That's how you land running: a debut consignment at better than one-in-10 of the catalogue. Campion & Campion: so good they named it twice. But anyone who visits their barn at Saratoga this weekend, wondering just who these upstart newcomers might be, will quickly find themselves doing a double take. For a brand that has risen without trace, presenting 34 of 310 hips at Monday's Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale, will turn out to be as tried-and-trusted as they come.Nearly 20 years with Paramount Sales have made Lesley Campion one of the most familiar faces on the circuit. She can barely begin to express her gratitude to Pat Costello and Spider Duignan, as mentors and friends, along with the rest of the Paramount team. She considers them family. The only thing that counts for more would be–well, her family. And, with her son Paddy himself having successfully cut his teeth at Paramount, the time has come to embark on a new path together.The business duly opens with the cordial blessing of the people who set both Campion and her son on their way. “They're absolutely endorsing us, delighted that we're doing it,” she says gratefully. “Pat's remark was, 'You should have done this 10 years ago, Les.' And going forward, I know I can count on their support. They have been lifelong friends, it couldn't be more amicable, and they're giving me an absolute clap on the back.”Campion admits to all the excitement and nerves that go with starting any business. To be in partnership with her own son, however, naturally adds an extra frisson.“Of course it makes it special,” Campion says. “We knew that ultimately, at some point, we would be going out on our own. And the timing just feels right. Paramount's numbers are getting very, very big with all of us on board. So I think this will kind of streamline the service we'll be able to give, when we condense down to our own consignment, our own clients. And I'm looking forward to that.“It feels like we've got a fair bit of traction. Everybody that I have reached out to, just to let them know that this was happening, they've all encouraged me. So that's very comforting. It's not a standing start. There's momentum behind us, and we're very grateful for that.”Paddy is certainly bred for the job: Lesley is married to Ted Campion of Dundrum Farm, whose portfolio centers on pinhooking weanlings, often with Costello and Duignan. Neither Paddy, as the eldest, nor his siblings Rodger and Sive have ever been under any pressure to follow their parents' vocation. Paddy, indeed, initially graduated from the University of Kentucky to start in corporate logistics with automotive services firm Valvoline.“And he liked that job,” Campion says. “But he always wanted to stick with the horses. He's worked the sales with us since he was a child, always enjoyed the trips to Saratoga and Timonium, and that's really where his heart was. So when he came on board for Paramount full-time, he flourished. He's really proven himself in that environment.”It's a familiar question, whenever you see one generation emulate the next in some specialist endeavor: how much is nature, in the blood; and how much nurture, a matter of cultural osmosis round the kitchen table?“So much of it is subliminal learning,” Campion acknowledges. “But this is all we do. It's all we talk about, really, our only interest. I couldn't tell you one thing about soccer or tennis or anything. That's what we do in our house, that's what the kids have grown up around, and I'm thankful they enjoy it as much as we do. Certainly Paddy's absolutely immersed in it, so it works for us anyway.”The first Campion & Campion consignment includes a pair by first-crop weanling sire Timberlake | Sarah AndrewHowever longstanding the aspiration, pressing the button was not particularly calculated. It just came to feel inevitable: these 28 babies and six broodmares needed a dedicated shop, not one being an in-house project.“They're all client horses,” Campion confirms. “Last year myself and my best pal, Emma Quinn, went up there together and I had some client horses selling under Emma's [Garrencasey] banner. And people I met up there were saying, 'Wow, I didn't know you were coming up. Give me a call for next year.' So I did, and then it just kind of grew exponentially on us. At one point we were going to have something like 55 head under Emma's banner and she thought, 'This is way too much.' And I agreed, it was too much of an undertaking for one day. So that was when Paddy and I thought, 'If we're going to do it this sale, why don't we just do the rest?' So that's how it came about, really: we had a long-term goal, but this spurred us into action.”At Paramount, Paddy shared a trickledown of the same counsel and expertise as his mother: in the end, her own education blended into his.“There's no substitute for experience,” Campion reflects. “Twenty years of doing anything should give you a fair depth of knowledge and judgement about what you're doing. I've experienced so much, in that time, I know what does and does not work. I know what appeals to various purchasers. They can come to the barn and say, 'What have you got for me, Les?' Because I know the type of horses they like.“Even when you're out on farms you can point and say, 'That's a horse that's going to appeal to X.' Then by the time you get to the morning of the sale, and need to come to some kind of reserve with your client, I'll know what sort of spending level these people have, their comfort zone, and that helps us target a reserve accordingly. After 20 years, I feel qualified to do this. Without sounding arrogant, this is something I've become expert at.”Nobody could discover a trace of arrogance in this energetic, candid Irishwoman, who found her optimal environment after switching from the veterinary sector. If she's an expert, she stresses, it's because she has learned from the best.“I've learned a multitude from the boys,” she says. “Right down to the horsemanship at the barn: the way we handle and present the horses, the way they're cared for. We've always tried to provide the entire package, so that people feel comfortable when they ship their horse in that things are going to go well: the horse is going to be well represented, and it's going to culminate in a good sale.”Much will continue seamlessly, not least Campion's longstanding investment in mares with Nathan McCauley; and likewise, of course, her husband's weanling partnerships. But there's no escaping the daunting reality that a new chapter opens now.Even the choice of this relatively low-key sale, for their debut, itself confirms the seasoned judgement that will underpin Campion & Campion. The idea is to demonstrate functionality, sit out the November action in Lexington, and then crack on: they are already accepting entries for Keeneland January, and thenceforth intend to consign at all the major breeding stock, yearling and digital sales.Lesley Campion and a young Sive | Courtesy Paramount Sales“We plan to dance all the dances,” Campion says. “Hopefully this should be a pretty soft opening, insofar as we have two days showing, one day selling: very straightforward. And the guys coming up to work with us are the same as have been showing with Paramount the last several years. Paramount aren't doing this sale, so the boys are happy to come and support us. They're such good guys, we really value them, and it makes it feel like a real family. It's heartwarming that they want to come up there and support Paddy and me in our first endeavor.“Look, anybody starting their own business feels a bit of trepidation. And I've been thinking about the moment we sit in the car, Paddy and me, with my daughter who's coming up to help with cards, and we'll be towing that big old gooseneck with our signs and all our supplies in the back. And yeah, it will be launching a big old adventure. Am I trepidatious? Of course. But I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to proving to ourselves that we can make this a success.”The post Family Is Paramount to Campion appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.