About Us
It took us most of 2006 to move Crowndale Farm twenty miles west to Sealy TX. With all of the animals it has been an exhausting year. The new farm is on fifty-four acres in lovely rolling countryside close to the small town of Cat Spring. I discovered the true nature of that name when I spotted a mountain lion on our front lawn having first mistaken it for a lost dog. The new house looks almost identical to the home my grandparents built in Mendham New Jersey on the original Crowndale farm. The estate had born that name for over two hundred years. Now the Mendham 'Crowndale 'is subdivided into small lots, the home demolished and the name long forgotten. I feel as though I have discovered my childhood home in Texas. We are now up to fifteen horses. The three new fillies arrived last February. With the birth of each one, my husband, Paul asked me. "How much do we ask for her??". "She's not for sale", I growled. Maggies filly I had waited eight years for. Hallie's filly is by Debbie Fullilove's stallion, Braveheart and will be put into our breeding program. Collette's filly, well she had been sold in- utero to a friend who backed out to be able to make car payments. Frankly I hate selling foals. I've had enough of a bad experience with it to know that only true horsemen should buy foals and I can't count on them finding mine. It is simple to sell a trained mature animal who will willingly carry a rider and obey his or her commands so I train all of my foals in case they will one day need a new home. Mickey Finn has been gelded as life as a stallion was miserable for him. He didn't have the 'presence' to market stallion services and his libido was ruling his life. Mickey is a very social guy naturally but all he could think of were the mares. He ran himself to skin and bones and was beside himself. We put him in training for driving with Tom O'Carroll, as he was too much for me to start. Tom is my idea of a born horseman. Mickey made progress immediately even before we gelded him. Now Paul has decided that he is not for sale as Mickey will be Paul's driving horse. Mickey is putting on weight. He is calm and happy and he loves his job of pulling a carriage. I plan to back him myself this week, as he is no longer the challenge he was. Our six Great Pyrenees keep the ever-present predators at bay here. I have a small Angora goat herd whose job is only to entertain the horses and me. Unfortunately they are a great draw for Coyotes and wild cats. Our fearless Great Pyrs keep them safe. They also keep crack heads who steal our tack away! We had a number of those near the old farm in Brookshire. Life is good. Twenty-seven years of running my farm is a full and interesting life. My loved ones finally accept that you can work very hard without being interested in making a profit and not be crazy.Visit our farm
Original Crowndale Farm in New Jersey - Grandparents home built in 1935
Crowndale Farm in Sealy, Texas