What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 8pm Tuesday 8am - 8pm Wednesday 8am - 8pm Thursday 8am - 8pm Friday 8am - 8pm Saturday 8am - 8pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

https://www.facebook.com/189356847338/

Chestnut Creek Farm

Home
United States
Castle Hayne, NC
Chestnut Creek Farm

Chestnut Creek Farm is a professional training facility that offers Training, Lessons and limited Bo
(14)

We offer Lessons and Training in Hunter/Jumper, Dressage with the focus on Safety and the Balanced Seat. Contact Holly at [email protected] or call 607-353-0847

09/05/2024

Always 🖤🐴

09/05/2024

Been 🤢sick for the last couple of days- slowly getting caught up on messages and texts- please bear with me Thanks!

09/02/2024

We are a small professional training facility located in Castle Hayne NC.

💥Currently have 3 openings for new students- lessons and/or training.
Beginner-Advanced

Lessons and Training offered: Balanced Seat, Dressage, Hunter/Jumper

💥Leases: on Farm Leases available to qualified students

💥Boarding : 1 opening for board*.

We offer:
Long or short Term Full Board
Training and Rehab.
Individual stall, stalls with attached runout also available, Extended turnout times, small turnout groups, tack room with A/C/heat, Timothy/orchard hay, Tribute feed, large outdoor arena with lights and jumps, Round Pen, Wash stalls with hot/cold water. Limited trails

*Lessons are a requirement of boarding.

Lessons and Training offered: Balanced Seat, Dressage, Hunter/Jumper

We are a ‘No Drama’ facility so a good fit all the way around is important.

Please contact for more information or if interested in scheduling a farm tour.

09/02/2024

If you have not yet scheduled your lessons please contact as soon as possible.

Fall schedule is filling- if you have not yet contacted please do so as soon as possible. Availability updated as spots fill
September Schedule*:
Mondays- Closed
Tuesday- Full
Wednesday-
AM 9:00, 10:00
PM 4:00, 6:00
Thursday
AM 10:00
PM 4:00
Friday
AM 8:00, 9:00, 10:00
PM 4:00, 5:00
Saturday- 12:00
*Additional times available as needed

08/27/2024

“Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open.”
– Ralph Marston

Fall schedule is filling- if you have not yet contacted please do so as soon as possible. Availability updated as spots ...

08/25/2024

08/20/2024

Afternoon Lessons Available:
Thursday 8/22 & Friday 8/23
Contact to schedule

08/14/2024

Next couple of days are looking GORGEOUS for afternoon lessons/rides! Contact if you would like to schedule.

08/11/2024

ISO: Free or super cheap.
~Exterior paint- bright colors
*do not need full cans but must be useable

~old surf or paddle boards🏄‍♀️- doesn’t need to be seaworthy
~ old canoe/kayak🛶 -doesn’t need to be seaworthy
~old Paddles
~ large nautical decor 🐠 🦀🐬⚓️🦈(12” or larger)
~ old buoys 🛟
~ nautical flags etc….

~Metal or plastic barrels
~wooden spools
~large tires (2)

08/10/2024

ARENA IS RIDEABLE!
Despite a week of heavy rain- the arena is rideable. Missed lessons may be taken as a lease ride
*Regular Lessons will resume Monday

08/10/2024

Glad we rescheduled lessons today. While it finally stopped raining- after a week of rain ALL the horses needed some level of care. So this morning has been all about treating and checking over everyone.

08/09/2024

Just kidding!
We are a bit soggy in spots. Thankful for whomever it was that put our arena in because the Arena looks great- now it just needs to stop raining…..

08/08/2024

Last night was a long night y’all but everything and everyone is fine. Thank you to everyone who has checked in on us. 🥰

08/04/2024

Happy August!
If you have not yet contacted me about scheduling- please do so soon.
Couple Updates:
1. Due to predicted heat indexes- We will be NOT be scheduling any afternoon/evening lessons this month. There were way too many cancellations and rescheduling because of it.

Instead we will be offering afternoon “Pop Up Lessons “. If the afternoon weather is nice and you want to ride- send a message and we’ll ride. These can be extra or in place of another lesson.
~Otherwise ALL lessons are currently scheduled for the mornings.

2.Schedules/Availability will be shifting and changing as kids start going back to school.

3.I’ve been flexible with rescheduling and lesson credit due to all the heat restrictions. As we have changed scheduling to accommodate heat- There will be no lessons rolling over from August to September. Please make sure to schedule your makeup days should you have any.
Thank you.

08/04/2024

Someone was enjoying a little spray down yesterday.
He stood there for a good 5 minutes playing in the spray.

08/02/2024

I woke up so sick this morning. Cancelled lessons but Barn still had to get done and had a vet consult with a client. Thank you to Trista and Gloria for all your help getting it done.

08/01/2024

Tuition Statements are slowly being sent out- there are a lot of adjustments being made for all private to group lessons and all the heat reschedules we had.

07/31/2024

I love how it looks when I mow- grass got too long and horses weren’t eating it so had to mow…Y’all it was 3’ high in places and it took me 4 passes to make it look this pretty…..I’d still be out there if I hadn’t run out of gas. 😒

07/27/2024

If you have not yet contacted me about Lesson Schedule for August- you are not on it. Please contact asap

07/26/2024

Finally got another round of lessons in this morning between the rain..OM-🥺🥰 Listening to my group riders support one another just brought me so much Joy!
This was a multi-level group which I don’t normally do but we have so many makeup lessons we’re making it work. Each rider has something they are working on.
Hearing things from ‘You’ve got this!’ To ‘That’s was Awesome/Amazing!’ To
‘Way to Go!🎉🎉’ celebrating a milestone.
Thank you all for showing that I am making a difference- not just in your riding but how you help one another.

07/23/2024

Working on August Lesson Schedule:
Please contact as soon as possible to schedule- please keep in mind that heat indexes are messing with afternoon schedules. I am doing my best to accommodate.

07/23/2024

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day's riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor's highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself "what can this horse teach me today?" All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it's more likely that you don't ride the horse as well as you think! It's not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that "it's not my kind of horse" is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it's only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it's back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎

07/22/2024

We are a small professional training facility.
We currently have 1 opening for board*.

We offer:
Long or short Term Full Board, Training and
Rehab- boarding.
Individual stall, stalls with attached runout also available, Extended turnout times, small turnout groups, tack room with A/C/heat, Timothy/orchard hay, Tribute feed, large outdoor arena with lights and jumps, Wash stalls with hot/cold water.

*Lessons are a requirement of boarding.

Lessons and Training offered: Balanced Seat, Dressage, Hunter/Jumper

We are a ‘No Drama’ facility so a good fit all the way around is important.

Please contact for more information or if interested in scheduling a farm tour.

07/20/2024

Morning lessons done-so we got a couple extra things done that have been on the list including power washing the saddle pads. Some of you haven’t been brushing the dirt/hair off the saddle pads before you ride and it shows. 😳
Two wash bays also clean…..soooo much sand!

07/19/2024

After 3 days of holy 🥵🥵~ Felt so good to get a full morning of teaching. 🎉🎉

07/17/2024

It feels AMAZING this afternoon after the last few days of 🥵🥵! Pop Up Lessons for this afternoon-evening. You want to ride- text me.

07/15/2024

This is a Reminder that I follow the Horse Heat Index for riding safety.
That being said, the next few days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday are all looking to be absolutely brutal in the afternoons which means we will not be able to run lessons.
It is supposed (🙏) to break @ Thursday and be back to normal hot.
Even our mornings are being affected.
I am doing my very best to get everyone’s lessons moved around to accommodate the heat restrictions.

Thank you for your understanding.

07/14/2024

🎉Lesson Raffle! 🎉
Thank you to everyone who participated in our first ever Lesson Raffle!
Happy to report it was a great success and the horses are now well stocked in fly spray.

🎉Congratulations to our Winners🎉
1st Place: Ms. Carly!
Prize: 1 Private Extended Lesson (1.5hours) on horse of choice* Discipline of Choice. $85 value
2nd Place: Miss Vivian!
Prize:1 Private Lesson $60 value

~

Address

4315 Castle Hayne Road
Castle Hayne, NC
28429

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 8pm
Tuesday	8am - 8pm
Wednesday	8am - 8pm
Thursday	8am - 8pm
Friday	8am - 8pm
Saturday	8am - 8pm
Sunday	10am - 4pm

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Chestnut Creek Farm posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Chestnut Creek Farm:

Videos

Why I allow cancellations for wind. By Holly Peterson As a trainer of many(many) years, I never really thought about riding or not riding when it was windy- you just did. If we were outside the trainer would be shouting instructions we couldn’t hear, stuff would be blowing in our face, and yet we rode on. If we were in the indoor there would be alot of door rattling and whistling and more instructions we couldn’t hear… It was just expected to ride the spooks that ultimately followed. Once I became an instructor and trainer, for a long time I’m sure I just kept doing what I knew. The things I was trained to do. The only thing we cancelled for was thunderstorms. So what changed? The clients did. As more and more people ride ‘just for fun’, how we run our riding lessons had to change. People stop riding if it’s not fun or becomes too dangerous. They want to learn and have fun doing it. Not driven like you’re heading to an A rated show. Thats a whole different ball game. Once I opened my own facility, I had to start looking at things in another light. Riding is dangerous enough without riding in ‘dangerous’ weather or bad footing but I still don’t think I really considered wind. Riders falling off because a horse spooked can be just a ‘part of riding’. But when accidents happen because we put riders in potentially dangerous situations- it’s no longer just a part of riding. It’s now a liability. The truth is- any horse can spook. I don’t care how bombproof you like to think yours is- something suddenly flying in your face will make anyone( person or horse) jump. So when the wind starts kicking up, in the interest of keeping my clients safe, I start assessing who’s riding, what horses they are on and whether it’s a steady or gusty wind. Steady winds- generally no issues to let clients ride. The horses and riders adjust. Gusty winds- how big are the gusts? Are things getting blown around? For example: if I have a tiny rid

Best thing we saw all day! 😂 Thank you to everyone who came out to the Halloween Party today. Definitely a game we want to play again.

Since we got her, Philly has been an angry defensive girl who has been very definite with people who don’t handle or approach her in a way she deems acceptable. It’s obvious that this defense mechanism has been in place for awhile. While many aspects of her behavior have improved greatly with the consistency in the way we handle her, she still displays behaviors that could be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve been wanting to work with her ever since getting the round pen put up just to see if it could help and I was finally able to. First session- Let’s just say~ I haven’t had a horse take so many shots at my head…ever. She was clearly very angry, defensive and let me know it. She never fully yielded in this session but I had to end it for her safety. This is the result of her second session. She started in a very similar manner as she did the first but showed much less aggression and settled quickly. It seemed to click with her that I was not going to hit or hurt her and she started tuning in to me. She had some beautiful turns, visibly relaxed and when I asked……she did this! 🥺🥰 Round Pen training is NOT(and should never be) about running them until they are exhausted and give up. It’s an amazing training tool that can help them on so many levels; to relax, listen to their human and when done right, should look like this.

We saw things swirling around Philly’s paddock and noticed a dust devil. Just in her paddock swirling hay around. It was super weird since there was barely any wind. Next thing we know it’s in the arena! Thank fully Blossom was smart about it You can hear the gravel hitting as it dissipates. Video credit: Ms. Brittany

**Update- the swarm has moved on I don’t think they liked our machines…** Please be careful coming in the driveway. We have a swarm on one of the trees. **Video courtesy of Mr Hyson

I’ve been meaning to post this video for awhile now but today seemed like a great time to post it. Little back story- Miss Olivia started riding with me 2 1/2 years ago. We first met in a summer camp and she just kept coming back. 😂 I found out that she and her sister started a dog walking business to pay for their lessons. Complete respect for kids that dedicated! When I moved into the new facility, she followed. Now I freely admit that I am not a western or gymkhana trainer. I can teach the basics and get them started but it’s not my thing, so when a small group of my kids really wanted to do it we started working on it. Just under a year ago I had a conversation with my group saying that we were only going to be able to go ‘so far’ due to my footing. (Great for jumping-too hard/grippy to safely do barrels fast). This past fall she decided she was ready and moved on to an actual barrel trainer. Sad for me but 🎉 for her. Buuut somehow I still couldn’t get rid of her! 😉 She is still here every Saturday(and any other days off she can) as a working student, getting in some extra ride time and playing with the ponies she has come to love….Mac….I’m talking about Mac. 😂 Back in January she shared this video of one of her barrel runs with me. I absolutely love when students do this! 🥰 *Not my video *I was given permission to share. I can’t tell you how unbelievably PROUD I am to watch this dedicated young lady chase her dreams! I love that I was a part of her 🐴journey and that she’s sharing her new adventures with us! Today her momma made the announcement that Miss Olivia was accepted into a specialty high school she applied to! 🎉CONGRATULATIONS MISS OLIVIA! 🎉 Keep chasing your dreams kiddo! Your Chestnut Creek Farm family is excited for you! We can’t wait to see where you go next!

If I wasn’t sure before I definitely am now. LG will not be returning to the lesson program. I’ve been saying for awhile that I didn’t think LG was happy as a lesson horse. After the show in December he had some time off and we started seeing a whole different pony! He started meeting us at the gate, nickering at us and coming when we called for him…..and it wasn’t for treats. In January, as I started to condition him back up, it just didn’t feel right putting him back in the program. I went back and forth weighing the needs of the program vs his. I’ve always tried to put the needs of my ponies first so I finally decided he’d only be available for lease or sale and let him find his person. Honestly- when have you ever seen him cross the pasture just to say hi?

Apparently the universe wanted me to take a few days off between 2 days of rains and now wind…We only got two lessons done this morning before the wind really picked up to the point of being unsafe. Debris blowing across the farm, jumps being blown over, items being blown off the shelves in the wash stall. Lessons have all been rescheduled to next week! Have a Merry Christmas!

So much fun this afternoon! The jump field is working out better than we hoped. Ponies are having fun too.

The Lightning Tree is no more.

This afternoons lessons brought to you by…..

Day 4 Jump Camp Amazing progress from all my riders. Today we worked on a Hunter Course designed by one of our riders~ Miss Grace. We kept the fences relatively low to work on the riders consistency. After Lunch we did video review and reset the jump course for our last day. This was one of my fav clips from today~ Miss Scarlett cantering Blossom through this line.

We welcome Dr Harlan to the farm! Harley is a 10yr old OTTB who will hopefully work out for us in the lesson program. *He will be in Quarantine for a minimum of 2 weeks. Please give him space and do not touch. This not only gives him time to settle in and us time to evaluate him but makes sure he’s not brought in any bugs that could make our horses sick.

Training is a process and every horse is different. I know when Crush started in training with me this jumping exercise would have blown his mind. When I sent him through the bounce the first time yesterday we just trotted at first-no hesitation and no over-jump. I left him alone to figure it out and in the video you can see him processing what he needs to do on the first pass and then going for it on the second. #heunderstoodtheassignment #Horses #ChestnutCreekFarm

From First Pass to Last! Finding rhythm while we Bounce.

First and last pass of a bounce line. Finding the rhythm.

Woman Power! Thank you so-so much to Gloria, Taylor, Marissa, Jessica, Panda, Laura and Ben for your help today! The delivery was not what we expected but we made it work! Hay loft is stuffed full Please excuse the bit of mess in the isle for the next week or so.

Ms. Candace and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary working together. You’ve come a long way Baby!! 🥰 So very proud and excited to see how far you’ve come and can’t wait to see how far you’ll go! Ms. Candace rocking her canter with Peanut- a 10yr old~4-months off track OTTB.