Why we decided to do this....and how we have evolved.

Hideaway Hill Farm came into existence in December 2005 after Kistler Pole Buildings finished our beautiful barn.  The farm originated as a place for just my personal horses...and things grew from there. 

All my life I had always dreamed of having my own farm where I could look out my window and see my horses peacefully grazing out in the pasture.  in December 2006, we adopted a gorgeous three year-old Thoroughbred mare from Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue near York, PA.  Her story really got me motivated to do my part any way I could to help the mission taking good horses out of bad situations.  Some of these horses had been abused or neglected, or were bound for the slaughter houses.  Now that I had a place of my own, and a very supportive husband, it just felt like the right time to get more involved.  Shortly thereafter, we took in a pony that had been severely neglected and was abandoned at the New Holland Horse Sale.  She had been picked up by a local rescue organization and we later took her in.  Her name is Bandida.   Bandida is our official "Spokes Pony."  Her story and pictures of her are on the HHF Spokes Pony page.   

Over the last couple of years, our focus has evolved a bit, though our mission has remained the same.  There are so many horses out there that need help, but we realized that, especially since we are small and we also have a few of our own horses, we wanted to provide a place for those that are in the most dire situations and need a place to go right away due to exigent circumstances, i.e. court seizures, direct-to-slaughter cases, severe neglect, etc. 

I personally work with all of these horses.  I do not have volunteers that come to our facility and handle and ride them.  One of the reasons is that I feel it is the best way for me to truly assess what the horse needs in a human companion by understanding each horse's "horsenality."  I have always combined natural horsemanship principles with any training that is done under saddle; however, I have recently gravitated toward the Parelli method of natural horsemanship training.  I feel this is the best and most thorough way to truly understand horses and tap into their true potential, and have them working with us as partners because they want to.  We have a new policy here at HHF that all adoptable horses and ponies must successfully complete Parelli Level 1 On-Line prior to be offered for adoption.   This has also altered our adoption fees somewhat. 

Typically, horses are available for adoption at one of three different levels:  $500.00, $1,000.00, or $1,500.00.  The reason we have developed this scale is because we are putting a great deal more time into training these horses and ponies before offering them up for adoption.  Some are not even started under saddle and that is something that I must do, which takes a great deal of time to do correctly.  We believe this foundation is crucial in the long run.  We do not believe that the quanity of horses placed matters if the time hasn't been put into the horse to provide it with quality care and training.   Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but we believe this policy creates a much better situation for the horses and the potential adopters.  

Additionally, adopting a horse or pony is not like adopting a dog or cat.  They are far more delicate, require vastly more daily attention and care, and are much more expensive to care for.  These adoption fees exist to offset some of the cost for their care during their stay with us, which is astronomical.  It does not even come close to what we actually put into them, but it enables us to continue our work and to offer horses and ponies for adoption that have learned respect and are comfortable with people. 

We do our best to help people out in non-emergency situations that are just looking for a home for a horse.  We do this by placing these horses on our website on our courtesy listings page.  Whenever possible, I travel out to meet the horses and snap pictures and video as well.

My Personal Background

I have been very actively involved in the horse world for  30 years, in the capacitiy of a rider, competitor, and most recently as a trainer and instructor.  I have successfully competed in Hunters, Western Performance, and Dressage.  My primary focus is dressage and I strongly believe a good basic dressage background is essential for ANY discipline of riding, and I am of the opinion that it is only through basic dressage training combined with natural horsemanship techniques can a real understanding of riding be attained.

I have spent many years re-starting racehorses into new careers.   I have been competing since I was eight years old and in recent years, have competed at the Adult Dressage Team Championships in 2005 and 2006 with Pirate, and qualified for and competed in the USDF/GAIG Region 1 Dressage Championships in Lexington, VA, with Pirate.  I have many year-end awards in hunters and lower-level dressage, as well as western pleasure and equitation from various organizations.  I currently work full-time at a facility in Hershey, PA, training and instructing on a variety of different breeds, mostly draft crosses.   

My first horse-related job for pay was when I was a teen-ager and worked at Penn National Racetrack.  That was quite an eye opening experience for a young horse lover.  That was the first time I got a first-hand look at the horse racing business.

Horses are my life-long passion.  I can't imagine my life without them.  They have have taught me so much and provided me with endless joy and happiness.

Over the years I have come to the realization that  many people take on horse ownership without the requisite knowledge and commitment.  Horses are not a novelty to be looked after once a month or to have to just show off to friends.  They are large, fragile, and expensive animals that require DAILY care.  Not only do we provide rehabilitation, care, sanctuary and seek suitable homes for animals in need, but we also aim to provide education to first-time or prosective horse owners.  We offer horsemanship classes that are family oriented and very reasonably priced.