Farm Living is the Life For Us....

Well we are living on a farm officially for at least the next 6 months or so. We got everything moved into our rental home this weekend and spend our first 2 nights there Saturday night and last night. So far so good! The house itself isn't anything spectacular but the rent and lease is great and there is plenty of space for the 4 of us and the 2 cats.

The views and the "neighbors" are beyond fantastic and so far we have really enjoyed waking up with views like this:

Last night the kids saw the horses up by the fence near the house so we had to go say hi:

The horse that let Reagan pet her is named Rachel's Viva. They all had their names on their bridles but the other 2 didn't get close enough for me to see their name. They are such beautiful horses!

And of course there are the smaller four legged animals that reside on the farm as well. There are 3 dogs that run around but mainly stay up near the main house. Last weekend when we brought some stuff over, one of those four legged babies decided to come in and check us out and make her self at home in our office.

One last funny story for this post. I was at our old house boxing stuff up on Saturday when Matt and his brother Andy came back from dropping off some furniture at the rental. They both were laughing because while they were unloading the trailer they saw a Blue Glass Tours bus come down our drive and we discovered we are living on one of the farms included on the Horse Farms Tour. So this got me wondering why and I discovered a historical marker out by US 60 talking about the history of Buck Pond Farm:

Buck Pond was founded in 1783 by Col. Thomas Marshall. Buck Pond farm has been the home of many legendary racehorses, including two Kentucky Derby winners and countless other champions. Col. Marshall is the father of US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. A hero of the Battle of Brandywine, Marshall was appointed Surveyor General of the lands of Fayette County by good friend and President George Washington. The house at Buck Pond was completed in 1785 and around 1800 the elder Marshall turned Buck Pond over to his youngest son Dr. Louis Marshall and wife Agatha Smith. Six generations of the Marshall family called Buck Pond home under the Revolutionary Grant to Col. Thomas Marshall.

The first deed to the place was written after Dr. Louis Marshall’s death when the estate was purchased by Major Thomas C. McDowell. It was Major McDowell who first brought thoroughbred horses to Buck Pond. The pride of the McDowell stable was Alan-A-Dale, a son of 1895 Kentucky Derby winner Halma. Bred, owned and trained by McDowell, Alan-A-Dale went on to win the 1902 Kentucky Derby. Buck Pond was held by the McDowells until 1936 when the McDowell heirs sold the property to Joseph Kaye Nelson, a native of Woodford County. In 1952, it was then sold to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Davis Jr. who renamed the place High Hope Farm. Davis, a very successful horseman bred and raised 1973 Travers Stakes winner Annihilate’Em at Buck Pond.

In 1973, Davis sold the farm to the Proskauer family who again called the farm Buck Pond. Susan Proskauer had escaped Nazi Germany by skiing over the Swiss Alps and after obtaining a Visa into the United States settled in New York. She began working as a dress designer designing under the name Susan Garber in which she enjoyed widespread success with her own line of ladies suits and dresses.Mrs. Proskauer took an avid interest in thoroughbreds and began acquiring breeding stock when relocating to Buck Pond. The Proskauers continued the rich history of breeding champion racehorses at Buck Pond Farm, including Horse of the Year and three time divisional champion Spectacular Bid as well as two-year-old champion Lord Avie. The great grass filly, Drumtop, who set 4 course records, Manitoulin, a stakes winner in Ireland and the U.S., and Group Plan, winner of nine races including the Jockey Club and Hawthorne Gold Cup were all bred and raised at Buck Pond. Other thoroughbred greats such as Margaret’s Number, Gamacene, Reboboy, Laomedante and Ancient Wisdom were bred and raised on the lush pastures of Buck Pond.

Doug and Karen Arnold purchased the magical 300 acres of Buck Pond in 1994 and the priority of breeding excellent racehorses continues with great success. G2 winner March Magic, one of Evansville Slew’s best sons along with Ruler’s Court, one of the leading juveniles of 2003, were both bred and raised at Buck Pond.


Who knew we lived on such a cool place??

I am sure I will have many more stories during this adventure for the next 6 months and I also hope to be posting updates of the build very soon as well. We should see them breaking ground any day now!