Our Leadership
She was born on a dairy farm in Corfu, NY and moved to Florida in the early 1950s to attend the University of Miami. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education and met her husband, the late Alec Courtelis. Together they co-founded Town and Country Farms in 1974. In August of 2007, Lulu and her daughter Kiki moved Town and Country Farms from Florida to Georgetown, KY. Lulu was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 2009.
What started with a pony in her backyard grew to training and raising champion Arabian show horses. It has now evolved into one of the elite thoroughbred breeding and racing organizations in the United States. Kiki, as the President of Town and Country Farms, presides over all aspects of the farm, including the successful thoroughbred breeding operation, its racehorses, public and private sales, investment opportunities and farm operations. Just like her mother, her passion and care for the horses is unsurpassed.
After moving to Lexington, he soon joined Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville in 2003. He quickly advanced through the Taylor Made Intern Program to become a successful Sales Account Manager, entrusted with clients’ equine portfolios. His outstanding customer service, passion, and integrity led him to excel at the position, and that’s where he met Louise and Kiki Courtelis. Together, they built the foundation of Town and Country Farms Racing. Today, Shannon serves as Town and Country Farms CEO, overseeing all aspects of the farm’s broodmares, foals, stallions, and racing interests. He lives in Lexington with his wife Jessica, and their two beautiful children, Graham and Caroline.
Growing up, he spent a lot of time at the barn with his dad, prominent Kentucky equine veterinarian Dr. Chris Cahill. It was then that he earned a strong foundational knowledge of horses. After earning his BA at Western Kentucky University, Kirt took a job at Taylor Made Farm. Over the course of his time there he moved up the ranks to become a Divisional Manager overseeing broodmares. After leaving Taylor Made, he spent nearly 12 years at Woodford Thoroughbreds, joining their team as Farm Manager and leaving as General Manager of Breeding Operations. He and his wife, Sarah, have 2 children, Austin and Hannah.
Raised on a horse and cattle farm in Mexico, Martín moved to Florida in 1981 to work as a hot walker at Hialeah Park. Over the next 25 years, Martín developed his skills in becoming an invaluable member of our team. Broodmare management, foaling, sales prep and presentation, Martín has done it all. We are fortunate Martín joined the Town and Country team in 2010.
She graduated with a BA from the University of Kentucky. She and her husband Terry, a Paris attorney, have 4 children. Amy’s strong work ethic and diverse employment experience provides Kiki with the talent necessary to be successful in all of her business ventures.
Her childhood was filled with days helping out on her family's farm. After earning her B.S. from Eastern Kentucky University, she began a career in Education. Now residing in Lexington with her husband, Ryan, and son, Xavier, life lead her back to the farm. Amberley joined the team at Town and Country Farms in 2022.