Monika Herrington/Jr Judson Horse Transportation
All of us travel down many different roads in our lives and, for many of us, the career path we choose to follow isn't always the one we stick with for the entire journey. Monika Herrington is living proof of this. She has worked and been involved with horses her entire life but her career path took a different turn after an act of nature cause her to cross paths with JR Hudson, owner of JR Hudson Horse Transportation. Heavy snow caused the roof of the horse barn that Monika was managing to collapse and JR and his longtime driver friend Joe Medico came out to move the horses and equipment.. After speaking with Monika, JR was able to convince her to start a new career by going to work for him and learning how to drive trucks in the process. He told her it was easier to teach "horse people" how to drive trucks than to teach truck drivers how to care for & transport horses.
Monika made the move, and JR and his drivers and friends taught her how to drive trucks in 1995. She moved to Tennessee for a period of time and drove a tri-axle dump truck and a flatbed while living there. When she moved back to Massachusetts she went back to work for JR and she's been able to combine her love for horses and her truck driving career ever since. Monika said that JR and the entire JR Hudson team have always been like family to her.
Her current truck is a 2016 Freightliner Columbia glider kit and she pulls a 2008 52' Doyle Manufacturing horse van. Speaking of hoses, her Freightliner has a Series 6 Detroit engine with 515 "horses", along with a Rockwell 10 speed transmission and a set of Eaton Fuller 3:58 rears. Monika said she loves driving her truck and she always makes sure she leaves the company yard shining in order to show the customers that their prized horses are going to ride in style! She travels throughout the U.S. and Canada, transporting everything from million dollar show & race horses, to backyard family pets, and everything in between. No matter where she goes, her truck is always sparkling, even if it means washing it at 2 a.m. to leave the next day! She credits Jesse "Mop" Jakubajtys, the company truck washer, for helping keep her "baby" shiny and clean and for doing as good of a job washing the truck as she does. Monika has certainly changed her career path in a big way and she's loving every minute of it!
She wanted to thank JR Hudson and Joe Medico for teaching her how to drive and getting her trucking career started. She also wanted to thank JR's wife Robin, who she says is more like her sister than her dispatcher.
Movin' Out would like to thank Monika Herrington and JR Hudson Horse Transportation for all of their hard work and for representing the trucking industry with class and professionalism across the miles! If you want your horses transported safely and well taken care during the trip, JR Hudson Horse Transportation and Monika Herrington are the ones to call.