Dan and Elinor Young with their 3-year-old son Daniel in front of a few of their horses. Photos by Judy Van Put

Bridle Hill Farm LLC

The side road we took began to rise and turn with the contours of the land just outside of Jeffersonville, in New York’s Catskill Mountains, arcing upward with every twist until we reached the very top of Hemmer Road, a somewhat dramatic entree to the beautiful landscape that lay ahead. Sitting at the crest of the hill is a carefully restored old farmhouse and historic barn; just beyond, an elegant equine facility, graced by more than a mile of white post-and-board fencing, riding arenas, pastures and ponds. Elinor and Daniel Young have spent the past 10 years working tirelessly to create, construct, fashion and fine-tune their first-class horse facility, Bridle Hill Farm, LLC.

The couple chose this stunning backdrop for their home, although both originally came from New Jersey. When they first met, Dan was living in Elmwood Park, and Elinor in Brooklyn Heights. And while Dan ‘always liked horses,’ Elinor had an extensive background. Having grown up in central New Jersey, Elinor’s passion for horses began early, from the tender age of 10, as she dreamed of horses — and worked in horse barns in exchange for riding lessons. Her passion grew, leading to her studies at Iowa State University, all the while showing horses and teaching riding lessons throughout the years. 

The couple had been coming to the Monticello, NY area on holidays to visit Elinor’s relatives, and while doing so, had looked ‘all over’ for just the right place for their dream facility. The old Hemmer Farm was purchased in October of 1999, the same week that the couple married, as a gift to each other.

At first, the farm served as a weekend retreat for the young couple, who were employed in the metropolitan area. After 9/11, the couple made a career and life change, and began telecommuting three days per week, enabling them to become permanent residents of Sullivan County and devote their time to the farm.

Through tireless work and careful planning, the Youngs slowly transformed the old 35-acre dairy farm into a first-class horse facility. A pond was constructed, and an order was put in for 6,000 linear feet of white 8-foot, 4-rail PVC fencing. The low-ceilinged dairy barn was converted to a horse barn, complete with tack and feed rooms, while allowing ample storage above for about 6 - 7,000 bales of hay. For the renovation, the barn floor was removed and excavated and walls were re-braced to allow for adequate height clearance for horses. The barn now houses a foaling stall and a roomy 13-foot by 13-foot box stall, along with 12 large (6 feet by 10 feet) tie- or straight- stalls that are fully matted and equipped with ‘safety ties.’ The stalls are also equipped with butt straps for added security, and are plenty wide for a student or horse handler to walk around a horse that is tied, and groom and saddle with plenty of space. Upcoming plans for the old barn include an updating of the tack room, and construction of a deck/porch to be added on the back of the barn so that students and visitors can have a scenic place to enjoy lunch or a drink after riding. 

After searching far and wide for a design and a contractor to build a new main barn, the Youngs enlisted the help of the Amish community. Their state-of-the-art horse facility is a spacious 80-foot by 180-foot, 10-stall barn that houses an airy 144-foot by 80-foot by 18-foot high heated indoor arena with twin 5-stall bays, each with roomy side alleys with crossties for saddling and grooming; and two custom-built tackrooms complete with instant on-demand hot water heaters and radiant incandescent hot plates for safe heating of food or snacks. There is also a large viewing room with special safety glass that was designed for use in car windshields. The shower stall features infra-red heat lamps and on-demand hot water for the shower. The stalls are 12’ by 12’ custom boxes, with large protected windows, automatic waterers and deep bedding. Connecting stalls feature a removable interior wall to provide adequate space for foaling.

Outside the barn are several riding arenas — a 40 x 40-foot outdoor arena that is tailored especially for working with children; a 240 x 120-foot arena, and a 300 x 150-foot arena. Construction is already beginning on a new 198-by-66-foot Dressage arena in the same area. 

The Youngs have constructed a large pond for their horses, and maintain about 34 acres of pasture and fields along the periphery of their property. The pastures had been leveled and seeded with horse pasture mix — all are weed-free and rock-free, and provide easy footing for trail rides along the property. 

With seven of their own horses and an additional 11 boarders, there’s plenty of work that needs to be done on a daily basis. Elinor recalls that she used to do all the chores herself — but now she can count on help from Dan, who telecommutes and is working more from home, which makes things much easier, especially with caring for and playing with their 3-year-old son Joseph. There is now extra assistance from four students who live nearby and who come to help for two hours a day in the afternoons, seven days per week. Needless to say, most of Elinor’s day is spent in and around the barn despite the additional help.

According to Dan, a “stroke of luck” brought them the expertise of John Annello, a top-notch professional instructor of national-level horses and riders, originally from Old Lyme, CT, who helps with their Hunter/Jumper/Dressage training and show facilities, and stables some of his prized horses at the farm.

For more information, call 845-482-3993 or visit www.BridleHillFarm.com