Walnut Grove Farm

Walnut Grove Farm We are a boarding and training facility located outside of Buffalo, NY, specializing in eventing, dressage, and hunter/jumpers.

We're home to the East Aurora Pony Club and have an IEA team.

06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day to all the Walnut Grove Dads, who awaken early and drive WGFers to shows, volunteer to shovel manure, run concessions, jump crew, and paint jumps; who tolerate their riders at their crankiest and their sleepiest, and drag siblings, kicking and screaming, to shows where they wait for four hours to see their kid ride for seven minutes. May your Father's Day be a restful one, free from your children nagging you for a pony. (But also, why no pony?) Keep scrolling to see the OG Horse Show Dads, George Harris and Dick Backer (and shout out to Paul Johnson, who in that same era, used to take me out driving stick from my riding lessons, and Gary Ostrower, who gave me many a ride to and from the barn.)

Happy Father's Day to all the Walnut Grove Dads, who awaken early and drive WGFers to shows, volunteer to shovel manure,...
06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day to all the Walnut Grove Dads, who awaken early and drive WGFers to shows, volunteer to shovel manure, run concessions, jump crew, and paint jumps; who tolerate their riders at their crankiest and their sleepiest, and drag siblings, kicking and screaming, to shows where they wait for four hours to see their kid ride for seven minutes. May your Father's Day be a restful one, free from your children nagging you for a pony. (But also, why no pony?) Keep scrolling to see the OG Horse Show Dads, George Harris and Dick Backer (and shout out to Paul Johnson, who in that same era, used to take me out driving stick from my riding lessons, and Gary Ostrower, who gave me many a ride to and from the barn.)

Goat (shepherd, elderly cat, and horse) Yoga might be one of my top three favorite memories of Walnut Grove barn aisle h...
05/16/2026

Goat (shepherd, elderly cat, and horse) Yoga might be one of my top three favorite memories of Walnut Grove barn aisle happenings. Thanks so much to and Carolyn Kugler for providing the yoga, my adult campers for sharing their weekend, and Max for doing extensive morning chores to help prepare the farm, for controlling parking, and everyone who participated in the shenanigans! This won't be the last goat yoga; we're already talking about next time.

It's three weeks later, and I'm still aglow from the good fortune I had, training in Ocala with Kyle and Jen Carter at 5...
05/04/2026

It's three weeks later, and I'm still aglow from the good fortune I had, training in Ocala with Kyle and Jen Carter at 5 Ring Stable . When Jessica and I were horse shopping last year, we quickly became enamored with Kyle's methods of working with both horses and humans. Kyle competed Hudson for a few seasons before Jessica purchased him, and working with him for two weeks was invaluable. Kyle was able to translate more of Hudson's language for me, and point me in the right direction for our 2026 season.

Thanks to all the humans and animals at Five Rings who made me feel so at home, and for giving Kate a fabulous lesson. Thanks to Jessica for making this whole magical happening possible, from Hudson to the trip itself.

Thanks to my family for joining me for a week of Florida fun, and then leaving me to my own devices to focus on the first event of the season. Thanks always to Jeff for considering this "professional development" and holding down the fort. Thanks always to the amazing and the crew who keep Walnut Grove Farm cruising while I'm out of town. Extra special thanks to Jayne Schaber and Jo Novakovic for keeping my students busy and polished, and thanks to my clients for patiently waiting through my travels thus far this spring.

The good photos are from Xpress Foto

In IEA, children watch horses warm up, then they're randomly assigned a horse to compete on with basically no warm up. I...
04/23/2026

In IEA, children watch horses warm up, then they're randomly assigned a horse to compete on with basically no warm up. I can be found saying, a little more often than is savvy for someone in my position, that IEA is make believe. It's usually in the context of a child drawing a horse and then not clicking with that horse in the three to eight minutes they're riding it...in front of a judge, for points and ribbons, with their peers and families watching, and often with the added pressure of wanting to score points for their team placing. Sometimes, the riders do well because the judge missed some glaring error, and sometimes they do badly despite having ridden beautifully. Karmically, those types of incidents usually work out through the course of the season.

Knowing all that, it makes it all the more impressive when a student does compete well, and get noticed for it, time and time again. Walnut Grove has been proud to send two students to Nationals in our seven years of IEA. Olivia Gmerek even won her class the year she competed. Today, Camryn Brown is competing at IEA Nationals for her second time! Paraphrasing her words, Nationals is less nerve-wracking than Zones, because you've already made it and now you just get to ride a great, new-to-you horse, in a big show venue, with all the best IEA riders in the US.

Good Luck, today, Camryn! May your enemies perish like the dew in the sun! I mean...have fun. Let's go, wildcats.

Thanks to Abby Scott for coaching her while I attend my kids' school circus.

Treat your inner 14 year old horse kid self to a long weekend of Adult Horse Camp at Walnut Grove Farm 5/15-17!🐴 One Ser...
04/21/2026

Treat your inner 14 year old horse kid self to a long weekend of Adult Horse Camp at Walnut Grove Farm 5/15-17!

🐴 One Serious and One Unserious Mounted Lesson/Day
🐴 Guest Clinician and Speaker
🐴 End of Camp Excursion or Fun Show
🐴 and more!

Bring your friends, bring your horse or lease a WGF school horse, and join us for a fabulous long weekend. Limited stalls available.

(Stay tuned for more information about Eventing Camp 7/7-10, conveniently leading into one of our favorite events of the year, Genesee Valley Hunt Horse Trials!)

Email [email protected] for more information!

(If I didn't tag you in a pic, it wasn't from lack of trying, I just couldn't figure out everyone's IG names.)

Address

11564 Genesee Street
Alden, NY
14004

Telephone

+16073683490

Website

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