For 2020 we are again sponsoring one of our riders as they take on the Mongol Derby! Claire heads out this summer for the ride of her life.
KELSEY DOES THE DERBY
In 2019 one of our riders, Kelsey Eliot, competed in the Mongol Derby which is known as "the longest and hardest horse race" in the world. The Mongol Derby takes riders 1,000 km across the Mongolian Steppes on semi-wild mongolian horses. Not only did she successfully complete the odyssey, but she placed 12th overall.
Another stop on your weekend itinerary should be going out on horseback at Painted Bar Stables. I was admittedly a little nervous to go since I haven’t been horseback riding since I was in high school (and let’s just say that’s more than a couple years ago). But the owner Erika was phenomenal in her ability to teach and guide us along–perfectly balancing her knowledge and experience with a sense of humor that put us immediately at ease. The trails weave through fields and forests, and if you’re up for it, you might get to ford a stream.
A Riding Stable That Uses Rescue Horses in Its Program
Located right on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, among the beautiful waterfalls, rolling hills, and breathtaking views of Schulyer County, sits Painted Bar Stables. A local equine landmark in the 60s and 70s, this barn holds its own historic charm. And with all the beautiful horses that call this place home, it’s an attraction for horse riders of all ages.
Erika Eckstrom, the owner of Painted Bar Stables, purchased the 1851 farm house in 2008. Since she was a little girl, Erika loved horses. She spent much of her childhood at various barns in the Ithaca area, working hard so she could learn to ride the horses she loved so much. At age 13, she bought her first horse, Margarita, with the money she had been saving since she was little.
Erika spent her teenage years rescuing horses and training them as trail horses. She learned the importance of trust, confidence, and patience – characteristics that are instilled in her today, as she continues her work with horses.
Since purchasing Painted Bar Stables, Erika has worked to repair and renovate the stables and barn house. She has bred and trained a friendly, beautiful, and skilled herd of horses that love riding the trails of Schulyer County. Through her hard work and dedication, she earned the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014 for the Syracuse, NY district.
Standing true to her philosophy to “create a setting in which both people and horses are happy,” Erika has successfully created an educational, friendly environment that offers unmatched love and care to both the horses and the visitors.
At Painted Bar Stables, visitors experience the beauty of Finger Lakes from horseback. There’s many different rides that offer unique ways to see the nature surrounding the stables. Visitors can do shorter rides around the farm house, longer adventures in Finger Lakes National Forest, or even under the stars on the moonlight trail rides.
The horses at Painted Bar Stables are a tight-knit family, each horse a special addition to the herd. There’s over 35 horses at the barn, including retired racehorses like Elegant Jetsetter and rescues like Brienne of Tarth and Spock.
Spock, a white Appaloosa Mule with pointy ears, is a favorite at Painted Bar. (Photo above) When Spock first came to the barn, he was impossible to handle and didn’t trust anyone. After working with Erika, Spock is now a barn favorite and an awesome trail “horse.” He’s intelligent and stubborn, but very sweet and protective of himself and his rider – making him great on the trail.
Visitors who get the chance to come to Painted Bar Stables make unforgettable memories and have a great time. Rachael from New Jersey, who visited Painted Bar for a trail ride while on vacation with friends, said: “I had a wonderful time riding with Erika at Painted Bar. She put me on Spock who was a perfect gentleman throughout the ride. It was clear from chatting with Erika, that rescue animals like him are an important part of her operation. I would definitely go again and recommend this farm to friends…in fact – I already have!”
To learn more about visiting Painted Bar Stables, visit their website below:
Rogue One was born on a very cold March 5th winter night. She was the surprise baby that we did not expect when we purchased Mystique from auction in the fall of 2016.
Rogue is a healthy HUGE bay filly. Her mother is a Percheron and we believe her father to be an Amish Belgian. We expect Rogue to be very large as she matures!
This summer, Vida ran away. Vida is owned by our previous stable manager, Rachel Cronin, and lives here at Painted Bar Stables. She escaped in 2011 while Rachel was caring for the other horses while they were tied at the Backbone Horse Campground in the Finger Lakes National Forest. She slipped her halter and ran off wearing nothing but her protective SMBs (Sports Medicine Boots).
Vida was lost wandering the 16,212 acre forest, a landscape littered with ravines, barbed wire fences, and predators, not to mention the weather! The entire Painted Bar Stables was on instant alert: printing and distributing fliers, plastering facebook and other social networking sites, fund raising for reward money, contacting the local police, animal control, highway department, forest rangers, SPCA and everyone else that could be useful. Boy Scouts were recruited, a helicopter was sent up for the search, and countless numbers of community members rode and hiked the trails.
It took over 7 weeks for Vida to return. She was found in the photos of a hunting surveilance camera under an apple tree. Within a week Vida was captured by a wonderful woman named Kathy, who worked tirelessly to bait and monitor Vida.
Upon return, Vida had lost a lot of weight, her feet were overgrown, and her face was scratched and sunburnt; however, otherwise she was in perfect health. And as luck would have it, the SMBs were still on her front legs. Under the boots there were no sores, no cuts, and no scrapes. The boots were still on tight, protecting her from rubs. One of the boots was gashed through and if she had not been wearing them they probably would have sliced through to the tendon.
Our beloved A. C. Jacobs of www.oatstuffer.com came back to the farm to take some fall photos for us! Here's a preview of the beautiful photos she took!
Make a Wish
Little Joe having a flashback to his alien encounter.
September 27, 2010
Bryce's New Horse!
Congratulations to Bryce and his great-grandmother Terry for their new horse! Bryce has been riding with us all summer and has become very competent, as a result Terry has decided to let him try to be a horse owner for his 6th birthday. We are very excited to have them board with us and really look forward to getting to know this mare and having them around more!
September 25, 2010
30 Mile Competitive Trail Rides
We participated in our very first competitive trail ride!
The way it works:
Mind you, this is not a race but a true test of horsemanship. You have 5 to 5½ hours to finish the race. If you come in early or late those minutes will be held against you. First thing you do is vet check your horse in. At this check they test the horse for leg lameness and take note of any scabs or marks on the horse. The next morning the ride starts. You do two 15 mile loops with water check points every 5 miles. Our route was from the Newell Farm up the Interlocken and Burnt Hill Trail to the lower part of the Backbone Trail and then back down Burnt Hill Road (reverse for loop 2). Between the two loops you have a 10 minute holding to let your horse cool off and then they check heart rate and respiration rates. If the horse's heart rate is under 60 bpm you have 10 minutes to do your vet check for lameness) and you head out again. At the end you have 20 minutes to cool your horses down and they check heart rate, respiration rates, lameness and do a full body inspection. All lameness, marks and cuts are held against you.
Unfortunately some of our choice pick horses were lame or lactating so we had to ride with others, but they all did amazingly well. Here's the lineup:
Rider
Horse
Place
Erika Eckstrom
Beauregard
7th
Colin Hughes
Dozer
10th
Justine Gentilini
Pepsi
8th
Laura Egan
Mack
9th
We truly rode this ride at a team. We were sure to start together and finish together. Our philosophy was to leave no horse behind. Though we didn't make the time, we completed the entire race in 5:49 minutes including vet checks. Our philosophy challenged us in two ways.
Firstly, we had been pre-warned that no barefoot horse had ever finished the race and passed the vet exam. Since almost all of them ride barefoot (except for Pepsi who has front shoes) I bought easyboots to ride with. Unfortunately all of our horses lost one of their easyboots before the 10 mile mark. Mack actually lost his ½ a mile into the race. Our "leave no horse behind" philosophy quickly became "leave no boot behind." As a result, we lost about 15 minutes taking the remaining boots off and finding the other ones on our second loop. That said, we finished the race with no signs of lameness whatsoever, making us the first group of barefoot horses ever to do so.
The second problem was Mack's mid-way vetting. In order to start your second 15 mile loop you need to get you horse's heart rate down to 60bpm. To do this you need to cool them down. Mack was only at 68bpm so we had to wait an additional 10 minutes which counted towards our time. Looking back at this however, I don't think it was because he wasn't cooled, but because he is so excitable. At the final vetting we found that if Dozer or Beau even twitched a muscle Mack's heart rate went up significantly. The lady doing the mid-way vetting did not take this into account, however, since she was already not a fan of us for our use of Pepsi (who we all know is nothing similar to the Arabs usually used on these races).
The reason people use Arabs, as we found out, is that the thicker horses (such as stock horses or warmbloods) typically take a lot of extra effort to cool down since there are so many laters of muscle to their core. Pepsi did get incredibly hot because of this, so we spent a lot of effort dumping buckets of cool water on her every 5 miles at water checkpoints. Her first lap was pretty rough for her, but her second loop was amazing. It was almost as though she got into the flow and figured it out! I'm also quite aware that Pepsi is not fond of mornings. She is always much more enthusiastic for afternoon rides.
August 23-27, 2010
First Ever Youth Adventure Program a Hit!
We held our very first all-day horseback summer program for kids this year and wow was it fun. We completely filled the program with 6 young ladies (with a guest appearance from our dear 5-year old friend, Bryce) and I cannot believe how great each of them were.
In the beginning we had a LOT of trouble getting our horses ready, steering them in the arena, and just keeping it together on the whole. By the end of the week not only were the girls cleaning and tacking up their own horses, but they were doing advanced steering skills in the arena and even went on an all day, 6 hour long trail ride (with a lunch break of course)!
We received so many compliments from parents and the girls. One mother told us that it was the only program that summer that her daughter came back excited and enthusiastic every single day. As a result, we're definitely looking forward to holding more programs like this in the future. Most likely the next one will be a 2 day program for Thanksgiving Break and then another for Christmas Break.
Wednesday Nights
Special Price is $30.00
6:00pm - 6:45pm
Painted Bar Stables is now offering a special opportunity for riders willing to admit that there are at least six decades behind them. Every Wednesday night at 6pm will be reserved for those who want to enjoy a leisurely “walk-only” horseback trail rides on the beautiful trails around the Stables.
If we get enough demand we'll open up the 7pm slot as well!
WayOnt Barrel Show in Newark, NY
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Missy on Metro: Floured Key Hole
Erika on Pretty: Floured Key Hole
Erika on Pretty: Quad Barrels
Amber on Tally: Clover Leaf
Victoria on Dreamer: Clover Leaf
Erika on Pretty: Clover Leaf
Erika on Pretty: Dash for the Cash
Missy on Pretty: Dash for the Cash
Ithaca Festival Pony Ride Photos
ITHACA FESTIVAL PONY RIDE PHOTOS
In case you didn't already know, throughout the pony rides at Stewart Park we had professional photographer, A.C. Jacobs, snapping beautiful pictures of all of our riders.
Photos will be sold for:
Photos = $5 per image (re-touched, high-resolution)
Bulk Discount: Purchase 5+ Photos = $3 per image
Photos Emailed = FREE
Photos on CD = $5 additional shipping charge
All orders will be placed directly through the photographer, A.C. Jacobs.
The password for the Proofs Gallery is: IFPRPBS (Ithaca Fest Pony Rides Painted Bar Stables)
June 26, 2010
Happy Birthday Moon!
Just after noon as I was heading out for an overnight trail ride, Sylvia and Joy came running out the barn. Dutchess was giving birth right outside the run-in to the back field. When we got there a beautiful baby girl was born.
Her cremello coloring is beautiful: creamy coat with brilliant blue eyes. We can tell that she has a stripe and star, very similar to Pixie, but because she is so light and her baby coat is so fluffy we cannot tell if she is painted yet or not. I do not think that she is, but nonetheless she is a flashy little girl with incredibly long long legs.
Dutchess is definitely a very professional mother and it is beautiful to see the way that she cares for her filly. The filly's personality is lovely too, not quite as curious as Pixie, and less energetic than Cupid.
We named her "Moonlight Scandal" since she was the result of a passionate love affair and came by surprise.
She is offered for sale for $1,500. She cannot be weaned until late fall, but he can be purchased prior to weaning with free board until she is weaned.
June 6, 2010
Happy Birthday Cupid!
Cupid was born at 7:00am on June 6. A bit smaller than his half-sister, Pixie, he was a bit wobbly legged when he first emerged. Within a couple of hours he straightened out though and is now a handsome and strapping baby boy.
He is a palomino tobiano overo. This means that he is both a dilute and carries both types of pinto colorations. He looks like a palomino carbon copy of mom! We named him Cupid because of the heart shape on his back. His official name is "Skip Me Awesome Cupid."
Cupid is ALL legs. He's speedy, fast, and very very alert. Not quite as curious as his half-sister, Peanut is more keen on avoiding things - including his Mother! We are having an awful time keeping him in the stall with mom. He keeps escaping under the door and running away, leaving Maxie neurotic in the stall. As a result, the two of them are going to live in the indoor arena until he's too big to escape mom!
Cupid is offered for sale for $1,500. He cannot be weaned until late fall, but he can be purchased prior to weaning with free board until he is weaned.
May 31, 2010
A Beautiful Trail Ride
Pretty and I have had our issues over the past year. After her beloved Bubba died last summer, she has not been quite the same. She went from being my go-to mare, leading every trail ride with amazing bravery and reliability, to being scared to lead, grumpy and irritable, and simply not a pleasure to ride. Her attitude has improved dramatically since she has been paired with Sierra, but she still isn't 100% reliable, and she still prefers not to lead trail rides. For these reasons, she just hasn't been ridden as much as she should be. A group trail ride here or there, some barrel racing, but we really haven't had the chance to bond.
With that in mind, I decided that she and I needed some one-on-one time so I saddled her up this morning after chores and we took off on uncharted territory up Slatterly Hill. The 6.15 mile trail ride took us 1 hour and 44 minutes. We climbed roughly 725 feet, crossed two creeks and hit a maximum speed of 29.94 mph.
Despite a few moments of stubbornness, Pretty was impressive. She was out, alone and ready to go. She was so wonderful and the view was so beautiful that there was a moment that I almost broke into tears. This is how life should be, and this is what makes it all worthwhile. I love my horse, I love where I live, and I love that the two can unite in such a beautiful way.
May 29, 2010
Happy Birthday Pixie!
Scotch had a beautiful baby over the night. She is a solid palomino dun (also known as a dunalino) with a beautiful star and strip on her face and a sock on her rear left. She has perfectly straight legs and a very adorable head with a petite nose and curved ears.
We now know why scotch looked so chubby! Pixie emerged large and relatively plump for a young foal! For a mare as small as Scotch we were shocked at how big Pixie came out.
We expected Scotch to give birth in mid-June so it was quite a shock to come into the barn and find Pixie sleeping. Before we got there Pixie was standing, eating, pooping and very alert. The first thing that she wanted to do when I got them out of the stall was run!
Pixie is very very active. She is quite the runner and very independent. She already has Scotch's attitude that we all love so much. She's definitely going to be a fun little mare.
Congratulations to Katie Steigerwalt who has already claimed Pixie as her own!
May 8, 2010
I took Sierra to the combined Empire State Paint Horse Association and Pinto Horse Association of New York in Syracuse, N.Y., at the State Fairgrounds to compete in his first ever halter show. We competed in about every class he was eligible for, including ones where he was the only stallion, competing against very calm geldings. I was very impressed with Sierra. Even though he was a big talker in his stall, whinnying to all the pretty ladies out there, he was well mannered in the show ring and even stood still and squared up for me.
I'll admit Sierra and I were slightly over our heads, considering I didn't even get to groom him until 1 hour before we left, and the other people had been prepping and clipping for weeks! Not only that, but I refused to cut his mane for a show, I prefer it long and it is beautiful in his stud photos. Some of the other horses were so well groomed you could have used a white glove to prove it. That said, each also had legions of grooms and supporters there and it was just Colin and I holding down the Painted Bar Stables fort.
If that weren't enough, we didn't always come in last! He took home 6 third place ribbons that day. While we didn't earn any APHA breed points that day, I am very proud of my stallion!
February 22, 2010
The Seneca County Tourism Video by Darlene and David came out. Check it out, we're in there!
October 10, 2009
While doing a weekend trail ride in the Finger Lakes National Forest we came upon Darlene and David Duprey of Duprey Video Productions while they were shooting a tourism video for Seneca County. I've edited the footage that they took and made a little music video for the Painted Bar Stables.
Erika picked up a surprise at the auction - a red roan 2001 grade quarter horse gelding. He's tall (16.1 hands high), handsome and gentle - a true "in your pocket" personality.
Because of his wonderful, gentleman-like personality, we've named him after the Southern millionaire in the wonderful movie Auntie Mame: Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside.We just call him "Beau" or "Beauregard Jack."
September 15, 2009 - YouTube Slideshow of Sierra
Sometimes everything is just more fun with music. Check out the new slideshow video using the photos from this month's photoshoot
Thanks To Our Humans:
Amber, Sage, Tassia, Autumn, Emma, and Polly
August 30, 2009 - Trumansburg Town Fair Horse Show
Congratulations To: Amber Schorpp for winning Grand Champion in the walk/trot division.
Maximum Review, our medicine cap mare, for her very first show in which her and Erika won Reserve Grand Champion in the walk/trot division
June 15, 2009 - It's a Boy!!!
Please join us in welcoming Sierra Mist Poco Twist to the Painted Bar family!
Sierra Mist Poco Twist was born on June 15, 2009. He is a strong and healthy little palomino tobiano colt. He immediately showed signs of his independence, wandering away from mom after humans. He is very calm, quiet and loving - letting anyone pet him
We accept cash, check and credit cards
Gift Certificates are available. 4093 Lake Street (Rte. 79) Burdett, NY 14818 [email protected]
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