equine spotlight
CHASIN’ A DREAM
Book a Staycation at a Local Horse Farm by Nancy DeVault
A
refreshing “staycation,” or vacation spent at home or nearby, can provide all the perks of travel without the hassle of traffic jams or airport lines. For locals seeking an extravagant escape, a nearby luxury resort may fit the bill. But for those longing for a more pastoral respite, a farm staycation might be the right accommodation alternative. Bountiful farms in the heart of Ocala horse country are opening up their doors, houses, barns and gates to overnight guests seeking tranquil lodging. A heyday vacay at one of these rustic abodes is just a click away thanks to rental websites such as AirBnB.com, the popular online marketplace featuring unique housings and experiences. Couples dreaming of greener pastures can retreat to a onebed, one-bath studio-sized cottage for two at Chasin’ a Dream, a small working thoroughbred breeding facility just off oak treelined NW 110th Avenue. After retiring from a New York-based oil company in 2002, Christine Weiss and her business partner Robert Dalton realized their dreams of running a horse farm. “A lot of people think a horse is… a horse; but thoroughbreds are a very different breed than the other horses,” says Weiss of the variety best known for racing. According to TheHorseCapital.com, a digital directory of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership, Marion County is home to more than 1,500 horse farms, including 600 thoroughbred farms with about 75 breeds of horses and ponies. Listed at $65 per night on AirBnB and separate from the farm’s main house, Chasin’ a Dream’s quaint rental cottage features
a kitchenette, private garden and French doors leading to a deck overlooking horse pastures. The grounds also encompass a covered barn equipped with a gas barbeque to inspire alfresco dining, rocking chairs to let worries sway away and a cozy fire pit sure to spark staycation memories under the stars. Horses may rule the roost at Chasin’ the Dream, but there are also dogs, cats and free-range chickens. “We’re usually able to give fresh-laid eggs to our guests,” Weiss says. Visitors with plans focused on romance can go for a carriage ride by directly booking with Horse Country Carriage Tours. The charming chariot arrives right at the farm’s entry gate to take passionate passengers off the beaten path to relish the area’s finest farms and estates. Cottage rental is not required to participate in Chasin’ a Dream’s guided farm tour. Priced at $25 per person, the twohour experience reins in inquisitive invitees with educationbased entertainment. “We go from the beginning of how the thoroughbred came about with King Henry VIII all the way through the first stallions that bred the pedigree lines, and you learn everything right down to when the foals hit the ground,” Weiss summarizes. Tour participants get to interact with horses, including the farm’s eldest, 25-year-old Grandma. Weiss says tours and stays can be loosely arranged around the farm’s new arrivals. “To try to be here for the birth of a foal, people can contact me to see when a foal is due,” she suggests. Because deliveries tend to happen overnight, a staycation could increase the probability of miraculously witnessing a mother mare welcoming her baby.
Bountiful farms in the heart of Ocala horse country are opening up their doors, houses, barns and gates to overnight guests seeking tranquil lodging. 26
North Central FL Edition
GoNaturalAwakenings.com
