Yes, it's true! Not only are we having a baby in a matter of days, but we bought a farm. Yes, we are crazy, but my husband and I have actually put a lot of thought into this and for us, it's the right thing to do. We closed on the farm a couple of months ago after several years of looking for a suitable property, but I'm just now making it blog public.
I gave the farm its own website here:
Fly Away Farm
There are a few photos up but not much else yet. I'm mostly just preparing the space for later.
I use the term "farm" a bit loosely. It's more of a "future farm site" right now. It's a beautiful 18.7 acre property in West Grove, PA, which is in southern Chester County. Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Louise Serio, amongst many others, have farms nearby. I'm pretty thrilled about the location. It's also convenient to other great horse things like the Devon Horse Show grounds, Fair Hill Equestrian Natural Resource Center and New Bolton Center (U. of Penn's vet hospital). I am beyond excited to have ownership of the property.
However, it's a major project, which will take some time to complete. We are pacing ourselves. The house is a gut job. The barn is going to be amazing but requires a lot of work. It is a 2-story 1890 Pennsylvania bank barn. It is a beautifully crafted, built-to-last building that would be difficult to replicate today, but it needs a full conversion for horses. The house repairs and barn conversion are currently underway. We also have future plans for new fencing, an outdoor riding arena, a hacking trail and a grass derby field with some permanent jumps. Essentially, my goal is to turn this place into an equestrian playground.
I would eventually like to take a few select boarders as well, although I don't think we'll be ready for that step until Summer 2014 at the earliest. I want to get the facilities in order and get settled before I start thinking about that too much. I'm a social rider and I would love nothing more than to share the place with some like-minded horse people! What fun is it to own (what should become) an awesome horse farm and then keep it all for yourself?
More details to come. I would say that between the new baby, the new farm (which is being built from the ground up) and the horses, this year is bound to be quite an adventure!
I gave the farm its own website here:
Fly Away Farm
There are a few photos up but not much else yet. I'm mostly just preparing the space for later.
I use the term "farm" a bit loosely. It's more of a "future farm site" right now. It's a beautiful 18.7 acre property in West Grove, PA, which is in southern Chester County. Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Louise Serio, amongst many others, have farms nearby. I'm pretty thrilled about the location. It's also convenient to other great horse things like the Devon Horse Show grounds, Fair Hill Equestrian Natural Resource Center and New Bolton Center (U. of Penn's vet hospital). I am beyond excited to have ownership of the property.
However, it's a major project, which will take some time to complete. We are pacing ourselves. The house is a gut job. The barn is going to be amazing but requires a lot of work. It is a 2-story 1890 Pennsylvania bank barn. It is a beautifully crafted, built-to-last building that would be difficult to replicate today, but it needs a full conversion for horses. The house repairs and barn conversion are currently underway. We also have future plans for new fencing, an outdoor riding arena, a hacking trail and a grass derby field with some permanent jumps. Essentially, my goal is to turn this place into an equestrian playground.
I would eventually like to take a few select boarders as well, although I don't think we'll be ready for that step until Summer 2014 at the earliest. I want to get the facilities in order and get settled before I start thinking about that too much. I'm a social rider and I would love nothing more than to share the place with some like-minded horse people! What fun is it to own (what should become) an awesome horse farm and then keep it all for yourself?
More details to come. I would say that between the new baby, the new farm (which is being built from the ground up) and the horses, this year is bound to be quite an adventure!
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