Trail Preservation Pathways

By Chelle Grald “There is more to lose than land. A way of life and an understanding of who we are is also at stake. Horsemanship is important to our country’s history and lore. It teaches us responsibility and stewardship and how to care for another life form. When we protect this, it enriches our … Read more

Landowner Profile: Gayle Davis

One of the highlights of our Fall Foliage Rides this year was the Friday lunch stop at the top of a rolling field in Hartland with a spectacular view of Mt. Ascutney. That field, and the 200 acre farm that surrounds it, is gladly shared with GMHA riders by Gayle Davis and Kraig Murphy of Lull Brook Farm. Gayle has been a life member of GMHA since the 1980’s. “This has been my stomping ground for the past 30 years,” says Gayle as she describes GMHA. She is an active competitor in Eventing, and also enjoys riding with the North Country Hounds and hacking through the beautiful trails on her property and throughout the GMHA network.

Gayle has lived across the river in Cornish, New Hampshire for most of her adult life, and hadn’t planned to move to Hartland, but fate intervened.

“My good friend, who lives nearby, encouraged me to look at Lull Brook Farm. Peggy Cummings owned it at the time, and was in ill health. I fell in love with the place. After I heard that Peggy was giving her blessing for us to buy it, I knew that I would be moving to Hartland,” said Gayle. “We moved just days after Hurricane Irene blew through the area in Fall of 2011.”

Lull Brook Farm has a well-established trail system that has been used by the local horse community and by GMHA for the past century. Gayle and Craig consider themselves stewards of the land and the trails, and have improved and maintained them each year. “We have a little piece of heaven here, and we want to share it,” she says. The farm consists of an amazing brick farmhouse that was completely restored from the ground up in 1997, a barn, and both indoor and outdoor arenas. Along with sharing her trails, Gayle hosts hunts, hunter paces, and clinics from the facility