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Horsing Around on Box Elder Farm

photo provided Box Elder Farm and Tack Shop wait for you on Monkton Road to stop by and meet owner Donna Baldwin.

Tuesday March 10, 2009

By Cookie Steponaitis

    When Donna Baldwin and her family moved to Ferrisburgh in 1988 from Cape Cod, the family brought some friends along. These four footed friends provided the transition from the Cape to Vermont and brought Donna Baldwin full circle, back  to owning an managing a horse farm.

    Located at 1772 Monkton Road in Ferrisburgh, Box Elder Farm is the culmination of a life long involvement with horses perfect that began when Donna was six. She always had a horse and was around horse. Her own show career included showing hunters and and jumpers. When she graduated from high school, she enrolled in Sterling College’s Draft Horse Management Program and again in the Potomac Horse Center where she earned a Masters in Stable Management. She returned home to the Cape Cod area and leased a barn in Mashpee, Massachusetts. During her ten years in business in Massachusetts her barn consistently was full with 36 borders and Donna and three other instructors taught 150 students riding as well as summer riding programs.

    The four footed friend who made the trip from the Cape is actually still with them and is the senior member of Box Elder Farm. M&M is a retirement show pony who once dazzled judges at a national level and one of many that have been placed by stables and individuals to live out their last years in ease at Donna’s farm. Currently 38 years old, M&M can be seen daily grazing beside her much younger stable mates and one can only wonder if she is sharing secrets of how to effectively training people.

    Donna remarked during the interview that “Addison County is the perfect areas for horses, as opposed to the Cape where land is at such a premium. Farm land here is plentiful and the community embraces equines at many different levels.” She went on to outline the services of her farm and her new venture which is a used tack shop which will open on the farm in March. “Horses offer so many different ways to connect. They teach respect and responsibility to children or all learners. There is no age limit and no level of experience that can ever be topped out. You always learn and can change to new venues within the equine world.”

    Box Elder Farm offers boarding with new stalls, pasture and outdoor riding ring and also has horses there for lay-ups, recuperating from injury. “The newest part of the farm that I am very excited about is the tack shop.” commented Donna,  “It will feature quality used goods for resale including all horse items, saddles, bridles, blankets, brushes, show clothing, boots, jackets and helmets. We also pay cash for quality used items and will take high end saddles and equipment on consignment.” With a grand opening coming in mid March, Donna invites you to mark your calendar and come see for yourself all the tack shop will have to offer. Open Monday-Wednesday from 1:00-5:30, and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00-1:00, Donna can be reached at (802)877-2381 to answer questions.

    The Valley Voice welcomes Box Elder Farm to the growing community of agricultural business involved in the business of horses. Come on by if you are a serious rider or just curious, or even those just horsing around are welcome.

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