Shadrack looks quite content standing in his stall at the newly incorporated White Stone Equestrian (formerly Red Pony Farm) in West Tisbury. The horse is a legend on the Island, 36 years old and still enthusiastically teaching kids how to canter around a ring, if not in such long bursts as he used to. He came in from his outdoor paddock a little early today, because of a biting wind and cold temperatures.
Things might not look much different to Shadrack, but all around him significant changes are taking place at White Stone Equestrian.
On Nov. 30, 2018, a group of investors with various connections to Red Pony Farm, bought the property and formed a business for boarding horses and teaching riding.
Missy Brigham was one of those investors, and she now manages the farm for the group.
“We were summer boarders for a long time, summer residents,” Ms. Brigham said. “My daughter is the horse girl, we would bring her pony over for the summer. That’s sort of how we got to know the community here. The opportunity came to purchase the farm, so a group of us summer boarders got together and we purchased it.”
Running a 22-stall barn with a staff of 10 full time and part time workers is no small venture anywhere. Running a barn on a remote Island makes some things a little harder.
“Suppliers are a huge problem,” Ms. Brigham said. “These horses don’t wait to get hay, and they don’t wait to feed. Getting the proper things onto the Island has its challenges, but so far we’ve been able to, no problem.”
In the indoor ring, Leigha Brigham is putting Nettie through the paces. Nettie is a Standardbred, who once raced on New England tracks, but is being retrained for a career in jumping now that her racing days are over.
“It’s a big community, and that’s one of the things that excites us the most moving forward,” Ms. Brigham said. “We are one of the few indoor rings on the Island. We’re year round, we have shade in the summer, warmth in the winter, another full ring outside. We feel like there’s so much to offer the community.”
Opening up the farm to include a wider segment of the horse community on Martha’s Vineyard is a primary goal of the new farm manager. Though less than two months into the venture, Ms. Brigham has already scheduled respected trainers to travel to the Island and give clinics in eventing, dressage, and hunter-jumper disciplines.
“We always had to leave the Island for that stuff, so we want to kind of bring that to the community, the opportunity to do those things,” said Ms. Brigham. “It’s important to have that kind of stuff available. Otherwise they have to keep trailering off, and it’s expensive. We want to bring it to the Island. We’re all about community, I can’t stress that enough. We were a very closed place in the past. We’re going to open it up and say welcome, come, see us, enjoy it. That’s our responsibility to the horse community.”
Other changes will include new instructors and regular shows and competitions at White Stone Equestrian. Ms. Brigham said it’s all part of bringing the horse world to the Island, instead of the other way around.
“We are making a lot of changes,” said Ms. Brigham. “A lot more professional as far as what our lesson programs offer, what direction you’re going to go in. We’re going to bring some shows back to the Island. We put all the pieces together, now we’re insured to do that, we’re capable of doing that. In dressage they do tests, a qualified judge from the circuit will come over and officially judge. We can do hunter jumper shows, those are also rated.”
Ms. Brigham said the Island horse community has greeted the new venture with enthusiasm. The stalls are full, and the rings are busy throughout the day and after school.
“It’s an incredible community,” she said. “Everybody helps each other. I think we’re doing okay.”
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