In their latest release Horizon Structures Presents Series….Add Value to Your Horse Farm with Closed Open Spaces, Nickie Alvin Smith discusses ways horse owners can make their horse properties more profitable.
Financial support for horse owners
Smart horse property owners are utilizing indoor arenas and buildingsfor wedding events and are renting space out to dog agility and other events.
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Financial success from horse farm operations doesn’t come easy. Many horse owners run an equine property with passion and enthusiasm with little attention to how they could build a better bottom line.
An added value enterprise could just a few steps from your back door in the form of a closed open space.
There has always been a sincere appreciation and slightly romantic notion of horse barns. The ultimate romantic event is of course a wedding. The current market trend shows that regardless of whether the bride-to-be has an equestrian background or not, her bridal vision may well incorporate a rustic environment with rafters decorated with lights, large wide board floors for dancing and wide open spaces suitable for multiple table layout designs to cater for every guest.
Your indoor arena may provide the perfect venue, and wedding photos on the lawn with a horse or two grazing contentedly in the background doesn’t hurt the photo content either.
Wedding planning events up and down the country increasingly see vendors touting their access to farm properties for the ‘Big Day’ or even ‘Big Wedding Week.’ Sometimes the access is for an entire property or more often access is just for the open space i.e. the indoor arena, to throw the best party ever.
It is not just wedding planners in the event world that seek the horse farm as a backdrop to showcase their wondrous events and photo shoots. The myriad of family occasions that happen for us all in our lives need a place to happen and planners of corporate retreats also love the farm concept.
Event organizers are constantly on the search for the consummate location to host their affair. Magazine editors and photographers (particularly in the fashion world) and other videographers and photographers such as auto manufacturers are constantly on the hunt for a great setting to compose their best creations.
There is movie action too to be garnered for your horse business too.
My husband and I operate a dressage and horse breeding operation on our South-facing horse farm in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The rolling hayfields with large open spaces and amazing views from our mountain location, plus the access to horse barns and a large indoor for wet weather set up for shooting have proved a great hit with the movie crowd. Our readymade horse models and experienced horse help are on tap too.
On one shoot we were asked to help the Specialist Researcher and Script Supervisor to ensure that everything ‘horse’ was accurate. That the horses were properly tacked up for the discipline and historical timeline, that celebrity riders held the reins and sat as correctly as possible and that wraps and tack were correctly applied.
As a horseman there is truly nothing worse than watching a movie that showcases a horse mishandled or with poorly fitting tack. Several Casting Directors have scouted our farm and to date we have hosted several Director visits and two actual movie shoots. I can attest that both the movie and TV world increasingly search for the perfect location to shoot their next big box office win or show.
Smart property owners are not just utilizing their indoor arenas and buildings for use for events such as weddings (imagine your indoor arena trusses swathed in chiffon and a hardwood ‘floating’ dance floor laid out over X), but also renting the space out to dog agility and other local community events.
The need and use of open inside space is such a trend and moneymaker, folks are also adding open structures to their farms that are built by offsite barn companies for use by third ‘parties’. For example: If you have a movie Director prepared to pay a fee to use a building just where he wants it and can offer a quick delivery, a modular barn build is the perfect solution. There are a stunning variety of designs that can be produced in the factory and then shipped to the property and professionally put together by their own crews quickly and with minimum fuss or mess, and the Director’s fee can be used offsets the initial expense.
Another added bonus is you can amortize the cost of the building against your business income and possibly deduct any loan interest if you take the financing route. Many larger barn construction farms offer financing as part of their services so that is worth checking out. Consult with a professional company that can offer a large selection of structure sizes and is experienced with construction of multi-use agricultural buildings. A modular option is great because you can add to it later as needs grow.
I won’t even mention the added fun that hosting an event or shoot can be for the property owner. Who doesn’t like to chat with celebrities, show off their horses at a photo shoot or movie production, or help a family celebrate one of the happiest events of their lives?
Perhaps it’s time to think outside and inside the box.
By Nikki Alvin-Smith
This article is brought to you courtesy of Horizon Structures Inc., Atglen PA – Modular horse barn and indoor riding arena specialists. Horizon Structures also offers both residential and commercial kennels, coops, multi-use structures and playsets. Please visit https://www.HorizonStructures.com to learn more.
About Horizon Structures: One horse or twenty, there's one thing all horse owners have in common...the need to provide safe and secure shelter for their equine partners. At Horizon Structures, we combine expert craftsmanship, top-of-the-line materials and smart "horse-friendly" design to create a full line of sheds and barns that any horse owner can feel confident is the right choice for their horses' stabling needs.
All wood. Amish Made. Most of our buildings are shipped 100% pre-built and ready for same-day use. Larger barns are a modular construction and can be ready for your horses in less than a week. All our barn packages include everything you need -
Horizon Structures also sells indoor riding arenas, chicken coops, dog kennels, 1 and 2 car garages, storage sheds and outdoor living structures.
Headquartered in South-Central Pennsylvania, Horizon Structures, LLC is owned by Dave Zook. Dave was raised in the Amish tradition and grew up working in the family-owned shed business. He started Horizon Structures in 2001 in response to an ever-increasing customer demand for high quality, affordable horse barns.
For additional information about the company or their product line, please visit their website at https://www.horizonstructures.com
About Nikki Alvin-Smith: International and national published freelance writer and photographer in such world renowned publications such as The Chronicle of the Horse, Horse and Hound, Dressage and CT, The Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar, Reiter, The Equine Journal, Spur, Hoofprints, Horsin’ Around, Horses All, Field & Stream, Western Horse and Gun, Pony Quarterly, Catskill Horse to name a few. Ghostwriting, blog services, PR/Marketing copy either direct with manufacturer or for agencies, copy editing and editor services also available. Nikki also produces catalog copy, white papers, e-books, corporate brochures and advertising copy for international corporations and PR/Marketing for celebrities.
As a Brit who has called the America home for the past 34 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to the equestrian world. Nikki is also an accomplished Grand Prix dressage trainer/competitor, competing at international Grand Prix level to scores over 72% and is a highly sought clinician offering clinics worldwide. She has been a horse breeder/importer of warmblood and Baroque breeds for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul who is also a Grand Prix trainer, they run a private dressage breeding operation and training yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York. Please visit http://www.NikkiAlvinSmithStudio.com to learn more.