Summerfield Farm is a horse farm owned by Susan Van Blarcom. Susan bought her farm in December of 1994. She has had it for six and one half years. It took about 5 years to get her farm open to public. Susan’s farm is 21 acres. It has remained this size since she purchased it. Interestingly, the farm is named Summerfield mainly because there were two S’s on the gate when Susan bought the farm. Someone suggested Summerfield and she liked it. Susan decided to be a farmer, because she loves to be with animals, especially horses. She has all kinds of breeds at her farm. Susan’s day starts at 7:00 A.M. They groom and feed the horses in the morning. In the afternoon, they mock out the stalls. The horse lessons start right after school. Her workers usually leave at 4 pm. Susan usually stays out till 9 pm. Her busiest time of year is in the spring At this time, Susan has about 34 horses. Ten of those horses are ponies. She teaches English saddle, jumping, cantering, trotting and walking. The horses at Summerfield Farm are either hunters or jumpers. Jumpers are horses that have to get to the other side of the fence. The horses at Summerfield Farm are either hunters or jumpers. Jumpers are horses that have to get to the other side of the fence. Hunters are judged by how pretty and graceful the horses look. The most popular kinds of horses in order are thoroughbreds, quarter horses and warm bloods. Susan’s favorite horse is Bucky and her favorite pony is Flip Flop. He has won the most ribbons at the age of 26. Parti is her most dominate horse and is a Dutch warm blood. He thinks he is the boss of the farm. One of Susan’s horses is a celebrity. Woody is a horse who was in the film “Step Mom.” Susan Sarandon and Jean Morlon rode Bucky bare back during the movie. Amazingly, the tallest horses on Summerfield Farm are about 69 inches tall. Their names are Rockin-Robin and Jack. There are two very interesting horses. The horses' names are Jr., and Jack. They are half brothers because they have the same dad but not the same mom. Many of the horses at Summerfield Farm have masks on their faces to keep away the flies. Many of the horses at Summerfield Farm have masks on their faces to keep away the flies. On the serious side, there are many business aspects to consider on the farm. Farms need to be profitable in order to survive. Having two other people helps Susan, because when she’s not at her farm, they can still maintain the facility. Susan gets her income from lessons, shows and the summer camps. Susan purchased her first horse right after college in 1975. When Susan’s customers buy a horse, they usually work together on the purchase. It is important to pick out the right horse for the rider. It can take a long time to find the right horse. Sometimes it takes and sometimes it is the first one she looks at. Sometimes, Susan has second thoughts about being a farmer, because it is a lot of responsibility. Susan sometimes thinks about the future of her farm. Some challenges she foresees are the growing number of house developments and the increased difficulties of manure removal. In the future, Susan plans to build a new outdoor ring and make the farm bigger.

 

Pictures from Summerfield Farm

Back of the horse barn
The inside horse training ring
Horse trailers
A horse bath
The horse field
A horse with leg protectors

 

A Quicktime movie from Summerfield Farm

 

Interviewing and Web Page
by
Nicole C., Lauren, John S., Matt, Gregory

Photographs
by
Shawna, Tanner, Kate, Shaun

Video
by
Jon B., John S., Justin