Grubb Grove Horse Farm

 How I Got Here

By: Jacquie Grubb

(owner, riding instructor)

   I was one of those kids that was born asking for a horse. I do not remember playing anything as a child that did not have a horse involved in some way. Every teddy bear or Barbie that I had rode a horse and my bike was my horse. When I walked to school, I was really riding my horse.  When I was in my classroom, my horse was just outside the building waiting for me to ride it home.

   By the time I was 13 or 14, I realized I was consumed with horses so I rode my bike to every horse stable within a 5-mile radius of our house. I knocked on doors, walked in barns, and asked anyone that would listen if I could have any job so I could be around the horses. My plan was to put whatever money I made toward buying my own, real horse. However, everyone I asked said “no”. Time and time again I was told that they did not need any help with their horses.  Each day I would get the same answer and would ride my bike home crying until I gave up. Things looked bleak for me ever owning a horse but I promised myself that if I did ever get one that I would share it with any kid that came into my barn.

   My Mom did the best she could to help me (That is Mom riding with me, above).  She sent me to Triple-R-Ranch for summer camp and winter riding lessons.  When I was older, I worked at their horse barn for a few summers. Finally, when my Mom remarried and moved to West Virginia, I followed her up there and bought my first horse! He was a perfect Appaloosa gelding we called Junior. He took me everywhere I asked him, from dirt paths in the middle of nowhere to small town parades. Junior taught me a lot about horses, how they think and how they need to trust their people. He also taught me about caring for horses and how much work that involved. We spent one wonderful year together, riding every single day, rain or shine, day and night, even in the snow!

   Unfortunately, there was not much work in West VA, and I had to move back to Virginia to earn a living. I gave Junior to a little girl that he picked and he lived happily ever after. I went to work and got married and did not have a horse again for many years. My husband, Dan, and I bought our property and we knew it would be the perfect place to have horses. We always thought we would have two horses, one for each of us. I went back to West Virginia and came home with Princess Danielle and Fancy Girl. They were sweet but not very well trained. I looked into getting some help with training a horse and ended up down in Elizabeth City working with a few people that specialized in western pleasure. I started showing Princess in local horse shows and we were winning! I was hooked!! Winning is a great feeling!   About the same time kids started coming to our door asking if they could help with the horses. My mind went back to those days long ago and instead of saying “no, we don't need any help” I opened the barn doors and said “come on in” and the rest has become history!

    Now we have eight horses, and 4 borders. Dan, myself, and our son Jordan are amazed at how things have come together for the horse farm. We are truly blessed, we have the pleasure of working with great people and great horses! Over the years a few horses have come and gone but Princess and Fancy are still here and we still say to anyone that shows interest, “come on in, all are welcome!!”

 How I Got Here

by: Julie Hudson 

(English riding instructor)

    Coming to Grubb Grove Horse Farm was a bit of grace; I had been working for 5 years at a stable in Chesapeake when they decided, as a barn, to convert to a new form of training of which I could not comply. My method of training was scientifically sound and I had proven this by taking students and horses onto high level championships and receiving honors for doing so.

    Though I had been teaching for 20 years, the change in the barn came at the same time that I  felt the need to focus on a new career with the Red Cross. I loved the two horses I owned, but I just needed to concentrate on other aspects of my life. So I sold my horses and found myself completely out of horsemanship for the first time in years.

    But because life is always changing and once a horse person always a horse person, it wasn't long before I became the proud owner of a beautiful 18 hand Friesian horse named Talan. I now spend my weekends training Talan, and though he came to me mostly untrained and under weight, he is becoming a better horse physically and mentally everyday.

     I met Jacquie when she was looking for a dressage instructor to work with her and her horse Lilly. Through our lessons together and our adventures together in transporting Talan after I bought him; Jacquie and I have become friends. So when an instructor position became available at Grubb Grove I fell right in. Now I am happy to announce that I can give lessons one day a week, which works out great around my new career as a donor tech 2 with the American Red Cross.

     I teach balance seat, bio-mechanics, and dressage, depending on the need of the student. I have studied under former Olympians and coaches of Olympic teams. I teach students to ride with their minds. The brain is a riding tool and I can help a student focus on substituting fear with fact. I use this method for riders 8 to 80 years old, it is a system that if the student perseveres... it works.

     Thank you for reading my story here on the Grubb Grove website. I am so thankful that Jacquie has included me as part of her staff and as a friend... a good place to be.