Drowning Creek Farm

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Drowning Creek Farm

Drowning Creek Farm is a champion horse boarding and training facility located in Hildebran, NC.

12/01/2025

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. We hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the beautiful snow that many of our friends from Kentucky to Atlanta received this weekend. Here at the farm, we received just under two inches. It is beautiful to look out at night and see everything in white and hear the silence that occurs with snow. Everyone here was bundled up by the heat and taking time to just reflect on the many wonderful memories made here on the farm. Today we look back and remember one of the greatest hackney ponies ever…..Centerfold. Mrs Pauline Eckard loved her ponies and boy did she know how to drive one! We look back and remember the great Centerfold from this article in Saddle Horse Report from January 2017.

01/01/2025

Happy New Year from all of us at Drowning Creek Farm.

25/12/2024

Merry Christmas from our barn family to yours.

22/12/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. Time is just flying by these last few days of the year. Where has 2024 gone? We are getting our last minute prep work done in preparation for jolly ole St Nick. We have been extra nice these last few weeks of the year in hope Santa leaves us a special hackney pony under our tree. Fingers crossed! But until then, let’s look at some more photos of DCF and look back on some amazing hackney and saddlebred memories. Thank you for the submissions.

Remember to always be kind and help those in need.

15/12/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. We hope you had a wonderful week. Lewis would like to thank everyone who called, text and sent birthday wishes to him this week. He is so thankful for the many friends that he has made with the horse industry over these many years. Today we share a photo looking back of Lewis and some of his friends during an event. Thank you to everyone who continues to send in photos and wonderful memories of Drowning Creek Farm.

Please remember to be kind to others and help those in need.

09/12/2024

Today, we would like to wish UPHA Tom Moore Hall of Fame Trainer Lewis Eckard a very Happy Birthday. Lewis is the owner of Drowning Creek Farm that his parents started more than 50 years ago. From the very young age of 14, Lewis has been a part of the saddlebred and hackney industry. Lewis has judged Louisville numerous times, owned and trained world champions, has been inducted into roadhorse, hackney and saddlebred societies. Lewis has worked along side many of the greatest trainers in the saddlebred and hackney industry. Lewis is known for creating champions such as World Champion Hackney pony Centerfold and Last Edition. Earlier this year, Lewis announced his retirement and is spending time on his farm here in Hildebran NC raising his watusi cattle, peacocks and chickens. Happy Birthday Lewis from all your family and friends at Drowning Creek Farm.

08/12/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. We hope that you had a wonderful week and recovered from all the food and turkey from Thanksgiving. The Eckard family celebrated a delicious meal at the home of Lana Ray. Today we dig deep into the DCF photos of some wonderful memories. Thank you to everyone who has submitted photos and memories of Drowning Creek Farm from over the years.

Please remember to be kind to others and help those in need.

03/12/2024

On this giving Tuesday, we encourage you to consider one of these options:

1. DCF recognizes there are so many still impacted from hurricane Helene. The devastation in the mountains of NC will take years to clean up. Please consider donating online at nc.gov/donate to help the many people still left homeless.

2. Victory Farm is very near and dear to our hearts. Dory Roseberry Pell worked at DCF as a teenager. Today she owns and operates the Victory Farm therapeutic riding program. They are an all volunteer program and receive funding from donations to help care for the rescued horses in the program. Go to their page and simply click the DONATE button. Every penny matters!

3. UPHA is an important organization that Lewis Eckard was recently awarded the Tom Moore Hall of Fame award. They support many programs and currently have an option to purchase tickets for a chance to win several prizes. Please check out their page for more info.

01/12/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. It is hard to believe that today is December 1 and only 24 more days until Santa arrives. Where has this year gone? Thank you to everyone who submitted pictures and memories of Drowning Creek Farm last week. Today we share a few of the photos that were submitted last week. Pictured below we see the very talented Hackney pony Second Souvenier and Pat Vials. Also pictured is the Hall of Fame trainer Lewis Eckard heading up the pony and at the show. Last week we learned that our very own Kathy Carpenter was the groom to this magnificent pony. Wonderful memories of such a talented team at Drowning Creek Farm. If you have a favorite memory or photos, please submit them to us and we would love to share your story or photos on our site.

Remember to always be kind and help those in need.

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from the Eckard family and Drowning Creek Farm. We hope each of you have a blessed day with your family and friends.

24/11/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. Winter has officially arrived here in the foothills of North Carolina. Earlier this week, the upper mountain range received several inches of their first snowfall. However, many are still impacted from the effects of hurricane Helene and the devastation that occurred there. Please continue to pray for those individuals who lost their homes and are affected from the cold.
Today we look back in the DCF archives of a famous artist and person who Lewis Eckard trained horses for. Lewis worked for Flying V Farms as head trainer for Art and Pat Vials. Pat was a renowned artist who had traveled the world. She was an active member of the Hickory Museum of Art. She was also an artist who not only loved to travel and but more recently, was a published author. She crocheted hundreds of scarves for the Women's and Children's Center and had a love for all animals especially horses. Pictured below is Pat winning at Devon with her hackney pony Second Souvenir. Sadly, we lost Pat in December of 2023. Lewis has often mentioned this hackney pony as being one of the great ones that he has had the privilege of training during his lusturios career of training and judging.

Please remember to be kind to others and help those in need.

If you have a favorite memory of DCF, we would love to hear from you. Please message us and we will feature your story here on our page.

17/11/2024

Good Sunday afternoon. It has been a beautiful weekend here in western NC. Here are a few pics of Heather Lail and her magnificent hackney pony Mile Marker aka Millie. She just keeps getting better and better. Excited for her 2025 show season.

27/10/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. What an amazing weekend at the Dallas Fall Classic Horse Show. Lewis would like to thank everyone who came out Friday night to celebrate Lewis’s retirement from DCF. So many wonderful friends from the past celebrating the many achievements of Lewis Eckard. Thank you to Lana Ray and Shelia Lail for helping organize the reception. Thank you Kathy Carpenter for hosting the event at the show. As many of you learned from the night, there is now a perpetual trophy in honor of Lewis in the fine harness driving class. A beautiful peacock trophy to celebrate with. It was two great nights of showing for Heather Lail with her hackney pony Mile Marker and Dr Don Gibson with his American saddlebred Star. This concludes the 2024 show year for DCF. Thank you to everyone who has been on this amazing journey with us over the many years. So many great people have joined this page and followed our love of horses and the farm. DCF is still here as we still have our animals from watusi cattle to peacocks. Lewis plans to do consulting work along with judging shows when the opportunity is right. Remember to always help those in need and stay positive and love one another, no matter the journey.

20/10/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. What a beautiful weekend it has been here in the foothills of NC. We are excited as our last show of the season is next weekend in Dallas NC. Please come out and support this amazing outdoor show. It is one of the last remaining outdoor shows here in NC besides Blowing Rock. Kathy Carpenter does an amazing job with it. As some of you already know, this show will be Lewis’s retirement event on Friday night. Lewis started his career in Dallas NC and has always said he would retire here also. DCF will be showcasing Millie and Star to wrap up his amazing career. Thank you to everyone that has supported Lewis and DCF over the many years. We hope to see you Friday night under the lights of the Dallas Fall Classic Horse Show.

13/10/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. What a beautiful weekend it has been here in the foothills of NC. The fall weather has certainly arrived as we woke up to very chilly temps this morning on the farm. We love, along with the animals, the cooler weather and the beautiful leaves. We are just a few weekends away from the Dallas Fall Classic Horse Show. That show is a favorite for the Eckard family. Pauline loved showing her hackney ponies at the beautiful outdoor arena. So much history at that venue. Thank you to Kathy Carpenter for continuing on with this amazing small show. We would love to see the stands packed full at the venue as like with the major shows, the crowds have gotten smaller but the entertainment is still large and exciting. Saturday, we enjoyed seeing Millie show us why we love the hackney ponies. She is so beautiful to watch in action with Heather. Also the talented fine harness horse Star, kept us wanting to see more. Look for both of them at the Dallas Fall Horse Show.

Remember to be kind to others and help those in need. If you can, please donate to help the relief efforts in Western NC.

Don’t forget to like, share and comment on all things DCF, to keep up with the shows and happenings around the farm.

06/10/2024

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. We are still sending thoughts and prayers to our friends and neighbors in western NC. It will be many months or even years before parts return to what some remember them to be. If you are able, please donate to one of the many organizations helping with the recovery efforts.

We have enjoyed a week of sunshine to help dry out the farm from all the rain. Saturday was super fun as we were able to let Millie and Star show us how much they love the fall weather. Both are headed to the Dallas Fall Classic Horse Show in just a few weeks. That is such a wonderful show hosted by Kathy Carpenter and her team.

Thank you to Heather, Shelia and Bradley for all you do in taking care of DCF.

Remember to be kind to others and always help those in need.

03/10/2024

Happy National Hackney Day. We remember and look back at some of the greatest Hackney ponies from Drowning Creek Farm and the Eckard family.

01/10/2024

Drowning Creek Farm wishes Brandon Scott Shepard a very happy birthday today. Brandon, from all of us at DCF we hope you have a wonderful day filled with family, friends and love.

Address

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00
Saturday	08:00 - 13:00

Telephone

(828) 358-9350

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

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Videos

Looking back at Heather Lail and Mile Marker entering the ring. Reserve Champions at Asheville Summer Fun Horse Show. #milemarkerpony

Looking back at Heather Lail and Millie at the Dallas Summer Classic Horse Show.

Looking back at Heather Lail and harness pony Millie having a blast in Asheville NC.

The amazing saddlebred fine harness horse Star showing how happy he is on this Wednesday morning.

Dallas Fall Classic Horse Show.

Heather Lail showcasing Valet Parking

One of the amazing things to happen Sunday afternoon near the close of the show was Lewis Eckard was presented with a lifetime service award for his family’s contribution to the show over the many years. Below is the video from the award presentation. (Sorry for the video quality, it had just started to rain right before the presentation). What a wonderful way to end the 100th year of the BRCHS. Congratulations to the Eckard family and Drowning Creek Farm.

Lewis Eckard showcasing Landshark.

Heather Lail showing us the amazing Valet Parking Look for Valet Parking at the Dallas Summer Fun Horse show this Friday night.

Good morning from Drowning Creek Farm. What an amazing week in Clemson SC at the 2023 ASAC show. Everyone is back home safe and very exhausted this Sunday morning. Congratulations to everyone who competed and brought home a ribbon to their barn. We have so many barn family and friends that we got to see and cheer on as they too showcased their hard work in Clemson. Thank you to our trainers Lewis Eckard and Gina Lail. The amount of blues and tri colors coming home to Hildebran NC speaks for itself in how hard you have worked getting everyone ready for 2023 show season. We know that our founding family Landon and Pauline Eckard had the biggest smiles on their faces looking down and being so proud that the Eckard legacy still continues on today. We hope everyone has a wonderful week. We leave you this Sunday morning looking back from one of our favorite moments with Gina Lail showcasing her road horse Head of the table. Sling dirt Gina! Please remember to like, comment, share and follow to keep up with all the shows and happenings around the farm.

Dr Don Gibson kicking off the 2023 ASAC horse show in Clemson SC with I’m Looking Supreme. Congrats on your blue ribbon win.

Gina Lail showcasing the amazing Valet Parking.

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