From the Frederick News Post
JEFFERSON — Kimberly Stewart has been taking care of horses since she was 12.
At 50, the veteran horsewoman has trained numerous national champions through the years and routinely takes about a half-dozen top horses and riders to A-rated shows throughout the country.
Frederick County is the ideal location for a horse business, said Stewart, who operates a horse and hay business on her 200-acre Glenwillow Farm in Jefferson. The county’s soil is rich in minerals, which generate healthy grasses that young horses thrive on, Stewart said.
“And I think Frederick County is pretty friendly to agriculture in general,” said Stewart, who moved to Jefferson 14 years ago from Montgomery County.
Stewart’s horse operation is one of many in the county.
According to the 2010 Maryland Equine Census, conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Frederick County has 7,850 horses worth $43.9 million and the third-largest number of horses of any county in Maryland (Baltimore County is No. 1, followed by Montgomery County).
Despite the impressive numbers, the horse business is almost an invisible industry, said Dale Clabaugh, a lifelong Frederick County resident and treasurer of the Maryland Horse Council.
Maryland has more horses per capita than any other state, Clabaugh said. Horses are the new cows, representing a huge segment of the agriculture industry, she said.
“Kentucky has more horses, but it is larger. We are more horse-dense,” Clabaugh said. “And the impact of the industry is so broad. You’re talking veterinarians, farriers, pet shops, providers of saddles and blankets, etc.”
The majority of horse owners use their animals for pleasure, Clabaugh said, adding that the animals have gone from being the beast of burden to the beast of pleasure.
“This huge animal just wants to be a part of you, and when you have that relationship, it’s just magical,” Clabaugh said.
Frederick County has it all when it comes to horses, said Ross Peddicord, Maryland Horse Industry Board executive director.
The county offers rodeos, Western riding, English riding, gaited horses, jousting, foxchasing, Thoroughbred breeding farms, top international and national competitors in a variety of horse sports, excellent competition venues at J Bar W Ranch and Loch Moy, and harness racing at The Great Frederick Fair, Peddicord said.
Frederick County also has three newly certified equine experience centers where the public can learn about horses, 79 licensed riding and boarding stables, and more than 50 miles of public access riding trails in five state and national parks.
The equine experience centers are Cedar Rowe Lusitano Equine Fitness Center in Rocky Ridge; Misty Peaks Farm in Smithsburg; and the Western Maryland Equine Education Center at New World Stables in Frederick.
Peddicord said Frederick County has one of the state’s largest equine feed manufacturers, Farmers Co-Op in Frederick. Paradise Stables near New Market is home to some of the state’s top gaited horses (Tennessee Walkers) as well as being a state-of-the-art boarding and lesson facility, and there is an active Frederick County Equine Alliance, made up of horse enthusiasts active in issues affecting the local industry.
“Frederick County, like the rest of Maryland, is a horse lover’s paradise,” Peddicord said.
The equine business can be risky and expensive, said Stewart, who buys, sells, trains and breeds horses.
Stewart’s most expensive horse sold two years ago for $850,000, but she has also sold horses for $1,000. Flying a horse to Arizona or California costs $3,500. The price of a horse depends on its show record and ability, the business owner said.
“If you put a lot of money into them, you can get a lot of money out of them, but it’s a risky business,” Stewart said. “If you get eight good horses out of 10, that’s a good percentage.”
The industry is labor-intensive, and her biggest challenge has been finding workers for the seven-day operation, Stewart said.
Stewart’s most recent accolade came from the Maryland Horse Industry Board, which selected Spellbound, described as one of the nation’s leading show ponies, for the May Touch of Class award, a program within the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Stewart trains and houses Spellbound, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood pony owned and ridden by Bernadette Chungunco, 14, of Fairfax, Virginia.
No comments:
Post a Comment