Julianne Stowell created a new life

and earned a national award.

Sometimes the worst thing that happens to you turns out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to you. Even if that worst thing is going to prison.
Such was the case with Julianne Stowell, whose cautionary tale began as most do, with bad company and bad decisions.
“My family life was good; good parents and grandparents, a brother and a sister,” shares Stowell, 31, who grew up in Port Canaveral, Florida. “The problem was the people I was involved with outside of my family, particularly my boyfriend. He was the boy next door, who ended up being a drug dealer.”
Stowell was a self-described rebellious teenager, who partied and hung out with the wrong crowd, drank too much and smoked weed. The latter habit progressed to harder drugs.
“But then I would straighten myself out and somehow managed to graduate high school. Then I enrolled in a college of health sciences in Orlando,” says Stowell, whose quiet demeanor and soft-spoken tone are in stark contrast to the story she is telling. “But then my grandfather, who I was very close to and who developed Alzheimer’s, died in 2013. I started doing drugs again, got kicked out of college and got arrested for possession of a controlled substance.”
A short jail stay for the misdemeanor charge did not scare Stowell straight.
“With my boyfriend, I just kept doing drugs and then progressed to breaking into houses with him,” admits Stowell. “In 2015, we were caught, and I was charged as an accessory to burglary. I was sentenced to three years. My parents petitioned the court to send me to a rehabilitation program instead of jail. I was sent to Faith Farm Christian Residential Treatment Center in Boynton Beach, Florida.”
After a year at Faith Farm, Stowell went into a halfway house and then back to her childhood home under house arrest while still on probation. She would be visited regularly by a probation officer.
“One day after my probation officer left, I just took off and drove to what the cops later described in my arrest report as a known drug area,” explains Stowell. “When a cop attempted to pull me over, I sped away. When I was finally stopped, I was arrested for fleeing and eluding, as well as aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.”
Stowell’s original three-year prison sentence now became a six-year prison sentence. She spent six months in the Brevard County Jail until she was transferred in October 2017 to Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala.
“It was surreal when I arrived at Lowell,” says Stowell, who was 24 at the time. “That’s when I realized where my life had led me. And I knew I had to change.”

A New Reality
After being in the LCI general population unit for eight months, Stowell moved to the women’s work camp. The women live in dormitories and are assigned to work in different programs, including Women Offering Obedience and Friendship (WOOF) and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances Farm.
A partnership between LCI and Patriot Service Dogs, the WOOF program pairs the women inmates with canines to train them as service dogs for disabled veterans.
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Saratoga Springs, New York, and whose primary mission is to save thoroughbred racehorses no longer able to compete from possible abuse and slaughter. Its Second Chances Program is located at eight prisons across the country, where retired racehorses play a role in inmate rehabilitation. The TRF Second Chances Farm at LCI is located on 100 acres on state property adjacent to the women’s prison. Established in 2001, the farm is home to 50 retired thoroughbreds at capacity. The women inmates participate in hands-on work experience with the horses and in an equine care technology vocational program.

“I always liked horses, but I never had one. I was hoping to be able to work at the TRF Second Chances Farm,” says Stowell. “But instead, I was assigned to the WOOF program, which was fine because I grew up with dogs and it’s a great program.”
Finally, after two years in the WOOF program, Stowell moved to the TRF Second Chances Farm in June 2020.
“I loved working with the horses from day one. Actually, I enjoyed all of the farm work,” notes Stowell. “We were required to work five days a week with a weekend day being voluntary. I always worked a weekend day.”
The female inmates feed and groom the horses, as well as learn basic equine care such as farrier and dental work alongside professionals who volunteer their time. There also is an opportunity to learn to ride. In addition, they do farm maintenance, including mowing, fixing fences and equipment repair.
In fact, Stowell points out, she was “as comfortable working on a tractor as working with the horses. I’m a fixer. Anything that’s broken, I want to fix.” That trait led her to working with horses who were special cases.
“I was drawn to the horses who were tougher to deal with than others,” she offers. “There was one who came from Puerto Rico, where he had been abandoned in a barn that caught fire. He escaped but was obviously traumatized and he hated being in a stall even to be groomed. I would take him on walks around the farm or exercise him in the round pen to help him burn off his nervous energy. It was good therapy for him and for me.”

A Bit Of Serendipity
Stephanie Brennan, with her husband Niall, owns and operates Niall Brennan Stables in Ocala. In 2019, Stephanie Brennan hired TRF Second Chances Farm graduate Lauren Bandi to work at Niall Brennan Stables, where she exercised horses and was the client relations person for the operation.

“Seeing Lauren thrive because of her time at Second Chances encouraged me to become more involved in the TRF and I became a board member,” explains Brennan. “As a TRF board member, I began volunteering at Second Chances Farm and that’s how I met Julianne, who I know as Jules. I could see that she was committed to changing her life. Jules approached her work with the horses and the other inmates with empathy, resilience and deep commitment to growth.”
When Bandi decided to leave Niall Brennan Stables to start her own media relations business, Stephanie Brennan knew right away who to hire to fill the open position.
“Two weeks before Jules’ release date, I offered her the client relations position,” says Brennan. “I had come to know Jules and I knew she deserved this opportunity.”
Six years to the day of her sentencing, Stowell was released from LCI on April 12, 2023.
“Soon as I as released, I interviewed and got the job at Niall Brennan Stables. I got out on a Wednesday and started working the following Monday,” says Stowell, smiling. “The Brennans put me up in an Airbnb for two weeks. I then rented a room with thoroughbred trainer Gail Woods. I was very fortunate to have such support within the thoroughbred community.”
In her position as client relations, Stowell is responsible for keeping Niall Brennan Stables clients apprised of their thoroughbreds’ training progress while at the farm. It includes taking photos and videos of the horses, which can number 200 during the peak of the training and sales season, and sending them to the clients. Stowell also serves as a liaison when clients come to visit their horses and when they ask about her horse background, she’s not shy about her answer.

“I want to share my story and my experiences at the TRF Second Chances Farm,” explains Stowell, who also helps out wherever she is needed on the farm. “I think it’s important that I acknowledge my journey by sharing it with others.”
Stowell also began connecting with other TRF Second Chances Farm graduates and volunteering to take donations for work release programs in the community. She and Brennan began brainstorming about creating a program to help TRF Second Chances Farm graduates re-enter the workforce. Tentatively named “Leg Up,” the program was in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status at this writing.
“It’s very difficult to come out of prison and back into the real world,” notes Stowell. “Things like finding housing and getting your driver’s license are not easy once you’re released. We want Leg Up to provide support and guidance so they can have a real chance to rebuild their lives.”

Transformation Rewarded
During Stowell’s time at the TRF Second Chances Farm, another frequent visitor was Maggie Sweet, the TRF executive director. Sweet also followed up with Stowell once she began working at Niall Brennan Stables. Impressed by what she saw, Sweet nominated Stowell for the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards’ Newcomer Award. Goldolphin, an international thoroughbred operation, began the TIE Awards 20 years ago to celebrate the behind-the-scenes employees in the thoroughbred industry. Award ceremonies are held in different countries; the 2024 event was in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 15th.
Stowell had no idea she had been nominated until she got a Zoom phone call from Sweet, letting her know that she was one of three finalist for the Newcomer Award.
“I was shocked,” admits Stowell. “I was overwhelmed just to have been nominated.”
Stowell’s life had changed in many ways by then. With her partner, Joseph Marciano, she was expecting a baby. Since Stowell was so close to her due date and couldn’t fly, she and Marciano drove to Lexington for the TIE Awards ceremony. Good thing she did because Stowell won the Newcomer Award, including a $5,000 cash prize.
Stowell wasn’t the only Ocala-connected TIE Awards winner that night: Lauren Marks of Ocala Breeders’ Sales won the Katherine McKee Administration Award, Steve Vargas of Bridlewood Farm garnered the Dedication to Breeding Award and Christine Jones of Pleasant Acres Stallions took home the Managerial Award. Each won $7,500.
“I was so honored to have won the Newcomer Award,” recalls Stowell. “It was so unexpected and humbling.”
“Julianne’s journey is a shining example of what the TRF Second Chances program stands for,” Sweet offers. “Her success shows the incredible potential of people and horses when given the opportunity to heal and grow together.”
Seven days after winning the Newcomer Award, Stowell gave birth to daughter Olivia on October 22nd, 2024. Marciano is now the maintenance supervisor at Niall Brennan Stables.
“I could never have imagined the life I have now. My life experiences show that change is possible,” Stowell shares. “And that change was made possible by the TRF Second Chances Farm, which gave me a career and a new life. I will always be grateful for that and always pay it forward.”

For more information about the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and its Second Chances Program, visit trfinc.org