 |
| May 05, 2024 |
Welcome! Click here to Login
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Click to visit the
Official Town Site
|
|
|
|
|
|
General News: Ivy Rock Farms Preserves a Way of Life
|
| The outdoor riding ring and the barn that Roger built at Schunemunk Shadow stable. |
|
| Shelley has been riding horses since her teens. |
|
| Students grooming one of the horses in the barn. |
|
| Roger plans to fit this tractor with a bio-diesel engine. |
June 02, 2008
On the outskirts of Cornwall, a farm has grown up in the shadow of Schunnemunk Mountain whose owners wants to share its bounty with the greater community.
It's called Ivy Rock Farms and it's run by Shelley and Roger Gray who own two horse stables, Schunnemunk Shadow Stables and Hollybush Dressage, where people from all over the region come daily to ride horses they board there or to take lessons from professional instructors in the indoor and outdoor rings.
Shelley and her husband are life partners and business partners and they share a commitment to act as conservators of the 185 acres of farmland they own. The couple is full of ideas about how to preserve the rural farmland and, while the operation revolves around the care of 60 horses and the maintenance of riding facilities, they are branching out to sell organic eggs and grass-feed beef at the farm.
The couple runs the farm and stables chemical-free and are constantly on the lookout for new energy-saving techniques to incorporate. In the 7,000-square foot barn that Roger designed and built in 2001, they have introduced a small bug that is a fly-predator that eliminates the need for chemical sprays.
Outside in the fields, Roger harvests hay on 200 acres that is used to feed the horses. In the past year, the cost of running the tractor has become almost prohibitive. Roger says he uses 2-3,000 gallons of fuel to cut, bale and collect the hay.
Undaunted and committed to reducing costs, Roger plans to start using a tractor powered by a bio-fuel diesel engine, which uses cooking oil that he hoeps to recycle from the kitchens of local restaurants.
Roger and Shelley’s own home, which they built thirty years ago and where they raised four children, abuts the Schunnemunk Shadow Stables. The house is super-insulated and their heating system is based on wood-burning stoves. Solar power heats their hot water.
Shelley jokes that her clothes dryer is solar, a clothesline outside on a sunny day or strung across the living room if necessary. An organic vegetable garden has long been a important source of food and the couple raises chickens on organic feed that produces the tastiest of eggs.
The Grays welcome people to come out to the stables, meet the horses, and buy some eggs or meat. If you do, you may see some of the people who learn to ride there – from cadets at the New York Military Academy to children with autism or adults with multiple sclerosis who receive therapeutic lessons on the horses. Most students, however, come to ride for the pure pleasure of being on a horse.
Running the horse stables would be a full-time job for most people, but for the Grays, it supplements another successful business they have operated for more than 20 years. Roger and Shelley met while working in theater and they are the co-owners of Center Line Studios, which designs theatrical set pieces for Broadway and opera shows.
The studio is located on Mill Street in Cornwall and their team of 30 employees creates wood, ironwork and steel pieces as well as animated effects that are sought after by producers. Most recently, they created the giant bubble where magician David Blaine set a record for holding his breath under water.
Despite their daily interaction with the fast-paced world of theater production, the Gray family seems to find most satisfaction when they look out over the open fields to Schunnemunk Mountain, knowing that they are contributing to maintaining the rural beauty of this land. They invite the public to stop in and get to know the place during an open house on Saturday, June 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. Learn more about the stables here.
Comments:
|
My daughter boards her horse at Schunnemunk Shadow Stables, and Shelley gives Cody the best care and love when Sarah cannot be there. The Grays are incredible people - an inspiration to us all.
posted by cpmomcat on 06/02/08 at 9:11 PM
|
Add a Comment:
Please signup or login to add a comment.
|
 |
|
|
|
