It is difficult to tell the story of Haymaker Horse Ranch without the context of how owners Laura Lopez and Francisco Tafoya met and the integral part that boxing has played in their lives.
Laura and Frankie met years ago in the Hamlin Park Boxing Gym, while Laura would go on to some amateur bouts on the women’s amateur circuit- becoming the Chicago Golden Gloves Champ- Frankie would become part of the US National Team. Frankie had a boyhood crush on Laura. He spent most of his time at Hamlin Park refining his boxing skills and daydreaming about Laura. |
Laura spent her time sparring and working on her killer straight right at Hamlin, but the bulk of her time was spent on her full-time job as a Chicago Public School Teacher.
It would be years, and several adult beverages, before Frankie would work up the courage to admit his boyhood crush had remained firmly intact. On November 24, 2013, Frankie finally confessed his affection to a very surprised Laura. The two began dating and two years later, in what many would deem extremely patriotic, Frankie proposed on July 4, 2015. |
They married a year later, on July 23, 2016. The theme of the wedding was love–surrounded by so many friends and family members happy to witness their union, but the literal theme was boxing. A theme fitting of them, their beginning and a thread that will tie their lives together and everything they do.
It would be another year before Frankie realized just how much Laura not only loved and lived life, but was a staunch advocate of animals. Having raised a few furbabies early on, rescuing and rehoming many others to friends and family– Laura, he discovered, is an animal lover. Laura and Frankie decided to raise their first furbaby together… enter Duran in July of 2018. In case you, the reader, have not made the connection, Duran was a boxer (Roberto Durán). This child (yes, child), was the first of many four-footed creatures that have enriched their lives. Duran is extremely well taken care of ::::cough cough:::spoiled, as he should be. Duran has his own space at home, attends doggy daycare and has his own group of dog besties! And while Duran definitely fills Laura and Frankie’s home with joy, an opportunity arose- one that would lead to Haymaker Horse Ranch. |