Cindy Stys Equestrian & Country Properties, Ltd.

Perfect Horse Property!

• 2,220 sq. ft., 3 bath, 4 bdrm 2 story - $479,000

Bernville, Berks County  -  Fantastic very well kept horse property! Sits way back from road. Perfect layout for the serious equestrian. Most of land consists of 5 fenced pastures. 60x120 indoor arena w/ 6 attached 12x12 box stalls w/ auto waterers & rubber mats, room for 7th stall, wash stall, hot & cold water, tack room, hot walker, run-in shed. Separate paddocks attached to stalls make for ideal turn-out or layup situation. 2 large sheds included. Lovely, tastefully decorated home w/ bright kitchen, romantic master suite, inviting family room w/ fireplace w/ insert, Geothermal heating! Laundry facility conveniently located off upstairs hall. Nicely landscaped. Long paved driveway. Lot in front can be purchased separately or included in sale for an additional price. Very convenient to Route 78. Zoning is C-3&Rural Perservation. Possession on June 1st. Seller not responsible for rollback taxes if buyer removes property from Act 319. Can possibly have boarding facility but buyer must confirm this with zoning. SHOWN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY - PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE BACK TO PROPERTY WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT & ACCOMPANIED BY A REALTOR.

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Reduced by over $400,000 and now seller is slashing price again by 63,000 for the weekend of January 9 - 10, 2010!! - Snow date - January 16 - 17, 2009

Highly functional equestrian facility on 30+ acres less than 10 minutes from Rt. 78. Total of 40 stalls - 28 of which are 12x12, 72x160 indoor arena with skylights featuring 2 viewing rooms and restroom for clients' convenience. Main stable houses 28 spacious stalls with automatic waterers (which work in spring, summer and fall). Additional stalls can be found in the well preserved bank barn which has several attached turn-outs & smaller barn with more stalls. Also included are 2 run-in sheds for 24 hr. turnout, 14 paddocks & large outdoor riding ring. Appealing 4 bedroom stone farm house enhanced by large sunroom with slate flooring. New kitchen floor. Wide window sills and random width floor boards. Efficient central closed loop water system w/ heat pump also produces central air. Perfect facility for any discipline including racing!

Mountain Springs Arena in Shartlesville, PA was the latest venue our company sought out to promote our listings during a race horse sale on August 23, 2009.  Quite a good crowd turned out and some lovely horse flesh was being auctioned off.  There were a few unruly colts who gave their handlers a run for their money but for the most part I was surprised how well behaved these often flighty horses were (someone suggested tranquilizers perhaps).  Rich Miller put on a good event and owns an impressive number of Thoroughbreds himself. 

 A training track has been added to the facility which is a sign that race horses are here to stay at Mountain Springs. The auction was held in the commercial sized indoor arena complete with a beverage bar, fans to help keep the crowd cool and flower baskets to brighten up the sales ring.  As proof that the word got around about this sale, I met a trainer from Chicago who was scoping out the area for his clients who were looking to make a move to PA to take advantage of the PA bred incentives.  The last time I was at Mountain Springs it was to watch a rodeo about 18 years ago.  At that time it seemed so far away but as my company has expanded its service area to counties beyond the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, this time it seemed rather local.

 

 

As some of you know I lost my beloved riding partner and company mascot, Cosette, last August to dreaded colic.  Since then I have been looking for another horse and a good many hours were spent on the internet searching for my next mount which had to be a Lusitano or Andalusian.  Last September my husband accompanied me to Northern Vermont to look at a 3 year old Lusitano which had just been started under saddle.  Sadly after making the long car trip up there the horse was displaying a head-shaking type problem which turned me off.  After that I stayed more local for a while looking at a few horses in NJ, none of which struck my fancy.  The winter was cold and my desire to start a young horse at that time was non-existant.  Then once spring arrived with all its flowery splendor, my passion to ride started to make its strong presence once again known.  Realizing to find my dream horse I may have to travel to the west coast where the Iberian horse is more prevalent I started to expand my search.  Through much networking a breeder in Kentucky told me about a breeder in Oregon who was liquating her herds.  With a lot of persistance on my end to gather more information, I was convinced I would find my next horse there since they had a fair amount of horses for sale.  I booked my flight and traveled to Oregon in the middle of June.  It was a wonderful trip. From Newark, NJ I went to Salt Lake City then flew into a tiny 2 gate airport in Lewiston Idaho which was the closest airport to my destination, Lostine, Oregon.   I traveled 2 hours by car on a very windy road along steep clifs.  Luck was on my side as the road was free of the sometimes occasional boulder which would roll down and block the way so I was told.  Having no cell phone coverage would have made it a bit more of an adventure than I cared to experience.  Anyway the weather was picture perfect and I arrived in Lostine in no time.  The views along the way of this pristine countryside were glorious (sans developments, strip malls or condo buildings).  The folks where the sale horses were being kept were delightful and the owner/seller showed me Amatoro first as he knew this horse had the movement for dressage.  Right from the start I really liked his calm eye and disposition, sensitive nature and lovely movement but coming over 3,000 miles away I wanted to see more horses.  And so I did.  Spending the next day with herds of Lusitanos and Andalusians on a mountain top in northern Oregon was a soul touching experience. None of the horses had been handled very much and some were extremely timid.  Having the horse trot on a lead line was not going to be happening here!  After seeing many prospects I decided to make an offer on Amatoro.  The next day I was able to see Amatoro again which confirmed my decision that he was the horse for me.  An hour later I had to head back to the airport and witnessed a cattle drive somewhere in Washington.  This definitely was a charming completion to my trip as this easterner headed back home. 

Hooray for an Steffen and Ravel - one of the first times I remember an American cleaning up in dressage at Aachen.  He ousted Anky Van Grunsven on her Olympic mount out of the Grand Prix, the Grand Prix Freestyle and Grand Prix Special!  Steffen was born and raised in Germany and migrated to the US 20 years ago so in essence he is German but he says his heart is in America.  Watch their performance at the following link: http://www.dressagedaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4272:09ach-petersfs&catid=288:09aachen&Itemid=386

A Farewell to my trainer... 

 

Jean-Claude Racinet, my dressage trainer and friend sadly passed away at the age of 79 on April 25th in Lexington, KY. I received the sad call from his son, Jean-François, my Godchild, early that morning. Jean-Claude had suffered from a fall from a horse while giving a clinic in Germany this past autumn and never made a full recovery.

I had first met Jean-Claude and his wife Susan in the summer of 1989 where I took a lesson on one of his school horses in the Poconos.  His methods were different from any other trainers I had known so I was skeptical at first.  Even though his methods were rather unconventional, everything he had told me worked on my horse at home. To clench my devotion he showed me a video of a Quarter Horse, Sizzlin, he had trained to the Grand Prix level. The passage and piaffe he put on this horse were undeniably impressive.  It didn't take long before I became a devoted student organizing clinics in NJ, NY &; PA once he moved back down south.  He spent many hours in the car on our way to and fro clinics and late at night after the lessons telling me about the French masters and history of the French School.  What cherished memories.

Jean-Claude was passionate about horses and riding.  'Riding in Lightness' was his brand, mantra, trademark if you will. This was his life blood that would keep him from soundly sleeping at night he would tell me. He was a genius both on and off horse back.  Want to know about history or politics, he would clue you in, the NY Times cross-word puzzle was his specialty, manipulation of the horse's spine to relieve subluxations, Jean-Claude through thousands of hours of studying and conversations with a prominent French vet-osteopath, had it figured out.  I remember meeting him and Susan at Fair Hill, MD where race horse owners had hired him to work on their horse's vertebra blockings. Yes, he was that good.

One of my most memorable lessons was trying to feel the 3 beat canter on horse back.  Jean-Claude suggested I listen to Beethoven's Symphony #7 which contains a perfect 3 beat movement.  I did and it helped! In fact a 5 week stay as a working student at the Racinet residence in South Carolina back in the early 90s, opened my soul to classical music (Mozart and Beethoven were his favorites). Thank you Jean-Claude for sharing this passion with me.  I remember driving back to NJ blasting Symphony # 9 in the car - he would have been proud of me.

A true victory for Jean-Claude was towards the end of this life, he was giving numerous clinics in Germany, "enemy camp"; as he would have jokingly referred to in the past.   And it is an irony, almost like a Shakespearean tragedy, that this is also where he had the fall that eventually led to his demise. Show Jumping legend, George Morris, a proponent of the French School, couldn't believe this in fact when I told him.  I had to repeat it a several times.

And then there is Susan, his devoted and loving wife.  I do believe if it wasn't for her, Jean-Claude wouldn't have lived to see almost 80 years of age.  She was always there for him, admired him and I know how much he loved her.  When staying at their place I would notice how he would fret when she had left the house to go shopping for example.  If she didn't come home when expected he would get nervous thinking something had happened to her. When away from home giving clinics he was always in touch with her.  He was a lucky man to have Susan at his side even during his last breath so I am told.

To this day, Jean-Claude was for sure an influence in my life and his teachings will remain at the core of my riding. 

Adieu le maître et mon cher ami...

Cindy

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 9, at Pen Merryl Farm in Greenville, VA. Memorial contributions may be made to Jean-François Racinet. The family will receive friends at the home. Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory.

• 1,344 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story - $312,100

New Tripoli, Lynn  -  Gem of a horse property! This delightful farmette features state-of –the-art newer barn with 2 12x12 box stalls w/ rubber mats & chew guards, large heated finished tack room w/ sink & door padlock, large wash stall w/ hot & cold water, & nifty swing-out waterers w/ frost-free hydrants so no more lugging buckets! Loafing area by barn has screenings as footing w/ Nelson waterer complete w/ monitor. If this is not enough, owners spent $16,000 on PVC vinyl fencing! Separate newer hay barn & manure bin. 3 separate paddocks. Inviting Cape Cod offers cheery kitchen enhanced w/ large skylight, pull-out cabinet drawers & computer desk. Newer h/w flooring downstairs, cedar closet & Jacuzzi tub in master bath. Heated garage w/ steel beam, workbench with numerous outlets, storage loft, convenient mudroom/laundry area adjacent to kitchen. Stocked trout stream on 1.3 acres across street used as additional turnout (can get wet during heavy rains). Separate and easy access for vets & farriers. Very well thought out equestrian property! Large horse farm less than a mile down road.

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