Facilities

For our horses:

Orchard Hill horses and ponies live in three barns containing 17, 16 and 7 stalls, each 12' x 12' with rubber mats and sliding doors. In good weather, many of our ponies and horses (by owners' choice) live outdoors in large pastures with run-in sheds.

We maintain 30 paddocks and pastures on about 50 acres of land that is fenced. Horses that are able to join a group spend then entire year on grass; Paddocks for horses that need individual turn-out are typically 70' x 100' and will have grass for part of the year, supplemented by hay.

Haylofts in two of our barns hold about 3,000 bales of hay that we grow in the summer and import from Canada in winter. Two silos hold several months supply of grain . Stalls each contain two water buckets; we top them up at our 10pm night check.

Horses that work daily stay fit, cooperative and happy!. For owners that are not able to ride as much as they would like, we allow half-leasing and offer long-lining or inclusion of your horse in the lesson program where they will be matched to suitable riders in sessions with apporpriate instructors.

For our riders:

We offer riding in a 70' x 210' indoor arena with "HoofCushion" preimum rubber fiber footing and radiant heat, a new standard (20x60m) outdoor dressage arena with SureFoot rubber footing, a 65' x 200' outdoor jumping ring with rubber footing, a two acre cross country schooling field and two miles of trails on our 70 acre property.

Riders can hack to trails around a neaby reservoir (about a 5 mile loop) and local land owners have offered riding privledges in their orchards and fields.

Two of our barns include heated tack and bathrooms, and we also offer a warm lounge/ tack cleaning room.

Trailer parking is available for a small monthly fee

For our owners:

Cindy and Jay Teich (with their daughters) live in a reproduction New England farmhouse on the property. The original house, built in 1742, burned in the early 1990's and was replaced by owners Barry and Barbara O'Brien in 2002. Barry incorporated many local materials, incuding mantles from local homes, wood and stone from the farm, and even a local mill wheel into the new construction. Barry loved Irish horses, and imported, bred and trained Irish draft and sport horses for many years.

Orchard Hill operated through the early 1900's as Chedco Farm, a premier cow farm under the ownership and direction of Charles Edward Cotting, a notable Boston businessman. Charles was a philanthropist as well, supporting a school for chronicaly ill children that visited the farm each year for apple-picking.

Our team :

Owner/manager Cindy Teich is a 15 year veteran of horse ownership. Her three daughters are excellent riders and have competed up to Preliminary level eventing. Cindy and her horse Larkspur offer tours of the local trails.

Farm manager Hueler was raised on a large dairy farm, and professionally educated in farm and livestock care in his native Brazil. Hueler and his team take pride in maintaining a first-rate facility with healthy horses. Hueler's assistant, D-Con (a Jack Russel Terrier), is responsible for maintaining rodent-free barns

Our trainers specialize in early riding education, dressage, or eventing. See the trainers page for more info.

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