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History:
The Eddy Farm consists of
approximately 115 acres of agricultural land and is located
one mile south of downtown Middlebury, Porter Hospital, and
Middlebury College on South Street Extension. The farmstead
consists of a farmhouse and several barns that are listed
on the Vermont Historic Register as well as an indoor riding
arena that was erected by Doris Eddy in the 1970's.
Doris Eddy, who was born on the farm in 1918, inherited the
farm from her father in 1956 and turned it into one of Vermont's
first riding schools. EFSHR grew from her love of teaching
horseback riding and the fact that there was no one within
an easy commute who taught anything more than passenger riding.
Doris trained and schooled horses and taught excellence in
horsemanship at the Eddy Farm until her death in 1998. |
Today, the land continues to be used for horses and farming. On the
property there are several riding areas and stadium as well
as cross country jump courses. The farm hosts several riding
events throughout the year and invites the community at large
to use the facilities for their events and to school their
horses for a nominal fee. The farm's Board of Directors is
committed to the sustainability of The Eddy Farm School for
Horse and Rider as is evident in the selling of the farm's
development rights to the Vermont Land Trust, the steps taken
to have the farm and its buildings listed on the Vermont Historic
Register, and our continued work toward financial sustainability
through the development of our strategic plan.
Short
term goals (1-5 years):
1) Develop community involvement and memberships
2) Invest in farm's current assets: improve/replace current
fencing, restore old barns, renovate house, build run-ins,
build outdoor sand arena.
3) Make the farm manager a salaried position with healthcare
and retirement benefits.
Our goal is that the EFSFHR generate enough funds to become self-sustaining and perpetuating. The responsibilities of the farm manager will
grow beyond maintaining the farm and horses, and involve coordinating
events, clinics, fund raisers, grant writing and developing
course curricula. One of our goals is to establish an internship
program. Working with the farm manager interns would design
their program to focus on several different aspects of the
horse industry from training horses to the economics of managing
a horse farm to the theories and approaches of riding instructors
to running equine events to pasture management and land stewardship.
Our Mission: To teach all riders a safe, caring and informed understanding of the horse, and engender the skills and the sensitivities that create an enjoyable relationship between the horse and rider, whether for recreation, rehabilitation or competition. |
