd

John Hufferd

Owner/Trainer

John grew up in the horse business, working summers for his uncle, Morgan trainer David Hadley, beginning at the tender age of 13. He had always been in love with horses and Uncle Dave fueled his aspirations throughout his teenage years. When he finished high school, he went to work at Highland Farm in Indianapolis while attending night school in the evenings. The opportunity to work as an Assistant at Triple Creek Farms presented itself and he enjoyed learning the ropes from trainer Pierre Loiselle for almost five years. It was at Triple Creek that he began to develop his craft as an expert at training and presenting babies for Futurity and Sweepstakes classes. From there, he joined longtime friend Jim Lowry at Up Hyre Morgan Farm in Ohio, where the two young trainers enjoyed developing clients and together formed Triumph Stables. Not long after, Lowry accepted a position at Apple Flat Farms and John began to grow Triumph Stables into the full service facility that you see today, with World and Grand National Champions in almost every division.

Belle Hufferd

Belle Hufferd

Trainer/Owner

Belle (Katlin) was a well accomplished do-it-yourself amateur who loved and showed her horses and ponies from the time she was a little girl. A family friend introduced her to Morgans and like so many others before her, she fell in love with the breed. After purchasing a beautiful young hunter named Memorial and learning the gelding had been started by John, the relationship between the two developed and eventually Belle moved herself and her horse to Indiana from Michigan and became Mrs. Hufferd. The two began to hone their skills with hunter and western pleasure horses and have since trained and shown many World Champions in these divisions. Belle has also been the guiding light behind many accomplished equitation riders, including Lauren Osborne, Alyssa Rumsey, and the 2017 World and Reserve World Champion 16-17 Hunt Seat On The Flat Equitation riders, Linel Mullendore and Alex Popper.

Alex Vicente

Alex Vicente

Assistant Trainer

Alex has been on Team Triumph for almost 20 years and has never worked for any other trainer. He is John’s right hand man and along with Tyler, starts all of the young horses on the ground. Hailing from Guatemala, when he arrived at Triumph he had never professionally worked with horses. Now, he is the backbone of the baby operation, starting all the foals and yearlings to be shown in hand. In 2017, Alex lead the Morgan Weanling Gala Grand Champion, Late Night Decision, as well as the Reserve Champion All American Cup Saddlebred filly, Dreaming Diva.

Tyler Hufferd

Tyler Hufferd

Assistant Trainer

Born into the Triumph team, Tyler has become an integral part of the training operation. With his horse trainer parents and Uncle Kurt Hufferd and Shanna Gish next door at Indian Creek Farm, Tyler had top level training and instruction that helped him to amass more than a dozen wins at the Grand National both under saddle and driving as a junior exhibitor. He also enjoyed catch riding and driving for other trainers who recognized his talents. After taking a break from the horses in his early 20s, he returned to the family business of his own volition and is now John’s go-to ground person, he rides and drives anything and is also an accomplished tailer for the halter horses.

Aaryn Whitacre

Aaryn Whitacre

Assistant Trainer

A veteran of over a dozen years at Triumph Stables, Aaryn is the glue that holds the barn together. She grew up as a typically horse-obsessed child, showing at the 4-H level before landing her first job working for Mary Carlton at Crystal Farms in her home town of Marshall, Michigan, where she spent five years learning what it takes to keep a large Morgan training barn operating at its best. Being an accomplished hunt and western rider, she then jumped at the opportunity to work for Jenny and Earl McFall at Dragonfire Farm in California for a year before moving back to the midwest to accept her position at Triumph. She manages every detail of the very busy facility, and loves every aspect of her job. She enjoys assisting Belle with lessons and she finds time to take the lead on summer horsemanship camps.