Horses, friendship, and a gift that advances equine care

After consistently experiencing the excellent care horses receive at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Daniel and Michelle Hughes are making a new $30,000 gift to support the school’s Equine Health and Sports Performance program (EHSP), a premier equine biomedical center in the southern United States. The program conducts leading-edge research, trains future veterinarians and scientists, and provides diagnostic and therapeutic care for critically ill and injured horses. The Hughes gift also honors a longtime friend whose life revolved around horses.

The Donald K. Bos and Robin Lane Thoroughbreds, LLC Equine Support Fund is named for lifelong horseman Donald “DJ” Bos, whose horse training career spanned decades training American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) halter, race and pleasure horses, as well as managing breeding and showing farms in Texas and North Carolina. “He valued the best care of horses, friends, and family as demonstrated in the beautiful way he lived and loved,” Hughes said. “DJ’s positive spirit as a founder of Robin Lane Thoroughbreds was instrumental in establishing the success and values of the stable that proudly remembers him with every foal and every race.”

Hughes and Bos became close friends through Bos’s wife, Monia, a longtime colleague of Hughes. In 2016, they founded Robin Lane Thoroughbreds and purchased three Louisiana-bred thoroughbred yearlings at a Louisiana sale. The decision launched a shared pursuit that involved frequent road trips from Alabama to Louisiana, where the horses were kept on farms in Folsom and raced at tracks across the state.

“The Louisiana Thoroughbred community is full of outstanding horsemen and women, many of whom have become great friends,” said Hughes. “The breeding program is excellent and Louisiana-bred horses have shown they can compete nationally,” Hughes said.  

Robin Lane Thoroughbreds’ first win came in 2017 with a horse named Future Ruler purchased at the Equine Sales of Louisiana 2016 Yearling Sale. He went on to win more than $100,000 in Louisiana racing. They also raced Mike J, who placed in five stakes races.

As Hughes became more involved in the thoroughbred industry, he came to appreciate the specialized veterinary care racehorses require. Because these athletes undergo intense physical exertion, maintaining the health of their musculoskeletal systems and overall well-being requires careful, expert management.

“Not enough people know how impressive LSU Vet Med is,” Hughes said. “It’s a tremendous asset for Louisiana and the equine industry.”

Hughes previously donated $30,000 to the EHSP in 2021. With this new gift, he also hopes to encourage support for the school’s planned Equine Center of Excellence.

Although he had never owned horses before buying the first three in 2016, Hughes now owns 45 thoroughbreds and regularly travels to the Fair Grounds Racecourse in New Orleans, Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, and Evangeline Downs in Opelousas.

“They are fun places to visit. I enjoy getting up early and watching the horses work out,” he said. “It’s amazing to be a part of the thoroughbred community—to watch a horse be born, broken to saddle, trained, race, and be at the finish line. To stand in the winner’s circle is thrilling. It takes years to make a moment that lasts forever.”

DJ Bos passed away in 2020, and Hughes’ support of LSU Vet Med’s equine efforts continues to honor both their friendship and Bos’s lifelong commitment to horsemanship.

“Dr. Britta Leise at LSU has been especially helpful and has tended to our horses through the years,” Hughes said. “She provides best-practices advice to the people on the farms where our horses live. It’s not just transactional at LSU. Veterinarians don’t just treat the horse—they’re an ongoing resource. They help us think things through for the best outcome.”

Because the care Robin Lane’s horses received at LSU Vet Med often involved students, interns, and residents, Hughes and his wife, Michelle, are also making a $25,000 gift to establish a support fund for the LSU Vet Med Office of Admissions and Student Success. Named in memory of Michelle Hughes’ late father, the Mike J. Rosato Student Success Fund will support the office’s efforts to help veterinary students succeed.

Hughes, of Titus, Alabama, is founder of two real estate businesses and an outdoor media company. He began his career as an investment banker specializing in housing and economic development.