Pinetree is housed in an 1800's carriage house that had been part of one of the Beverly Farms estate properties. The ""basement"" referred to, in other postings, is actually a fieldstone barn, built into a slope, which originally housed other barn animals ""back in the day"" ... great protection from cold winter drafts and I never saw it wet from the elements. This is where the ponies live now; all with their own individual stalls which have been enlarged and provides them plenty of moving room within. There is another level above (actually the first floor from the front) which is the original carriage house. Off of that, also on the second level, is an attached barn which houses the horses. We had our guy there for a year, and, had no complaints on his care. My grandaughter, the rider, had nothing less than a wonderfully pleasant experience with the facility, and, the only reason we left was to move our guy to a private barn so he could take advantage of 24-7 turnout to mend a very sore back. It is true that the stalls are somewhat dated, but, I can guarantee that the horses don't seem to mind. Each has their own window for light and fresh air to pass through; the stalls are cleaned on a daily basis and I've never known them to skimp on the shavings. The current owner has been making all of the necessary improvements in the few short years that she has owned it ... important improvements, like, improving the winterization of the barns and rebuilding the stall floors, etc\r
This is a great facility for the beginner and intermediary rider. This is the place to go to learn the basics of riding and how to develop your seat and leg. Once the rider has learned the craft, it may be time to move on to a more advanced facility. It is what it is ... I've never known them to claim to be the center for advanced riders. I still go back to visit from time to time as I am very impressed with how the owner took on this project and continues to improve it for all to enjoy. And, as an added footnote, in my ten years of being involved in this activity, Pinetree's owner is the only owner that I ever saw actually mucking out stalls. She knows she doesn't have some high-end facility and, yes, there's always room for improvement ... the difference is, she recognizes these issues and continues to work, hands-on, to try to resolve them.
Pros: Caring owner & barn staff, healthy horses
Cons: none comes to mind
more