Sweetbriar Farm LLC (located in Senatobia, Mississippi) is a small family farm, producing eggs, vegetables, cattle, and horses. We have a limited number of horses for sale, check out the sales page. Our chickens are free range and feed healthy scraps from our kitchen. My newest skill is carriage driving, I will be adding more photos and information as I get more practice. We would like to share with you some of the fun we have here.

NEW STUFF

Ozark Mountains

We headed up into the Arkansas Ozarks in November 2011. David riding Mert and I riding Moonshine. Moonshine is a Spotted Saddle Horse and my newest animal. He is very sweet, does a great job on the trails. He is my first gaited horse, so very different. I have not been riding dressage for the past several years, guess it was time for a change.

We plan on continuing our trail riding, organizing rides for friends and family when we can. We usually don't go to too many of the organized rides, we like to do our own food and it keeps the costs down.

David and his new mule, Mert. Also known as Precious Martha Darlin. David has wanted a mule for as long as I have known him and a whole lot longer. Well he finally found one that he couldn't say no to. Mert is a 3 year old, female out of a Spotted Saddle Horse and a Mammoth Jack. So far we are impressed with Mert's kind manner and courage and trust. She will load into the trailer, lets you fly spray her and bath her. She is quick on the trails, but that is a matter of time, David will get her calmed down and walking along like that is no time but the present.

David's mother has written a wonderful poem about them, I will put it up here once I get a copy. Cheers!

Trail Riding

Our trail horses have been tested and worked on real trails. Through obstacles, water hazards, and anything else we could find. We enjoy trail riding and camping with the horses, all of our horses have been camping and trail riding with us.

Some of our favorite places to trail ride are: Buffalo River Trail Ride in Waynesboro, TN, Bucksnort Trail Ride, Natchez State Park, in TN to name a few. It is tradition to head to the Buffalo every year in October for the organized ride.

Isabelle is my inspiration to study Holistic Horsekeeping. She is a very sensitive being. So off I go on a journey to help her and maybe even find some peace and happiness of my own. She is my teacher and my companion.

Early morning wandering around the pasture, Isabelle came upon a spider web in a tree. It made me think of Charlotte's Web, one of my favorite books when I was growing up. Isabelle is the queen of Sweetbriar Farm. She is curious about all of the goings on in the neighborhood, but her curiousity is nothing compared to her buddy Mert..

October 28, 2011 - Notey and I entered in the Nashoba Carriage Classic. We had been practicing and Notey and I entered several Welsh pony shows this year. She earned some points in the Welsh Pony world.

The Classic had dressage, cones, rail class, a pick your own route cones class and a marathon. I enjoyed working with my pony and driving along the route. There was a small water crossing that if I had been mounted would not have seemed like much. But in the carriage you have to be very careful and remember she needs to pull you up and out of anything you get down into. She was a champ!

April 23, 2005 - We went to Franklin, TN for a Traditional Day of Driving. Here is Notey taking me and Kelly over hill and dale. We had so much fun at the event. Notey was wonderful. We did a cones course, an obstacle course and a cross country of 8 miles. It was great - the longest drive I have done to date. I want to do more!

Sept. 2004 - Here I am driving Rollingwoods Noteworthy at the 2004 Nashoba Carriage Classic show. Notey is a Welsh pony, also bred by Dr. Ruth Wilburn, Rollingwoods Farm of Olive Branch, MS. She is the pony I will be driving for the next couple of years, maybe more. Notey is only 5 and still somewhat green, she really tries hard for me though and I am very happy with her.

I have driven Notey in several events now, in the spring we drove in a "Mini" CDE (Combined Driving Event) at Shelby Farms in Memphis. She was really good, except for one incedent with a kite, she bucked in the shafts of the cart, but I got her moving forward again after that and we finished the day. We won the CDE!

At the Nashoba show we did good. Notey was a little high headed through the rail classes, and we are working on that. She is just learning to work in a frame. I took my husband David with me on the cross country and we had a blast! I think that is my favorite thing to do.

This is me and Rollingwoods Lorna Doone (another Rollingwoods Pony bred by Dr. Ruth), in 2003 at the Nashoba Carriage Classic in Germantown, TN. We showed in the Novice division and did pretty well. Placed in every class and had a ball. Ya' ever drive a carriage around barrels, yup, barrels just like in the rodeo. It was so much fun, I wanted to do them again!

Cross country is fun, you have to follow a trail in the woods. Make sure you don't get stuck and do it within a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes it gets a bit bumpy, but that is half the fun.