“Not all who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkein

I met Jim Wooldridge and his adult daughter Sara Dill back in 2004 at a clinic in Georgia. Jim and Sara invited me to come and do a clinic at their farm in Camden, South Carolina and we all became friends. When I hit the road full-time in 2006 and needed a place to winter, Jim offered for me to winter at the farm with my horses, and I’ve been doing so since. When I’m not on the road, I’m at the farm in South Carolina, and now consider it to be my home base.

Jim has worked with horses all his life and is a skilled horseman and farrier. Sara is a professional horseman with a thriving local training and instructing business and is also a qualified saddle fitter. I am fortunate to count them among my friends, and my time at the farm is ironically as restful as it is thought-provoking and inspiring.

When I am in residence at the farm I trail ride, work horses with Sara almost daily, help out with farm chores, show on the local hunter/jumper circuit and fox hunt occasionally with The Camden Hunt. I also offer horsemanship instruction, horse training services and clinics.

Timber Creek Farm was built from the ground up as a horse training farm, with multiple pastures, pens for visiting horses, an outdoor arena with jumps, a safe round pen with an observation deck, a high line and multiple hitch rails, access to hundreds of acres of trails and electric and water hook-ups for campers. The design and facilities of the farm help us work toward developing quiet, solid, trustworthy horses.

Helpful links if you’re thinking about visiting Timber Creek Farm:

Average weather:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/29020

Camden/Kershaw County information:
http://www.kershawcountychamber.org/

The Colony Inn – comfortable and moderately priced:
http://www.camdencolonyinn.com/

The Bloomsbury Inn – a luxurious southern B&B:
http://www.bloomsburyinn.com/

The Tack Room – the best English tack store in the country – but I’m biased!
http://www.tackroomonline.com/

During the winter months (approximately November – March) I offer horsemanship instruction and lessons at Timber Creek Farm in Camden. This is a unique opportunity to come and work with me at the farm privately or in pairs or small groups for whole or half days. You can bring your own horse(s) or use ours. You can book as many days as you want.

This format gives the student of horsemanship as much time as needed to spend on whatever topics or skills they feel are important. A “half-day” would be a three-hour morning or afternoon session every day, while a “whole day” schedule could be an eight-hour if you like. We have trailers available for trailer loading, an arena, a safe round pen, tying facilities, and trails right off the farm. We also have access to 3500 acres of trails (with solid jumps) and a large cross-country jumping course nearby.

This is a very creative and intensive learning environment. Students are invited to observe farm procedures like feeding, farriery and veterinary care and to define their own goals and plans for learning. This format allows us to look at horsemanship in a very “holistic” context – from management, feed, health care and daily management, to training philosophies and techniques both on the ground and in the saddle.

If you choose to bring your own horse for lessons or study sessions, we can offer you consultations with our resident farrier for foot-care matters, and our resident certified saddle fitter for matters of saddle fit. We can also arrange veterinary or chiropractic care for your horse while you are visiting the Farm. These services must be arranged in advance and paid for separately.

Every winter, I take in a limited number of horses for training. I’m usually at the farm November through March. At the farm, I start colts, give horses mileage on the trails, work on trailer loading or other issues, do tune-ups or get jumping horses going to the horse shows or fox hunting.

With all training horses, I emphasize good, strong basics; safe, quiet, confident ground behaviors and healthy carriage and biomechanics under saddle. I strive to help the horses become quiet, stable partners, whatever their future job description. I focus on taking the time it takes for a horse to get to a good place in his work. All training horses have access to farrier, chiropractic, saddle fit and veterinary services while at the Farm.

I invite horse owners to be as involved in the training process as they can be. Owners are welcome to come watch sessions, take lessons and participate in whatever other way is appropriate.

Please contact Kathleen for further details.