Pony Lane Farm Expands With New Home in Wellington
Pony Lane Farm, owned and operated by the Thatcher family, is a world-class breeding and performance horse farm offering breeding services to elite hunter and jumper stallions, as well as sales of high-quality young horses.
Located both here in Wellington and in Bluffdale, Utah, the operation is known as one of the premier breeding farms in the United States, boasting a string of stallions and broodmares with impressive pedigrees and top show ring records. Since the launch of Pony Lane Farm in 2002, the operation has grown extensively, with a custom-built facility in Wellington propelling further success for the business in South Florida.
In Wellington, Pony Lane Farm was first housed on a small property with 10 stalls, but the number of horses quickly outgrew the available space, prompting the Thatchers to expand. Drawn in by the appeal of the horse-friendly Saddle Trail neighborhood, Pony Lane Farm found a new home in February 2014, purchasing the larger space with help of close friend and colleague Alex Jayne, a well-known trainer in the Wellington show jumping sphere.
“We loved the accessibility and the people who lived in the Saddle Trail neighborhood, as well as the fact that the neighborhood is designed for horses,” said Maura Thatcher, founder of Pony Lane Farm. “We eventually purchased it without even going inside the house. I had a really short time in Wellington, and when we were shown the property, we couldn’t get in the house that day, so I had Alex go back and look at the house. He said it was beautiful and to buy it, so that’s what we did!”
Pony Lane Farm’s new property featured a 12-stall barn equipped with a tack room, riders’ lounge and grooms’ apartment, as well as a home designed for year-round living. With only two more stalls than previously, further expansion was needed. With horses on the property year-round, the Thatcher family ensured they would have an equine-friendly atmosphere, not only during the busy winter show season, but during the summer months as well.
“We built the exact mirror of the original barn, bumping us up to 22 stalls, and we connected the two barns with a covered crossover with the help of our architect. We placed the treadmill, hoof water spa and TheraPlate within the crossover, and added a place for the farrier that has easy access,” Thatcher explained. “The horses are very comfortable using those pieces of equipment and getting their shoes, because they’re right around the other horses. You’re not asking them to leave their friends!”
With a solid home base secured, the team at Pony Lane Farm has been able to focus on both breeding and competing in Wellington for the past three years. When in Florida, the farm’s three premier stallions — Dulf Van Den Bisschop, Klotaire du Moulin and Standing Ovation — all keep the peace in side-by-side stalls, and the team implements specific protocols to notify the horse which job he will be completing on any given day, making it possible for active breeding stallions to also successfully compete at the nearby Winter Equestrian Festival.
Adding to its repertoire, Pony Lane Farm further aims for its stable full of both up-and-coming and proven performance horses to bring home accolades from the WEF show ring. From breeding youngsters to competing in the Grand Prix, the Thatchers have a hand in many of the equestrian opportunities that draw athletes to Wellington.
“Wellington is where the horse world comes to play. You have so many international and national riders, as well as the top horses in the world in both jumpers and hunters. You compete with the best, and that makes it so much more fun to be in Wellington and to be able to experience that level,” Thatcher said. “The girls have entered a new chapter of their lives, but they still want to include the horses. I want the horses to always be a part of their lives, like they have always been a part of mine, no matter what level. I can’t imagine not having horses as a part of our life.”
Whether at the farm or around town, the Thatchers enjoy their time in Wellington year after year, and aim to contribute to the local equestrian community. From the equestrian center to local restaurants, they take advantage of all that the Wellington community has to offer from November through April, and then count the days until it’s time to return at the end of the year.
“The people who normally live in Wellington are so welcoming, and the restaurants and businesses are always excited to see the season start,” Thatcher said. “I’m really looking forward to that part. I’m always sad when it ends and excited for it to start.”
To learn more, visit www.ponylanefarm.com.
