Over the years, horse trials have come and gone-more often-often as a victim of urbanization or farm sales. In the first district of New England, Huntington Farm’s annual horse race held on the picturesque 205 acre farm in Stratford, Vermont has been a major event since the 1970s, even if other races have disappeared. Therefore, when long-term farmer Ann Kitchel decided that she was going to move on, the race participants in the region were not only concerned about the future of horse trials, but also the future of the farm itself.

"I have suffered a lot over the years, and now that I am older, I think it's time to pass the farm down," said Kitchel. "Over the years, I put the farm on the market many times. I would put it on, then change my mind and take it off. I just couldn't find a suitable buyer or situation. After the last time, I thought,'Okay, Maybe I will die here."

Kitchel purchased the farm from the Perkins family in 1983. Their two daughters, Bea di Grazia (formerly Perkins) and Beth, became successful race riders at home and abroad, and finally found her potential in a rather surprising crowd. Buyer: 18-year-old Skylar Clemens, a native of Pennsylvania.

"When I met Skylar, he was 15 years old and I was very impressed with him because of his natural equestrian and horse-driving talent," Kichel recalled. "His interest in horses and agriculture really fascinates me."

Clemens grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania. When he was 5 years old, his family had the opportunity to purchase 100 acres of land near their small farm, thus avoiding development. Growing up while his parents converted their property into productive farmland, Clemens inspired Clemens' love for agriculture and land conservation.

"My grandfather was very concerned about land protection and made sure we have open spaces and farms, and people really know where everything starts and where their food comes from," Clemens said. "Because my parents bought that piece of land, I was able to grow up on 110 acres of farmland, otherwise these farmland could have become 240 houses. A generation cannot solve the world’s problems alone. I can see my parents and grandparents What was done in their time, I want to do my best to contain some of the effects of the industrialization process in the past few centuries."

Due to the spread of the suburbs near the farm and some family problems, the whole family decided that Clemens, who was 15 years old at the time, should move to Vermont, live with some family and friends, and attend high school at Salon College in Salon, Vermont. Clemens's mother, Sloane Six, is interested in a possible relocation to the area and hopes to settle Clemens before a potential full relocation.

"In Pennsylvania, we have an organic, sustainable farm. Knowing that Vermont is a state that really cares about the environment and supports agriculture in general has really attracted us here," Clemens said. "In addition, there is a strong sense of community here, which is really nice to see."

Clemens met Kitchel at the 2019 Christmas party through family and friends. Clemens grew up on his family’s farm and often helped. He was a little boring at school. Family and friends who lived with him suggested that he help Kitcher solve some problems. Huntington's endless housework and maintenance.

"After that Christmas party, I started working for Ann, repairing and repairing fences, weeding, all the things that always need to be done on the farm," Clemens said.

It was through this personal experience that Clemens learned about this land and fell in love with this 180-year-old farm in the process.

"We have all these hills, a wonderful oxbow river, grasslands, large woodlands-this is the best property in Vermont," Clemens said. "It's so cool to have all this diversity in one property. I fell in love with this property and then fell in love with the farm. In the end, a few people suggested that I consider buying Huntington, which I think is really cool. In Working on the farm, through it, I understand its history and the history of events and the importance of both to the valley, and discovered that it is such a special place for so many people, I really feel that it is necessary in some way Moving forward—just know how many lives have been affected by the farm. It has something special that I can’t explain, but here is the energy.”

Clemens closed the purchase of the farm in March 2021, less than two months after his 18th birthday.

He said: "I have to be a little creative in order to pool the funds to pay the down payment." "Over the years, I have done a lot of odd jobs and saved savings. I also have a small family business for sale, so some of them come from there. , I also sold some personal items and items that I had acquired over the years. It’s a bit far-fetched, but I did it.”

In addition to raising funds for the down payment, he must also persuade the bank to give him a mortgage.

"The people who helped with the financing must be a little skeptical," Clemens said. "This man came here because he wanted to meet'this kid.' He said,'Do you really believe this, do you think you will achieve this, because if you really believe it, then I will believe it Of course I believe this. It’s not that all these efforts I put in were wasted, but once he got my assurance, he gave us approval, which is huge."

As far as she is concerned, No. 6 is proud of her son's financial responsibility for the farm alone.

"Skylar did this entirely on its own," Liu said. "He has a mortgage every month; we did not fund him. Through this transaction, I did my best to support him, but he was in charge of this matter, and he did an amazing job. As a parent, you I hope to do something right with my children. I am extremely proud."

Although Kitcher admitted that leaving the farm was bittersweet, she did not regret it.

"Skylar has been my rock and roll for two years," said Kitchel, who now lives in Ocala, Florida. "He will help me before and after school. It took a long time to get here, but it was such a smooth process. I feel lucky that I have spent 37 years in the most beautiful place on earth and now I pass it on to people who really care about it. This is the best part."

Although Clemens did not grow up in equestrian competitions, he did learn about the sport through the members of his family participating in the competition, and he knew that he wanted to continue the long tradition of holding horse races on the farm.

"My family lives near some great equestrian centers, including Radnor and Devon," he said. "In 1942, my grandparents participated in the Devonshire Horse Show for the first time, so horses have always been an important part of my family."

However, for those relatively new to the sport, conducting recognized horse racing trials is a daunting task, but Clemens is not the only one involved in this work. Kitchel's niece, Carole Ann “Pinky” Tullar, grew up working and living on Huntington Farm during summer vacation and school, and has now become a resident trainer and event manager on the farm.

"I can tell you exactly where I kneel next to the house and beg to live here all summer and any school holidays," Tural said with a smile. "In the past few years, I have helped a lot with the license renewal and website of the horse racing trial. I have been a volunteer in the event since I was a child, so I have a rough idea of ​​what will happen, but the workload is huge. ."

One of the first tasks undertaken by the pair was to tackle the property’s aging cross-country course before the five horse trials they ran in the summer (three school education and two recognition).

"I always joked that we worked on the cross-country track for about 400 hours and took four minutes of riding, but if this is the man’s best four-minute ride this season, then this is the best for us. Important," Clemens said with a smile. "Going into this summer, we know that our goal is to make some really big improvements that people will see: new jumps, new paint, clean up overgrown areas."

Clemens and Tullar turned to Jamie Gornall and Janine McClain to help refurbish the off-road track. In order to widen some of the galloping lanes, they eliminated large areas of overgrowth, which Clemens said were full of invasive plants. They also updated it by adding several fragile fences and getting rid of the often slandered bank, which took up a lot of space in the middle of the equestrian venue. ("Everyone was very excited to see it disappeared," Clemens said with a smile.)

"This is a huge job, a difficult task," Tural said. "All systems are running and it's amazing to see a lot of support. Our neighbor went out to paint his house, he saw us on the off-road track trying to clear the jumps and move them, he grabbed a chainsaw and started to help us clear Brush. [South Royalton, Vermont] Laurie Hudson (Laurie Hudson) of Hitching Post Farm lent us to skydiving, and it's a valuable resource."

Despite the success of the horse trials, Tural said that as organizers, they are still in the "data collection stage" to decide how to deal with the competition facilities on the field next.

"What do people want to see? What do they want to support and support?" she asked. "There are always people talking about holding intermediate events, some jump shots and driving performances, and even shepherd dog trials, but we just want to see what is the most supported, and then start from there. We do it all by ourselves, if not Community support, we can’t do it.”

Tullar and Clemens often put forward the ideas and awareness of the community, and they believe that their neighbors and the entire town of Stratford helped them through the first few months of running the farm.

"We have a great team coming together, we have a great community here, and hope to see this farm continue as it has been for more than 50 years," Clemens said. "So whether it's the locals who gather together and say,'I have a tractor, a pig and some tools. What can I do?' Or someone just asks if they can help with paperwork or licensing agreements. It's just a lot of support, this This kind of support motivates us every day-we know we are working hard, but the people behind us also want to see it as successful as we are."

While buying the farm, Clemens met some doubters who doubted his ability to revitalize Huntington, but he was eager to prove them wrong.

"I think part of being young is the desire to prove yourself," he said. "My childhood was different from many children. I was given a lot of responsibilities, and my parents really taught me that if you work hard enough, you can do whatever you want. When I accepted this project, I knew This will be a challenge, but I have been to a farm without fences, barns, and nothing. I know I have the skills and work ethic to deal with all this."

To learn more about ensuring the long-term viability of the farm, Clemens has registered with the Vermont Institute of Technology and participated in the agribusiness program.

"I can commute to school and continue to make sure everything is normal here," Clemens explained. "Continuing my education will give me more tools and skills that I can use to promote the development of the farm. Of course I don't know everything, and running this place requires a lot of knowledge at different levels."

Clemens admitted that it was not much compared with the excitement of the past year, but he was happy to finally adapt to a certain rhythm on the farm.

Clemens said: “Not every day is the same. There will be hiccups and bumps. It’s useless to get excited about it.” “But being able to feel good about what you do every day, and then when you go to bed, you know you’ve already Do your best, it’s great. This is Perkins’ farm for many years, and then Ann’s farm for so long, sometimes I think I’m just a placeholder. This is such a monumental place with a long history, Sometimes I feel like I am just a temporary "farmkeeper", but I am not. I plan to spend my life here and I can't wait to see where I can take it."

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