Equestrian News
Baghdad Equestrian Club: NPR’s Weekend Edition
I thought this short piece about the Baghdad Equestrian Club by NPR’s Peter Kenyon is worth sharing. I’ve always enjoyed a day at the track and think it’s a tradition worth saving. For that reason, it’s uplifting to hear that, despite the turmoil that has pervaded the lives of Iraqis over the past several years, a day at the track can provide Iraqis with the same sense of escape and excitement as it does for me and others the world over.
Oakhaven Farm in Field Sport Concepts
The latest newsletter from Field Sport Concepts, a group of affiliates devoted to rural land conservation of which we are members, features Oakhaven Farm in Austin, Texas. This Blackburn-designed farm includes a 16-stall barn, open and enclosed arenas, and related structures. The vernacular of the area inspired the use of local materials, such as its “Austin Stone,” while the deep trellis provides a bit of shade for the horses and owners.
Barn Party Deux at Ketchen Place Farm: Some Photos
I posted these photos on our Facebook Page (so many social mediums, so little time!), but want to put them here as well. Blogging is my method of choice, in any case.
Over the weekend, some of my staff and I had the opportunity to visit our friends at Ketchen Place Farm, a Blackburn project in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The farm is located just south of Charlotte, North Carolina, and is simply beautiful this time of year. Ketchen is family-owned and family-run, and they couldn’t be a nicer or more generous group of folks. I’d sincerely like to thank each and every one of them for their hospitality and for inviting us to join the festivities. I’d also like to thank them for asking me to give a short speech about the barn and its design—while I could go on and on about barn designs and this project in particular, I tried to keep it short and sweet.
The party was a tribute to the new barn, a couple of birthdays, an anniversary, the Kentucky Derby, and the birth of a new foal. To celebrate, there were plenty of Derby-hat wearers, equestrians of all ages, friends, family, and the stabled horses at Ketchen. It was really nice to hear the family talk about the history of Ketchen (it’s been in the family since the 1800s), watch a jumping demonstration by a young rider, walk around the barn, and ooh and ahh over the adorable foal.
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Barn Party a Deux at Ketchen Place Farm
My staff and I had a great time at Ketchen Place Farm’s second annual Barn Party over the weekend! I’ll post photos and give more details soon, but I just want to thank everyone at Ketchen for a great time and their incredible hospitality. Also, congratulations on the (I believe now) 5-day-old foal– she’s an adorable addition to the horse family at Ketchen.
Best wishes!
–John
Sagamore Farm in new Rizzoli book: Stables by Kathryn Masson
We’re really excited to be a part of Kathryn Masson’s new book called Stables: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, and Tack Rooms. The book features stunning photographs by Paul Rocheleau and showcases a variety of stables across the United States. One of the stables shown is Sagamore Farm, the famous thoroughbred-horse breeding farm originally owned and operated by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, II.
Stables by Kathryn Masson
Blackburn Architects had the pleasure of working with Sagamore’s current owner, Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, to restore and upgrade the facilities, which had fallen into serious disrepair from the former previous ownership. We provided architectural services to renovate two of the farm’s existing barns: the 16-stall foaling and 20-stall broodmare barns.
If you’d like to check out the book, it’s available through Amazon and Rizzoli. The Classicist blog has also written about the book in a post titled America’s Finest Equestrian Architecture.
Here's Sagamore before work began
Sagamore after construction...
Sagamore's aisle after construction
Greenbarns
We’re pleased to announce that our line of pre-designed barns called Blackburn Greenbarns® is now available in ready-to-construct form. Starting with four models, each barn is designed to capture the power of the sun and wind to provide natural light and ventilation. While each barn can be modified to meet your design preferences and operational goals, the “starting point” concept designs minimize architectural fees normally associated with complete custom design.
Blackburn Greenbarns- Happy (Almost) Earth Day!
OK, so I have to once again spread the word about Blackburn Greenbarns®, our pre-designed line of sustainable barns. We just issued a press release, which you can check out here. We are really excited to share these new barns with you in a “ready-to-construct” format. We really feel that all equestrians (and their horses too, of course) deserve to have sustainable barn options that are easy to modify, protect the health and safety of your horses, and are ready to construct quickly and efficiently (with the help of a licensed professional, of course).
We are sending out virtual invitations to all our friends, clients old and new, and family to take a look at our new website this Thursday when it will be complete. However, please feel free to visit the site before then at www.blackburngreenbarns.com. We hope you’ll like it and we hope to hear from you if you have any feedback, questions, or interest.
Prince George’s County Maryland: Horse Industry Task Force
An associate of mine runs a great email list that features news and happenings in the equestrian community. The other day, the email contained an article from Maryland’s Prince George’s County section of The Gazette. Written by Zoe Tilman, the article is about a horse industry task force up for vote in Prince George’s County. With several states adding slots venues (such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware), the pressure is on the equine industry to take advantage of its potential revenue power, especially in regard to racinos—the combination of a casino with thoroughbred racing.
Tilman’s article points out that Prince George’s County isn’t necessarily well known for its equine industry, but that the County is interested in spreading the word in order to garner interest and recognition throughout the state. If approved (a vote is expected sometime this month), the horse task force will bring together “state and local equine industry groups and economic development agencies.”
While I believe racinos are fun and have their time and place, I do wish there were more public equestrian facilities and parks. However, it seems that many states are becoming desperate to get out of the red, so to speak, and look at slots/gambling as a way out.
Facebook–Join the Club?
Well, I finally decided to give Facebook a try. I’m not sure I can keep up with it, to be honest. But mainly I hope to get a nice “fan page” started for Blackburn Architects so that people who are interested in equestrian design—or just architecture and design in general—can meet, collaborate, and ask questions.
Do you think this has value? If so, I’d love to have you as a friend and a fan on Facebook.
John Blackburn | Create Your Badge
Feedback Requested: Horse Barns and Equestrian Design
Hello Readers,
At the Blackburn office, we’ve been busy developing Blackburn Greenbarns®, a line of pre-designed barns that are sustainable, provide a healthy and safe atmosphere for horses, and are more affordable than custom design. We first introduced this line of barns last April, but the overall construction costs for the barns were a little higher than we would have liked. So, we decided to go back to the drawing board (literally) in an attempt to streamline the process without compromising our values. We are almost ready to relaunch Blackburn Greenbarns® (with a new and improved website on its way!) with a “kit barn” option, but I would really love to hear from you as far as what’s most important to you when building a new barn.
I know that cost is a huge factor—as it should be—for most barn owners. However, I also know that being a horse owner is quite an investment in and of itself—and that most owners just want a facility that protects their horses when they are in the barn, knowing full well that the horses would rather be lazing about in the paddocks.
What is the most important factor when building a new barn? Affordability? What about the style or look of the barn? Are you interested in sustainable products or incorporating green design?
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I hope you’ll comment on this post and share your thoughts. Maybe there’s something that all the barn builders (or architects) forget to include/consider and it drives you nuts? Or maybe there’s a particular service (like site planning) that you’d find valuable but aren’t sure you can afford or truly need and would like to know more about it.
Hope to hear from you! More on what we’ve been up to soon.
