Horseperson Southport
by Alessandra Mele
Chris Salko Enjoying the Lifestyle CH: You’ve certainly invested a lot of time into the place. What sort of improvements have you made?
Chris Salko is the second-generation owner of Salko Farm and Stable in Southport. He and his wife, Jane, run a bustling lesson program out of the farm, fondly calling it “Fairfield County’s best kept secret.” Chris has seen a lot of changes over the years, but the farm, which he proudly maintains and improves day in and day out, remains his passion. Chris recently spoke with Community Horse writer Alessandra Mele about his life with horses.
CH: Tell us a little about growing up, and how horses were a part of your life. Chris: I’ve spent my whole life on this farm and grew up around horses. My father, Andrew Salko, bought 10.5 acres here in Southport in 1948, before I was born. He built the place and ran a successful boarding stable with my mother, Anna. The place was always filled with horses. I worked on the farm throughout high school, and also worked across the street at the DuPont Estate. I still work at both places today, except now I am the owner of Salko Farm and Stable. When my father turned 65 in 1973, I took over the farm at age 19. It’s been a work in progress for me ever since, and I enjoy improving it and making it a beautiful place to enjoy horses. 42
Community Horse Spring/Summer 2021
Jane Salko
Jane Salko
Chris: It’s been a slow progression with steady work put in over time, but we’ve accomplished a lot here on the farm. I started to rebuild all the barns in the 1970s, which took a lot of work but really improved the facility. In 2001, I built our indoor arena. Before that, we had really just been a boarding facility, but with the
indoor arena we were able to start offering riding lessons year-round. A few years later, I built another ten-stall barn to accommodate more lesson horses, and then in 2018 we made the indoor arena even larger, extending it an additional seventy-four feet. We also updated it with LED lighting and TraveLite footing. Today, we have 30 stalls altogether.
CH: It’s a beautiful facility. Tell us more about the lesson program. Chris: The lesson program has really grown in recent years; it’s sort of a phenomenon. Salko Farm and Stable was once primarily a boarding facility; today we have just two boarders and 25 lesson horses. The focus has really shifted to teaching riding lessons
