Synopses & Reviews
Owners show their love and devotion towards their horses in many different ways. Sir Henry Pellatt had the names of his favorite horses embossed in goldleaf at the head of their mahogany stalls and installed brick in a herringbone pattern on the floor to lessen the risk of a horse slipping and falling. Don Cohn has two 60-foot Aqua-Tred submerged treadmills that have water jets that force heated water to massage muscles for race horse rehabilitation. The common thread through the eighteen architectual horse barn masterpieces featured in this book is each barn is an innovative, beautiful structure that embodies the owners love and appreciation for horses.Author Randy Leffingwell has selected barns that possess exceptional qualitiesa clever response to site challenges; meticulous attention to details, equine health, and safety; or significant historical context. The purpose of the barns range from havens for private owners to successful breeding and training facilities to historical landmarks.Ultimate Horse Barns capture the architectural beauty of these stunning structures, as well as the love and passion the owners have for their horses.
Review
The Northwest Horse Source, December 2006
“Generously illustrated … captures the architectural beauty of these exceptional barns as well as the love and passion the owners have for their horses.”
Synopsis
The love of horses often finds its expression in the horse barn-in the grandeur of the architecture, the extravagance of the detail, and the extent of the comforts that owners lavish on their favorite creatures. The masterpieces of equine architecture featured in this book attest to that devotion. With luxuries such as mahogany stalls, Spanish-tiled floors, and the latest in horse technology and training, these are not your average barns; rather, they attest to the extremes of elegant simplicity and outrageous glamour that convey a horse owners devotion, ambition, and style.
From prestigious and well-known horse barns such as Churchill Downs to private stables nestled in the Colorado mountains, Ultimate Horse Barns comprises a wide variety of barns certain to pique any horse owners fancy. Twenty North American barns in all, each one of a kind, they all have one thing in common-the love, appreciation, and awe of the horses they house.
Synopsis
The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire. Sharon Ralls LemonUltimate Horse Barns features eighteen barns that have exceptional architecture, innovation, historical significance or beauty. The list includes structures such as:Culver Academies, a private school where high school students are taught leadership through equestrian education in the stately 88-year-old Castle, a massive red brick building with turrets and crenellated battlements to Meadow Farm.Lee and Beth Gablers 14-acre paradise in Santa Barbaras Hope Ranch community that features a barn that was built to reflect Beths passion for horses and Lees love of architecture.George Vanderbilts 12,000 square foot historic horse barn on the beautiful 8,000 acre Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.
Synopsis
A deep love of horses sometimes results in great architecture to house them. For me this book was a double joy: For years I wanted to be an architect, and for about 25 years I've been a rider. (My first date with my wife was a 3-hour ride on 2 beautiful horses.) This book incorporated all my passions - architecture, riding, photography, and writing. These 18 barns and their owners and architects reflect some of the best examples in North America. I hope readers and horse lovers enjoy the book. – Randy Leffingwell
Synopsis
Each of the eighteen masterpiece horse barns featured here is an innovative, beautiful structure that embodies the owners’ love and appreciation for horses. Author Randy Leffingwell has selected barns that possess exceptional qualities—a clever response to site challenges; meticulous attention to detail, equine health, and safety; or significant historical context. The purposes of the barns range from havens for private owners to successful breeding and training facilities to historical landmarks. Ultimate Horse Barns captures the architectural beauty of these stunning structures, as well as the love and passion the owners have for their horses.
About the Author
Randy Leffingwell wrote his first book, American Muscle, in 1989 while still on staff at the Los Angeles Times. Since then, he has authored another 47 titles for Motorbooks and its sister publisher Voyageur Press, including his most recent Complete Book of Porsche 911 and Corvette 60 Years. He has just finished Porsche 911: Fifty Years, a reexamination of the 911 story based on nearly two dozen new interviews. He lives in southern California, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Learn more about him on his website: www.rleffingwell.com.
Table of Contents
ContentsIntroduction
The Ultimate BarnEquine Health and Safety meet Architectural Beauty and Passion1. Freedom Farm Equestrian Research CenterRavenna, Ohio
The Ultimate in Research Farms2. Round Lot FarmMedfield, Massachusetts
Architectural Elegance in New England3. Caper Lea StablesTrappe, Maryland
Intimacy and Innovation on Marylands Eastern Shore4. Chesapeake Dressage InstituteAnnapolis, Maryland
Classical Training in Classical Architecture5. Casa LomaToronto, Ontario
Sir Henry Pellatts Equestrian Castle6. Biltmore Historic Horse BarnAsheville, North Carolina
George Vanderbilts Working Horse Barn7. Shelburne Farms Horse Breeding BarnShelburne, Vermont
William Seward Webbs Grand Idea8. University of Vermont Morgan Horse FarmWeybridge, Vermont
One Hundred Thirty Years of Breeding and Training9. Ballena Vista FarmsRamona, California
Flat Track Training in Californias High Desert10. Tenlane FarmVersailles, Kentucky
Blending Innovation with Horse Breeding11. Hamilton FarmsGladstone, New Jersey
The United States Equestrian Foundations Historic Headquarters12. Fork StablesNorwood, North Carolina
Eventing, Dressage, and Jumping at a Classic North Carolina Barn13. Heronwood FarmUpperville, Virginia
This Horse Barn Redefined the Horse Barn14. Stoneleigh FarmMiddleburg, Virginia
Home to Olympian Joe Fargis for Teaching and Training15. Culver AcademiesCulver, Indiana
Equestrian Education in an Exceptional School16. Grand Central FarmBrewster, New York
The Ultimate Barn in Innovation and Elegance17. Lucky Dog RanchSomis, California
Winning over the Owner with Bold New Ideas and Design Awards18. Meadow FarmSanta Barbara, California
The Ultimate California JewelAppendixReaders Service listing of farms, architects, and builders locations and website addresses.Index