Paul “P.D.” Huffman has been selected as the ISA Horsemen’s Representative in 2023. Huffman has already started his duties and will be full time for the ISA as the representative of the horsemen and horsewomen for the upcoming racing season with qualifiers beginning today.
Paul “PD” Huffman will serve as the ISA Horsemen’s Representative in 2023. Photo by Tammy Knox
Huffman, a longtime horseman in the state of Indiana, now resides in Anderson, Ind. with his two daughters, Olivia and Charlotte. Both girls, 14 and 12 respectively, attend Pendleton Heights schools and both love horses. Huffman has been working for the Tyler George Stable the past seven years but will transition over to the ISA full time this month.
“I’m excited about this opportunity,” said Huffman. “It’s 24 hours a day and if they need me, I’ll be there.”
Huffman will be available in the mornings and during the races at night “from the first to the last,” and will also be at every draw. He also plans to attend several fairs and will venture out to training centers to greet horsemen and horsewomen prior to the season, with a stop at his old stomping grounds, the Indiana State Fairgrounds, one of the first visits planned.
Huffman trained several good horses, but the one that stands out the most was the pacer Carolina Rich. He completed his career in 2005 with 41 wins, more than $368,000 in earnings and a career best time of 1:51.0. The Cambest stallion’s best year was in 2001 when he won 10 races, including his career best at The Meadowlands when he equaled his best time set the year before at four at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Huffman, a native of West Virginia, got his start at Scioto Downs and got on the Grand Circuit where he met Ernie Gaskin. From there, he worked for Gaskin and the Haughton Stable, which brought him to Indiana in the early 1990s at Viking Meadows. He had his own stable for more than a decade before going to work for the George barn.