First to Fight Farms

Retired Vietnam War Veteran, LtGen Copeland, grew up at Gulfstream park alongside his father who was one of the top trainers at the time. When his father died from a heart attack when he was 10 years old, his mother sold all of their horses so she could pay for things she could no longer afford. Though he was heartbroken, Copeland started working at local bush tracks to fill that void. He worked at the bush tracks until he turned 18 and was drafted into the United States Marine Corps. He served and fought in the Vietnam war and decided to re-enslit after the war was over. Over the next 20 years he worked his way to becoming a LtGen. After he retired, Copeland wanted to get back into horses and racing. He decided to open up his own training center while at the same time helping retired, wounded and disabled Marines. Thus the name of his farm, First to Fight, stands just for that. Most of the staff are retired Marines or dependents.

Owner: Stephen(66) and Marisa(60) Copeland
Barn Manager: Chris Langford(35)
Racing Manager: Greg Richie (29)
Eventing Manager: Judy Lesley(31)
Racing Trainer: Mark Brown(52)
Eventing Trainer: Cathy Wangler(34)
Grooms: Brittani Smith(16), Chance Crawford(18) and Maddie Fairson(19)
Jockeys: Mario Gonzalez(41) and Tiffany Caster(26)