Legato Farm and Equestrian Center, LLC

08/31/2024

We are ramping up for fall fun at Legato Farm! Our stupendous lesson horses and ponies continue to have their “dance cards” filled each week with rides, and more students will be gearing up for showing off the farm in September and October. In between the lessons and shows, we will be hosting a day camp for our little riders, a cavaletti clinic for our adults, and a junior rider camp as Halloween approaches. With cooler weather just around the corner, we will be taking full advantage of autumn outdoor riding…a fitting way to cap our first year of operations!

08/19/2024

Tulie and the rest of the Legato Farm crew hope that our junior riders had a great first day back to school! 🏫 🐴 🍎 It’s going to be a busy but fun fall around these parts. We are looking forward to nicer temperatures to squeeze in a few more outdoor rides for students. More updates and photos of our adventures to come in the next few weeks!

08/08/2024

Natalya and Iris were also the winners of our trot pole challenge going 8 rounds and trotting through 8 poles without having a hoof touch a single pole. Way to go girls!

08/08/2024

Natalya and Iris bringing a little Christmas spirit with “Jingle Bells”

08/08/2024

Avery and Davis “Dancing in the Dark”

08/08/2024

Heidi and Mona (Mony Pony was a popular choice for freestyles 🤠)

08/08/2024

Stella and Mona performing their freestyle to “Horses”.

08/08/2024

It’s a Mario (or Dan) putting on a brave face to kick off the freestyles yesterday with his best buddy Grey. Way to go Dan!

08/08/2024

“Inspiration”
What is it that inspires you? What a perfect time in this Olympic season to take a few moments to simply feel inspired; inspired to try something new, inspired to continue on a path you’ve already started or inspired to celebrate your current achievements and equally the achievements of others around you.

The past few weeks I’ve found much to be inspired by. Today’s inspiration came from our junior riders who selected and choreographed their first dressage freestyles to music. I was proud of each of their efforts, thoroughly enjoyed the variety in their music selections and applauded their bravery in trying something new in front of their peers. I’ll share a few clips of each pair in the coming days. In the meantime take few moments to find something or someone that inspires you, cheer on yourself and those around you to greatness and celebrate your struggles knowing that there are always at least a few stumbling blocks in every success story.

Sharing a picture below of my own unicorn who put on his fancy prancing shoes to close out our freestyle performances this afternoon. It’s been quite a while since we’ve done a bit of improv and I enjoyed every minute of it. Charm and I have been spending the past few months revisiting the basics and gaining a bit more strength before returning the show ring. It was such fun to put the pieces together again to share a bit of the dressage magic with a few of our friends just starting on their dressage journeys.

Keep on dancing my friends! Put on some music and let the music be your inspiration for the dance.

Olympic side note: after watching the equestrian events, highly recommend the kayak cross. Think bumper cars in kayaks with a kayak roll in between. I’m here for it. If I ever stop riding, this is my next sport! Let’s go!

08/06/2024

Our first two days of Junior Rider Camp went by so fast! It’s been super hot, but we’ve had a great time riding, learning about horse breeds and finding creative ways to stay cool!

08/06/2024

More sleepy ponies 😴. Resting up for Day 2 of Junior Rider camp.

07/28/2024

Another busy few weeks here at Legato Farm as August is right around the corner! Our students continue to progress in their lessons with an eye on showing in the fall for several of our riders. We also mixed in some desensitization fun and games for the herd as we prepare for our next junior rider camp at the start of August. Davis and Grey enjoyed a trail lesson this week too (lucky boys ☺️🐴). Looking forward to wrapping up a great first summer for our lesson program and celebrating our one year anniversary in a few short months!

07/23/2024

Lots of sleepy ponies at the farm today 😴

07/15/2024

Congrats to Sara and Georgie who won two high score awards at this weekend’s show. What a way to return to the show ring!

07/15/2024

Legato Farm took the show on the road and my goodness it was a hot one! Keeping the horses and their riders cool was a top priority on the first off farm show outing of the season. So proud of each pair for their hard work and accomplishments.

Sara kicked it off with Georgie putting in two seamless tests earning two first place ribbons for their efforts. Georgie is 26 years young and though he is newer to dressage, he has excelled in the new discipline. Sara wanted a chance to get her senior guy back in the show ring and we at Legato Farm have been honored to be part of their journey. This is truly a special team who exemplify harmony in their partnership.

Avery followed suit with Mona, competently riding both of her tests to earn a red and yellow ribbon for a second and third place. This young lady is a true horse woman piloting a pony who started a bit rushy and tense and giving her a positive experience in the show ring. It’s only Mona’s second off farm dressage show and Avery did a lovely job giving the mare the confidence to perform her best.

Leah put in the last two rides piloting Mona through two tests and earning two second place ribbons. This young rider has come a long way in short period of time and it was such a joy to see her hard work pay off in the show ring.

Thanks to IEO for a fantastic show with an encouraging and friendly atmosphere. It was lovely to have a cheering section at the entrance to the show arena offering words of encouragement and congratulations to each pair. Thank you!!

Well done team! You knocked it out of the park. Special shout out to Georgie and Mona who both behaved like true professionals. Love the judges final comments on Mona’s last test noting that she really tried her heart out for her rider. Well done Mony Pony!

07/13/2024

Summer is rolling right along at Legato Farm as we welcomed some new students in the last week with some fantastic introductory lessons. We’ve been avoiding the heat as best we can with mixing in some shaded trail rides on the property which have been a big hit with our riders and ponies too. Tomorrow is a big day for Mona, George and 3 of our wonderful students as we will be showing off farm…wishing luck to everyone and so proud that in only a few months of riding our students have gained the confidence to test their skills and trust in their partnerships!

07/07/2024

Keeping the ponies cool and hydrated is certainly a challenge during these hot summer days. A drink from the water hose is one of Mona pony’s favorite ways to cool off. Stay cool everyone!!

07/01/2024

Legato Farm and Equestrian Center is currently accepting new students! Private and semi-private lessons available with USDF bronze and silver medalist Danielle Gervasi. Our program is dressage based with an emphasis on proper position and biomechanics to help riders develop a great foundation for any equestrian pursuit. Showing opportunities are also available. Lesson horses and ponies on site for all levels of riders. Also happy to accommodate trailer-ins for lessons on your own horse at our outstanding facility. Indoor and outdoor arenas, grooming and wash stalls and even a few on site trails. We’d love to help you on your horsemanship journey and are conveniently located in Hanover, Pa. Check out our website for additional information: https://www.legatofarmec.com/. We look forward to hearing from you!

06/30/2024

Our first Ladies Night at Legato was so much fun! Pony games, trail rides and lots of laughs along the way. We have a fantastic group of adult riders. It was such a treat to have a few together to simply let our hair down and have some good old fashioned fun. Looking forward to our next adventures and roping in a few other friends to join in our shenanigans.

And Brenda - Addie loved the hat (almost as much as Iris enjoyed the sparkling wine)🍷🤠

06/27/2024

Getting the ponies primed for our next adventure. Owen was a good boy on his first solo trail ride 🐴

06/24/2024

Our third show is officially a wrap! Congrats to all the riders who did a lovely job piloting the horses and ponies during the summer heat wave. Lots of great rides and plenty more learning to do. We are super excited to see each pair continue to grow in their partnership and for new partnerships to form as riders move into different horses.

06/19/2024

Another great summer camp opportunity for kiddos. Jocelyn is a fantastic music and dance teacher. The kids always have a great time.

Looking for a couple more younger ones to fill our Jr age group! Sign up using the email on the flyer!

06/13/2024

With summer right around the corner, it has been a busy time here at the farm with fun group lessons over the weekends, mowing pastures, stocking up on hay for the year, acclimating the herd to its new member of the lesson team and night turnout schedule, and starting up the next big project ! Through it all we have been enjoying this first year of operations and celebrating the many milestones. More fun is on the way this summer as we continue to offer schooling shows for students and our first adult riding camp at the end of the month! 🐴 🍷

06/03/2024

Another exciting weekend at Legato Farm as we welcomed a new lesson horse to the program! Presenting Mr. Owen, a 16 year old Appaloosa gelding (another gray horse with spots…clearly we have a type ☺️). Owen is just a little taller than Mona and we look forward to having him work with our junior and adult riders over the summer months. He made the trek from a loving home in Michigan and so far he has been settling in nicely. 🥰🐴

05/27/2024

Teaching a horse to handle distractions while riding is such an important part of the training process. Tulie tends to be on the hotter side of the spectrum and exposing her to “life” has been a key component in helping her to become a more confident partner both on the ground and while riding. Tonight, we had some partying going on in the neighborhood, a few fireworks and three geldings competing the attention a mare (Iris) in a neighboring field. Despite all the goings on, Tulie handed herself beautifully working both inside and outdoors, walking trotting and cantering without any shenanigans. Good girl Tules! And in case you were wondering which of the boys won the heart of Iris (at least for tonight)….Gray. Sorry Ted and Davis; maybe next time.

05/23/2024

Commemorating another anniversary…the arrival of the Legato Farm King himself, Al Marah Silver Charm, on this day six years ago! A lot of positive changes since that special day and although we look back fondly missing some of our ponies who crossed the rainbow bridge before we began our lesson program, we are thankful for all the moments that led us to where we are today with a hopeful eye on the future. A special nod to our dear baby Iris in these photos as she has been the bridge between our former and current herd! 🥰🐴

05/17/2024

Another weekly wrap up and despite the unpredictable weather, springtime and great lesssons continue rolling along at Legato Farm! More students are preparing for our second schooling show of the year next weekend and summertime is right around the corner. We have a few openings for weekly students and are amazed that we have nearly reached capacity in our lesson program within our first year of operations! We look forward to sharing our schooling show results and celebrating our students’ progress next weekend. 🤩🐴🥇

05/12/2024

Happy Mother’s Day and thank you to all moms everywhere for all you do! We are thankful for our Legato Farm moms including Tulie (the only mare on the farm who had a foal prior to her arrival), our morning dove moms who take up an annual spring residence in the garage, and of course, our head instructor Danielle! Have a wonderful day! 🥰🐴💐

05/05/2024

One year ago today, we broke ground and took a leap of faith towards a dream. We are thankful to have such a wonderful facility that has welcomed students in these last 7 months. Dressage is an artful dance that displays harmony between a rider and their horse like nothing else…we are happy to be sharing these riding experiences with students of all ages and backgrounds at Legato Farm. We look forward to making more memories as the adventure continues. The fourth will be with us…always. ☺️