I grew up in Mass, but didn’t start seriously showing until the late 70s. I don’t remember this place, but came across some records for it recently. Anyone remember where it was and what became of it? I have a record of it being in Framingham, but not the actual address.
Would love to hear some good stories if anyone has them!
It was quite the place I it’s day! I remember going there in the early 70’s. Yes, it was in Framingham (when Framingham was kind of the sticks), about 7 minutes off Route 9 towards Wayland.
It had two enormous indoor arenas ( #2 was built later and was a free standing building). The one attached to the barn was about 125x300 and they held many winter A hunter shows there. Sometimes 2 a month. The 2nd indoor was much wider, but had support beams down the center so you could ride on either side. They also had a race track behind the property and held either one or two A shows in the center of the track during July. (I remember GM judged one year.)
I think they had about 50 to 70 stalls. I know the barn was in a L shape around the indoor. And the viewing area to he indoor was huge and heated. They had a nifty manure/stall cleaning system…in front of each stall was a trap door…you would throw the manure into the hole and a conveyor belt system would move it to a truck outside. I think the system had many problems because I recall they just cleaned the stalls with wheel barrows like most barns most days.
Jay Sargent and Brian Flynn trained there and they went off to the biggest horse shows in the NE/NY area.
There was also the Pine Hill tack shop on the property.
Like all good horse properties, I am sure there is a housing development there now.
Hope this helps.
And if you saw their tack trunks at the horse shows back then…someone goofed when they custom lettered them. They wrote Farmingham, MA (A mixture of Farmington and Framingham.) Just a little factoid I recall.
Was this the property?
http://patch.com/massachusetts/framingham/112-acres-framingham-goes-market-179-million-0
Pine Hill was on Pine Hill Road.
Elouise, you have awakened a deep-seated memory! I do vaguely remember Jay having been at a farm named Pine Hill, though by the time I came on the scene, she and Brian were long done.
I grew up in Wayland, started riding in Concord, then moved to a barn in Littleton. It would have been much more convenient to go south!
Here’s Google Map’s view of Pine Hill Rd. Trigger any memories about specific location?
Sing Mia, where in Littleton? Maybe I knew you!
Pine Hill
Pine Hill is deeply rooted in my soul. My first full time paying job was as Stable Manager. I started there in April of 1972. I was hired by the then current head instructor, Jennifer (Jeffy) Wesson, who I had known for some time.
It was quite an experience. I lived on premise, got paid $80 a week and full board for one horse. It was hard, rewarding work. After about 6 months, Jeffy was let go, and I followed her out the door to return to my beloved Vermont.
To the person who rode in Concord: I grew up in Bedford, and rode at Victory Lee. I adored Nick Rodday, and later boarded a horse with him at Elm Brook.
Ha! I started riding with Nick in 1976. He sold the place in, oh 1980? We had an EBF reunion on the old grounds a few years ago–what a blast!
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
