HR Stables enters a new chapter while honoring the past

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

May 18, 2026

HORTONVILLE – Despite never actually learning how to ride a horse, Jim Ackerman said when his daughter, Hayley Renee, took an interest more than 20 years ago, he was all in.

Last December, however, Ackerman said Hayley – a 33-year-old Winneconne Police officer – was involved in a snowmobile accident, sadly resulting in her untimely passing.

“It totally changes your world,” he said. “All my life, I worked for a goal…, and now she exits first, and my goal is gone.”

Ackerman said despite the recent tragedy, he hasn’t lost his passion for horses – slowly healing through his work at HR (Hayley Renee) Stables, the Hortonville-based ranch he purchased in 2012.

“I like doing this,” he said. “[I] quit my job that paid a heck of a lot more than this does, but I went to [do] what I wanted to do. I was doing it for Hayley.”

Before the accident, Ackerman said Hayley had moved off the ranch – prompting a boarding client of his, Lindsey Henning, to approach him about helping with the business.

Henning, a REALTOR® by trade, said she began boarding her daughter’s horse at HR Stables roughly one year ago – and when Hayley moved, she asked Ackerman what his plans were for the property.

“I’ve been telling Jim for about a year, ‘Hey, you don’t charge enough – let me help you with the business side,’ because he’s so nice,” she said. “He just wants everybody to be around horses.”

Though she only offered to lend the stables her business acumen, following Hayley’s passing, Henning said Ackerman approached her with a different request.

“After she had passed, that next day, we all came out here, and that’s when Jim had asked if I’d be interested in purchasing it,” she said.

Her one condition, Henning said, was that she and Ackerman work together.

“I pretty much [told him, ‘I will purchase the ranch] only if you’re going to stay around, because otherwise I can’t do it without you,’” she said. “I kept getting this vision of what it could be, and then, when we started talking, it was like he had the same vision as me… [but] you can’t do it alone.”

A healing mission

Since purchasing the property in 2012, Ackerman said HR Stables has offered boarding services to horse owners in the Fox Valley area – featuring the state’s only Vitafloor equine vibration therapy platform.

Prior to starting his business, Ackerman said he was a mill worker, only becoming an equine enthusiast once Hayley started riding at age 10.

“I was there every lesson, [and] I was hands-on [because] I just enjoyed it,” he said.

Over the next six years, Ackerman said Hayley became more involved in horse riding, showing and competing – ultimately getting her first horse in 2008.

“[We were] doing lessons, then the lessons became twice a week, sometimes three times a week, because [we were] going to shows down [in] Milwaukee, Madison, wherever,” he said, “and she was actually really good.”

So, upon discovering a ranch for sale in Hortonville, Ackerman said he decided to take the leap – not for himself, but for Hayley.

“I’m from Neenah, and all of a sudden we’re moving to Hortonville,” he said.

When he established HR Stables, Ackerman said his goal was to keep services affordable.

“Horses can be expensive, and so we wanted to keep it low, but still make some kind of [income to] have food on the table and pay the bills,” he said.

Having been to each of Hayley’s lessons, Ackerman said he’s seen how working with horses can help a young person grow.

“They’re staying out of trouble,” he said. “I think they grow up quicker, [and] they have more responsibility. You can’t have a five-year-old acting like a five-year-old with a 1,000-pound animal… What I say is, ‘Don’t be afraid, but always be aware.’”

Building on Ackerman’s original mission, Henning said they have plans to revamp the ranch – with goals to establish wellness programming in addition to the current boarding services.

“We want to have our boarders come in and really be a part of the therapy and the healing – not only their horses but also the boarders,” she said. “Then, [we also want] to have small events and workshops… [for anyone who] wants to be around a horse, because I see it’s really therapeutic.”

Though she had no prior experience with horses, Henning said when her daughter, Lana, took an interest in riding at age five, she bought in – just like Ackerman.

“She doesn’t have another parent, and it’s always just been us,” she said. “Horses saved our lives, especially hers. They’re so therapeutic, so healing.”

When Lana discovered her passion for western-style and competition riding, Henning said that’s when they purchased their own horse, Kipper.

“We were [previously] at a training facility for barrels that just didn’t feel like home – it didn’t feel like healing, it didn’t feel like connection – it felt more like work, like it was just a transaction,” she said. “Then, we found Jim’s place.”

With indoor and outdoor stables, riding arenas and trails through the back of the property, Henning said HR Stables felt more like home than any other boarding or training facility she and Lana had visited – inspiring her to get further involved.

“You can’t, as one person, take care of the property and run the business,” she said. “I don’t know how [Jim] did it for 14 years.”

Though prices for boarding and lessons are expected to go up, Henning said the increase will be gradual.

“We’re slowly raising them to keep it low enough for some of our boarders we have now, but also bring in new boarders who will see our vision of the boarding, but also the community,” she said.

‘This is my therapy’

After years of caring for others’ horses, Ackerman said in 2016, he decided to join the fun and purchased a six-month-old foal named Cash.

“On Facebook, all it [took] was a picture of his rear muscles – I’ve never seen a rear on a newborn like that in my life,” he said. “He’s built like a Maserati.”

Ackerman said Hayley helped break and train Cash in his early years, but after she moved away, Lana said she started to work with him.

“Obviously, it takes time, because we had our own horse, Kipper, to worry about,” she said. “I was running Kipper, too…, but I kept getting this feeling like I just need to keep trying.”

Eventually, Lana said her effort paid off – having recently barrel-raced Cash in competition for the first time at the end of April.

“He ran a super fast time,” he said. “I took first in the IBRA (International Barrel Racing Association) youth, then second in the NBHA (National Barrel Horse Association) youth – youth [being] 18 and under – and then I took ninth in the NBHA open.”

On the Saturday of Cash and Lana’s race, Ackerman said he barely arrived on time because minutes before, his 87-year-old mother had passed away.

“My mom died Saturday morning [while] the show was going on, and I was 15 minutes late,” he said.

However, Ackerman said seeing Cash and Lana race brought him the peace he needed in that moment.

“I’ll be honest, I actually forgot about it for a while,” he said.

Helping people forget life’s troubles and tragedies, even for a short while, Henning said, is the renewed mission of HR Stables – honoring Hayley every step of the way.

“We’re going to carry on [the legacy of] Hayley Renee,” she said. “We’re going to do a fundraiser every year, whatever that looks like, [and] we’re really hoping that will bring the community back in… So, we’re really excited about that.”

The work ahead, Ackerman said, marks the beginning of a new chapter – one of growth and healing for himself and others.

“This is my therapy,” he said.

For more on HR Stables, visit its Facebook page.