REMINDER -
Book into the Charming Cottage or the Carriage House Loft before January 1st, and your horses stay free!
NEW at Beaver Dam Farm Resort -
TRAILS – lots of new trails with ocean views
350 acres, fabulous driving & bridle paths, 40 x 100 dressage arena, driving maze, round pen, wash rack, luxury tack room, carriage house, stabling, excellent turnout . . . . all the facilities. -- PLUS - golf, gourmet restaurants, live theatre, Celtic music & dancing, 9 spectacular beaches -- Cape Breton Island & Prince Edward Island
Carol loving every mile
More glorious trails
Elinor riding BDF Quasar - Grace bareback on Holly
The Latest News - since coming home from England
October 27, 2010 -
Home a month from England, and busy buttoning up for winter, although the weather has been mild and the trees are still hanging onto their red and orange leaves. Flowers are still blooming, and we’re still harvesting lettuce and herbs from the containers in front of the new stable. One of the great joys of getting home again was to drive these spectacular trails Arthur has created in the farm’s -- There’s just so much room to ride & drive. -- I’ve been driving Quasar at every opportunity, and it’s a blast! --
Arthur loves to mow and he’s a creative guy. He’s never happier than when implementing his newest idea. Last week he came back all excited about the new “hazard” (ok, obstacle) he’d created by mowing between spruce trees. Quasar and I immediately went over to try it, and it flowed. was a blast. I was really surprised I liked it so much, had such a blast - surprised because I’m not a speed freak. I don’t like going fast, but Arthur’s obstacles are just plain fun to drive.
We’ve had a series of visits from old friends since I’ve been back. Mary Lee and Tom Swift stopped by for an overnight on their annual trip to Nova Scotia. The Swifts are from Maryland, and own three Fjords, one purchased from us. -- They have a lovely farm in MD, but it seems their heart is in Nova Scotia. Tom was asking about property here. (They wouldn’t be the first to vacation in Nova Scotia, fall in love, and buy p roperty. -- And the funny thing is they always come in the fall. They bring warm clothes and love walking the beaches feeling the wind, picking up seagull feathers, rocks and shells. Most of all they love being alone on the beaches. They were on their way to Cape Breton Island around the famous Cabot Trail, and then back past us to take the ferry to Prince Edward Island, another favorite spot.
While the Swifts were here, we had a visit from John Trend who lives in Newfoundland. He was headed to New Brunswick to pick up a sleigh for his two Fjord mares, Tessica and Tyra, both from Beaver Dam Farm. ------ We were sitting around the kitchen table discussing the economy, and John, a retired dentist, said that Canada is doing better than any country in the world, and Newfoundland is doing the best of all the provinces. -- His three grown children, all university educated and practicing professionals, have come home to Newfoundland to live. Educated in the States and Canada, , the quality of life in Newfoundland called them home. -- Interesting, isn’t it? Newfoundland is a 7 hr. ferry ride from Nova Scotia (closest point). It’s in the middle of the ocean! It’s as big as England with only 500,000 people. The island is called - “The Rock” for good reason. There’s a lot of it. It’s in the middle of the bloody ocean. A LOT of it is tundra. And yet, it’s doing well economically, and well educated, professional young people go back there to live.
Next week, Arthur and I are off to The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. We’ll be helping with the CFHA’s Fjord booth (Canadian Fjord Horse Association) and handing out our new brochures describing what’s new at Beaver Dam Farm Resort.
French Cooking Lessons with Mme. Helene Amiable - French chef visiting Beaver Dam Farm for the summer.
French Cooking lessons
*REMINDER: You can now bring your own horses to Beaver Dam Farm
The Old Barn Shop opening June 2011 - antiques, original paintings, quilts, fine crafts, antique painted furniture.
Old Barn Shop
Painting Classes with Ed Mattie - Accepting commissions
Painting Classes
*REMINDER: Join us this summer - Stay in one of our cute accommodations -
The Charming Cottage
The Carriage House Loft
Book The Charming Cottage or The Carriage House loft before Jan. 1st, and your horses stay free!
The Latest News - my annual 3 week holiday in England - Sept 11 - Oct. 3rd, 2010
Coach & Pub Trip with Margaret’s driving club -This year I left for England Sept. 11th. Our last guests had departed that morning, and our friend from Paris (French Chef, Helene Amiable) had taken a morning plane. It’s an easy flight from Halifax, only 5 ½ hours. – The next morning my friend, Margaret, met me at Heathrow and we drove to her mini farm in Hampshire about 1 ½ hours from London.
This year as always we had some lovely drives with Margaret’s Welsh Cob, Lucky, now 19, but the highlight of the holiday was going on a Coaching and Pub drive in Somerset with FEI 4-in-hand driver, Mark Broadbent. Margaret had organized the outing for her driving club, The White Horse Driving Club, and a spot was saved for me. Counting Mark and his wife, Jo, and the coach horn blower, there were 13 of us on top of the coach. Nobody rode inside. What a day that was.
Margaret, my old friend and hiking buddy
3 of 5 coaches in Mark Broadbent’s museum
Our coach was the Lorna Doone, a restored original, drawn by four black horses (Hackney/Gelderlander crosses). The so-called roads in Somerset are unbelievably narrow, and I tell you after driving with Margaret for 4 years now, I’m used to narrow roads, but these were even narrower. Three people walking abreast would be scraping the blackberry bushes on both sides.
We drove for an hour or so, then stopped at a pub for drinks. I had an ale, of course. What are pubs for? It’s not Starbucks. -- The horses rested for 20 min. and then we were on our way again. After another nice long stretch of driving, we stopped at the second pub and had more beverages of our choice. Another nice ale for Margaret and I.
Pub Stop
-- While at the second pub, which was right on the edge of one of these extremely narrow roads, tractors (4 of them one after the other) pulling huge, noisy, dangerous looking implements started to squeeze by the antique road coach. Good God, it looked impossible that the tractors and coach and four horses could all fit on that strip of pavement with the pub on one side and a fence on the other. -- It was hairy, but the horses stood with Jo Broadbent heading them.
Horses and tractor
Taking our drink orders
Then, more coaching down the lanes with Bob, the coach horn blower sounding the calls for each turn and stop, and finally back to the home stables where Mark had another tour lined up for us of his various shops that produce these marvelous carriages. Mark Broadbent does a lot of the restoration work himself, and his work is superb.
Carol
The trip was finished, but there was one more pub visit to be made for our lunch, so we all trooped back to the Merry Ferrier for a pub lunch and more ale. This time I decided I’d probably had enough ale, so ordered a cider. Silly me, I thought it was sweet cider, which nobody drinks in England. Cider means the hard stuff.
MARGARET & I VISIT CORNWALL - The wild and wonderful setting of Daphne Du Maurier’s novels - One of Margaret’s neighbors has a fabulous apartment built into a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean. We had it for four days. -- Talk about narrow roads. . . They’re even narrower in Cornwall than any of the other places I’ve visited with Margaret. They were paved paths (sometimes) with two-way traffic.
I’ve always wanted to visit Cornwall after I read DuMaurier’s books, and it is indeed everything she described. -- We had great walks and great seafood, including two huge mackerals right off the boats in the harbor below us. . We’d ordered them from the fisherman the day before, and were eating the fish 4 hours out of the ocean. We had them on our tiny terrace which hung out over the cliff, and of course, enjoyed them with a good bottle of white.
Mackerel right out of sea
The walking was wonderful around the area where we stayed, including one delightful hike to Lands End, which unfortunately, was sold to a private operator who incongruously made this famous point of land, the most easterly in England, really tacky. (the first really tacky place I’ve seen in our wanderings over the years). However, it was fun to walk there, and we had our photo taken at the tip of Lands End.
Carol & Margaret hiked to Lands End in Cornwall
While still in Cornwall, we heard of someone who had tickets to sell for season’s last performance at the Minack Theatre. Tickets are sold out a year in advance and almost impossible to get, so we grabbed them. -- The Minack Theatre in Cornwall was built by a woman with a vision. She was in love with theatre and Cornwall and dreamed of an open-air theatre built into the cliffs surrounded by the wild coast. So, she did it. And, I mean she really did it. – With 2 men, she hacked out the seats from the granite cliff and built her theatre. When one man died, she continued the work with the other, and in the end worked on it herself, finishing when she was 85 years old. What an extraordinary place. Margaret had been there and knew what to expect. Drizzle for one thing and cold. So, we took wine and coffee and food, and wore layers and rain gear and took cushions for the granite seats. -- It did rain a lot, but nobody left. The musicians were in tuxedos, and they carried on. -- The tradition at the Minack is that all performances will go on no matter what the weather - except for hurricanes. What a night! It was totally wonderful.
REMEMBER - If you book one of the accommodations on Beaver Dam Farm (The Charming Cottage or The Carriage House Loft) before Jan. 1st, your horses stay free!
The Latest News - Summer of 2010 in Nova Scotia
We had a fabulous summer at the farm this year. The gardens were magnificent, and I started growing vegetables and herbs in huge containers on the terrace of the new stable. We grew beans, lettuces, kale, tomatoes, zucchini, and lots of herbs. We used old water tanks, ancient wooden feed bins, old wood boxes, and just about any other receptacle big enough to grow in. First thing we did was fill the containers 2/3 full of rotted manure. We topped that with some soil, and stuck in the seeds. The crops were impressive! The veggies and herbs were for the use of guests staying in the Carriage House Loft and Charming Cottage. There was plenty for our French Cooking Classes, and for all of us at Hill House. The guests loved snipping herbs while having a drink on the stable terrace.
See the beans growing
As many of you know, the focus of Beaver Dam Farm has changed a bit. Our old stallion, Gjest, is gone at age 32. We’ve sold all our breeding mares. We now have 6 Fjords on the farm rather than the 35 we used to have. Of course, without doubt, we still love and enjoy our Fjords, but now there’s a lot of unused space and facilities at the farm, and we still want to share it all. So, we’ve taken the pastures, and turned them into wonderful driving and riding trails, and we’re inviting people to bring their own horses and come to enjoy all that’s wonderful and beautiful at Beaver Dam Farm.
It happened this way . . .
After Gjest died and we’d sold the vast majority of the horses, we looked around, then looked at each other, and we realized that in the past 30 years, we’d created a resort . . . . Beaver Dam Farm Resort -
We have six Fjords at the farm, four of them ours – BDF Quasar (my driving horse), his dam, Holly (age 25), Quasar’s full brother, BDF Zenith (who I’m keeping to maybe drive a pair one day – and he’s going to Florida this winter). The fourth horse we own is probably the best mare we ever bred at Beaver Dam Farm. BDF Wilhelmina (Gjest x Stine) – “The Magic Cross”. – (That phrase was coined by a Fjord judge.) -- “Willa” is for sale. Our 11 yr. old granddaughter rode her this summer, had a great time and did well on her.
BDF Wilhelmina with 11 yr. old rider
The Change of Focus -- We’re inviting guests to bring their own horses to our Nova Scotia farm and enjoy all the facilities we’ve built over the last 20 years. --- The training and conditioning opportunities are phenomenal! Huge pastures are now open to driving and riding. Miles of interesting trails. Arthur has mown the most incredible series of trails that are a blast to drive. The trails switch back and forth across the fields. It’s work for the horses, but because of the design, with all the curving switch backs, not too hard on the horses. Bob Giles, Florida trainer and CDE competitor said . . . “I can condition horses much faster here than in Florida because of all these long hills.”
Guests without horses are always welcome at the farm. But, to launch our new program, this summer we offered a really good deal to guests bringing horses. Their horses stay FREE! For 2011, we're offering the same Good Deal to guests booking before January 1st. Good dogs are also welcome at Beaver Dam Farm.
We had lots of guests staying on the farm this summer from all over the U.S. and Canada. Most guests came because of the farm and horses, but didn’t bring their own. -- Some did, however, and it was a wonderful launch of our new program . . . . . Bring your horse ON VACATION at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia -----
n Elaine and Dennis came with a Percheron/QH cross, a Morgan, a large black poodle, and an elegant Abyssinian cat. (We’re very pet friendly). They’re Nova Scotians, and here’s their reason for vacationing at Beaver Dam Farm ----
Elaine and Dennis
"We wanted to go on a vacation, but didn't want to leave our horses, dog, or cat. And, most of all, we didn't want to leave Nova Scotia at the best time of year. When we heard about Beaver Dam Farm, it seemed like the perfect solution. Our two weeks vacation, staying in the Carriage House Loft, was great."
Elaine and Dennis were riders. Each morning they were up early and riding the hills. They rode at least two hours a day. When they weren’t riding, they sat and sipped coffee and read on the terrace of the Stable/Art Gallery. In the evening, they had drinks on the terrace then barbequed their supper using herbs grown in front of the stable. They went to the theatre, the restaurants, took in the local culture and did some hiking. -- Basically, we were thrilled as they used the farm as we’d hoped our guests would.
Another guest brought her driving horse, a Haflinger. Betty’s goal in coming was to get some help with her horse who was kind of stiff. I worked with her quite a bit and she left after a week happy that her horse was actually bending. Betty is a busy person, and delighted in having the leisure to sit, read, and relax in the Carriage House Loft, or on the terrace.
Both couples took full advantage of the herbs and veggies we grow in containers in front of the Stable. Lots and lots of good healthy eating there for the picking, and you don’t even have to bend over. -- This was my first year of intensive container vegetable growing, and I’m now a BIG fan. This is the way to go for my future.
We not only had paying guests staying on the farm, but lots of family and friends coming to stay. -- And, during all this time, we had our dear friend from Paris, Helene Amiable, staying with us for two whole months and cooking for us the entire time. Can you imagine???? It was wonderful. -- Elinor’s husband, Lee, was beside himself with gustatory joy.
We have a beautiful 350 ac. farm here on the northern coast of Nova Scotia, and the local area is gorgeous. Everything to do and see within a half hour, but if guests want to do a little traveling, there’s Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island --
both must see destinations, and you can do both in a day. However, you’ll see even more in two days.
French Cooking Lessons Homestyle at Beaver Dam Farm Resort We launched our new offering of Homestyle French Cooking Lessons this summer with a series of four sessions. -- The wonderful, Mme. Helene Amiable, from Paris conducted the lessons with me translating for her. -- To tell you the truth, I was astounded how professional Helene’s course was. And, it turned out that she’d run a cooking school when she lived in Alsace, France, which is where our families met. Helene was totally in charge and at her ease. Not only that but absolutely organized so everything went off as planned. She cooked and directed preparation to as many as 8 students for a 3 course luncheon. For example . . . Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops) as a First Course - Main Course – Poulet Basquaise – and for dessert Tarte au Myrtilles (blueberry tart). Wine was served at the delicious lunch, and everybody was happy.
These initial first year offerings were such a success and such fun, we’re looking forward to offering French Cooking Homestyle lessons each week of the summer.
The Latest News - WINTER - Jan. 1st 2010 - through April
Arthur & I go to Florida with BDF Quasar and 2 yr. old Octane to Gloria Austin’s Florida Carriage Museum & Resort. -- It was great. We loved every minute. Totally relaxing and a lot of fun. To me, it was a wonderful luxury to have not much of anything to do except work with my horses. The truth is that I got to do what all those guests coming to Beaver Dam Farm for the last 18 years did every week --- play with horses.
On Jan. 1st, I was at the stables talking to one of the staff, and I hear a voice saying, “Is that Carol Rivoire?” -- Then, a woman with red/gold hair came around the corner, and I said . . .”Is it you, Elinor?” -- This was the woman I’d been emailing with for a couple of months, and we’d agreed to help each other with our horses. -- It was so good to finally meet Elinor. She’d brought her Andalusian dressage horse. Elinor is a very well educated dressage rider and instructor, an all-around lifetime horsewoman. She’d also brought a newly acquired Haflinger who she hoped to drive at Gloria’s. -- Well, it turned out that Elinor was far more help to me than I could be to her, but that was OK as we became great friends. It turned out that we had an enormous number of things in common including living in Europe, our age (both coming 70), our children, etc. -- And even more surprising our husbands also had a lot in common. In short, the four of us became friends and had a ball.
BDF Quasar, Carol & Elinor
Elinor rode on the back of my carriage every day giving me the benefit of her extensive dressage knowledge. How wonderful is that? -- Quasar and I really appreciated it. Then, when it was time to prepare for FCMR’s Festival Show, Elinor continued to coach me and even signed up for the Ride & Drive Class. Otherwise, she rode on the back of my carriage as groom. -- But, we did lots more than just horses while in Florida – shopping trips, dinners out, gatherings on the deck of Walnut Cottage, trips to Tack Shack, and lots more.
Carol & Quasar & Elinor at FCMR (Gloria Austin’s place)
All during our 3 months at Gloria’s, after Elinor’s Haflinger proved unsuitable for driving, I kept trying to convince her to buy a Fjord, but she couldn’t be pinned down. Finally, I gave up. However! When Arthur and I got back home to Nova Scotia, practically as we walked in the door, the phone rang and it was an old customer from CA who had bought BDF Idar (Gjest x Maryke), and competed him VERY successfully through second level often winning against $200,000 Warmbloods. But now her life had changed and she asked me if I would like to have Idar back at Beaver Dam Farm to retire. -- I told her that at 19, Idar was too young to retire, and that Arthur and I were ourselves, semi-retiring. -- Then, I thought of Elinor, and I emailed her saying . . . “I’ve found the perfect horse for you.” Long story short, Elinor bought BDF Idar and had him shipped to Indiana, and will be coming back to FCMR with Idar and Maxie, her Andalusian dressage horse. Elinor’s comment when she first rode and drove BDF Idar . . . "He may be the best horse I've ever had."
Arthur and I are really looking forward to going back to Florida and seeing BDF Idar. It’s been 12 years since we shipped him off to California.