Business Profiles
Beltane Farm: 17 years and still going strong
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Laura Mitchell of Beltane Farm in York smiles as she prepares to return seven-year-old Oscar to his home in the barn after a morning ride in the farm's indoor and outdoor dressage arenas. The farm features such services as riding lessons for ages 12 and up and horse training.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
Laura Mitchell, owner of York's own Beltane Farm, rides her horse Oscar in the outdoor dressage arena at the farm. Beltane Farm features such services as horse boarding and lessons for equestrians ages 12 years and above.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
"It was definitely in my blood," said Mitchell, who owns and operates Beltane Farm at the York home she shares with her husband, local veterinarian Michael Shafer of Piscataqua Animal Hospital, and their children.
At Beltane Farm, Mitchell gives lessons to children ages 12 and up, and adults of any age.
"I also offer training services here for people wanting to move their horses along faster so they - the riders - can continue to improve," Mitchell explained.
Currently, Mitchell said, she has a total of nine horses in residency at the farm, where she also provides boarding and sells horses.
Preparing one of her horses, Oscar, for a ride, Mitchell described her approach to lessons and to working with horses in the style known as dressage.
"Dressage means specifically developing the horse as an athlete," Mitchell said, using the analogy of sitting on the couch and eating potato chips as opposed to hitting the gym regularly. The human body changes, she said, when not exercised property, and the same is true for horses.
"Their beauty is in their athletic development," she said.
With 45-minute riding lessons requiring the ability to stay focused, Mitchell said she does not take students under the age of 12.
One of the goals, in addition to first helping the rider to find their balance and "feel" of the horse in the saddle, is on building confidence and helping the rider to form a bond with the horse.
"If you're working a horse correctly, you are bonding," she said. "Safety and confidence in you is what they want. They want to known someone else is making the decision."
Seven-year-old Oscar was born without a tail, she explained as she prepared for a late-morning training session with him in the 20-by-40 meter indoor and 20-by-60 meter outdoor arenas at her farm.
"He's my little gift from the universe," she said, as his lack of that "essential piece of equine apparatus" meant she would not be selling him.
Sometimes students struggle at first with the impulse to "baby" the horse, Mitchell said, and she works to help them not only find their balance, but also to build their confidence and leadership skills.
"I do a lot of handling of the horses with my students," she said, adding, "They end up getting things out of it that they don't expect."
In addition to self-confidence, Mitchell said her goal is to help her students realize the value of training, explaining with a smile that she continues to learn from other instructors, as there is always the need for someone with "eyes on the ground" while a rider is in the saddle.
Mitchell is certified with the American Riding Instructors Association and continues to compete with the U.S. Dressage Foundation, which includes four levels of national and international competition.
For information on Beltane Farm, call 475-5001.
Associate Editor Jennifer L. Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@yorkindependent.net.
