Vicki Peters of Quiet Victory Farm in Titusville, NJ and longtime student Rachel Eberhart at a Wyndsor Farm show in PA last year, before the coronavirus shut down all shows
For commercial riding stable owners in the mid-Atlantic the arrival of COVID-19 quickly turned into a struggle to navigate vague and evolving state rules, while keeping customers happy and safe, their horses fed and their stable doors open.
Rules on whether to open, close or modify stable operations differ from state to state. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf mandated all boarding stables close for “riding lessons, training, clinics or recreational riding services.”
“It is critical to support the health and safety of personnel caring for animals by limiting their exposure to other people,” the state Department of Agriculture said in a statement. “In addition to the COVID-19 risk from human interactions, please keep in mind that equestrian activities have inherent risks and could add unnecessary strain to overburdened healthcare facilities.”
At the end of March, the state of New Jersey recommended horse owners with no caretaking responsibility not visit barns until the end of the month, but stables were allowed to remain open if they limited visitors and riders, obeyed proper social distancing and implemented cleaning and disinfecting procedures.
In Maryland, as part of the state’s stay-at-home order, the Department of Agriculture issued a directive to horse farms to only allow essential personnel required for horse care on their properties. Guidance for Delaware riding facilities has not been posted to the state’s Department of Agriculture website and an email request to a spokeswoman for information was not returned.
Swan Lake
In mid-March, all activity at Swan Lake Stables in Littlestown, PA, one of the premier horse show venues in the region, suddenly ground to a halt.
General manager/trainer Mary Bast was forced to cancel three horse shows in March and April, including intercollegiate regional competition. She said it was unlikely the facility would be able to hold its two biggest shows of the year that take place in May: St. Christopher and Blue Rock Classic, double A hunter/jumper shows that draw as many as 800 horses.
“There’s just no way this is going to be over by then,” said Bast in a mid-April interview.
Bast decided to close her barn before the stay-at-home rule went into place rather than deal with the stress of human traffic.
“I didn’t have to worry about sanitizing 25 times a day,” she said. “I told boarders they could see their horses in the fields.” That decision cost her several boarders who had horses in training and decided to leave since there would be no lessons available.
With the cancellation of the horse shows she had to let go two part time staff members getting grounds ready for spring show season.
“Any money is going for hay and horse feed,” Bast said.
Runaway Dream Farm
In Kutztown, PA, Aileen Williams, owner of Runaway Dream Farm, ended ship-ins for lessons and outside use of her facility, but has allowed her six boarders to see their horses with strict stable rules about distancing and regular cleaning of tack room doors and other high contact areas. She also forbade her boarders from bringing in guests, including extended family members.
“We suddenly were busier than ever because people have nothing else to do,” she said.
Williams said she watched all of her riding events and competitions disappear from her calendar, including the end of fox hunting season, spring dressage shows and clinics and mounted orienteering team competitions.
“I don’t even want to use the trails because there are now so many pedestrians out,” she said.
Williams, a retired paramedic, and her husband Dave, a firefighter, understand the seriousness of the disease.
“It’s scary stuff,” she said. “I’m lucky I can still ride horses at home. I can shelter in place.”
Sweet Rock Stables
For Sweet Rock Stables in Manchester, MD, Gov. Hogan’s order to immediately halt recreational riding came as a serious blow. Sweet Rock has catered to young riders through lessons and summer camp for 25 years.
With income from lessons gone, owner Roxy Baldwin decided to reach out to her community of horse lovers for help.
For $60 they could sponsor their favorite lesson horse, get a T-shirt and shout out on Facebook. The goal was $400 and it was almost reached by early April. Baldwin still has two part time employees on the payroll but also relies on boarders to help feed. “It’s a struggle,” Baldwin said. “I’m happy the grass is coming in the pastures.”
Baldwin has 16 horses in her barn, eight of them lesson horses. “When they don’t work, they still have to eat,” she said. The massive job losses that have accompanied the quarantine are a double whammy for stable owners, she said. “When choice is between putting fuel in your car and giving your kid a riding lesson, you know what they pick,” Baldwin said.
Quiet Victory Farm
Vicki Peters, who operates Quiet Victory Farm, a full-service hunter/equitation stable in Hopewell Township, NJ, said the mixed messages from the state have created difficulties in managing her nine boarders, several of whom are competitive hunter and equitation riders. Peters initially shut down her barn thinking that was the safest move for everyone, but soon parents of her young riders saw other stables open and complained.
“They had kids home with nothing to do and they wanted to ride their horse that they’ve paid all this money for,” said Peters. “But I couldn’t let one person in and not others.” Almost immediately two boarders left. She said she pleaded with one client to stay, saying she would keep their horse fit and take pictures of it.
“I said, bear with me, I want to limit exposure,” she said. But the boarder left and she felt she had no choice but to open the barn to keep her remaining clients happy.
“My hands were tied,” she said. “It’s been tough.” Peters said she started teaching again, staggering the lessons so there would be no socializing between rides, putting up a gate and sign asking parents to please stay in their cars.
Peters also said she is limiting most of her lesson to flat work or ground pole exercises, because she doesn’t want to stress the hospital system should someone be injured.
Peters said she’s painfully aware that New Jersey is a hot spot for COVID-19. Mercer County, where her farm is located, has had more than 1,700 positive cases and 71 deaths since the outbreak began in March.
“My income dropped dramatically,” she said. “Now I wonder, am I going to be able to keep my barn help? I need horses in the stalls to pay rent.”
Peters is wistful about the horse show she and her students attended on March 7.
“Little did we know, that was our last show,” she said. “Everybody’s worrying about the future.”