How It All Began

Silver Lining Stables was purchased in August 2005. Everything including the barn was dilapidated, and there was no arena. The barn was gutted and rebuilt from the inside while salvaging as much the original 1950’s structure as possible. A great deal of rotten wood on the exterior had to be replaced as well. The stalls were graded and prepared; the concrete for the center aisle was poured; then the new stalls were put into place. The barn was painted and the entire roof has been replaced. Over the years, I have made several upgrades over the years including expanding the tack room, replacing light fixtures, adding on two additional stalls and a run in shed. There are now six stalls and a 2 stall guest barn. I have a duel fuel generator to run the well and the barn during power outages.

The arena was graded and the retaining wall was built. Next came four inches of manufactured sand and then 44,000 lbs. of crumb rubber were added to improve the footing and making it all-weather. French drains were installed underneath to improve the drainage and the arena was completely fenced in. Next came the mirrors on one end to view yourself and your horse while riding. Later the covered viewing stand was built. Several years ago an irrigation system was installed and full-surround sound. In 2016, hurricane proof LED stadium lights were erected. More recently the “judging platform” was put in at the C end of the arena. In March 2019 a ClearSpan cover was installed over 2/3 of the arena and lighting installed so you can ride in the rain, winter and 95 degree heat in relative comfort. In 2022 I added a 2 stall guest barn attached by a covered walkway to the main barn.

The pastures were initially full of trees and over the years I have cleared them to improve the grass. Cross fencing was added to create two pastures plus a dry lot. The pastures are fertilized on a regular schedule and over-seeded twice a year to improve the yield. The horses are rotated accordingly while the hay hut is kept stocked with hay year round.  

The barn came with a bored well from the 1950’s. This type of well works by collecting ground water. Needless to say, it eventually did not provide enough water during periods of drought or to even water down the arena. So in late 2016, we drilled a new well down to 350 ft. which produces 30 gallons per minute. This provides plenty of water for the barn and watering the arena.

There’s always a next project or improvement on our to-do list. Over the years Silver Lining Stables has transformed into a small slice of equestrian heaven where your horse is treated like one of my own.