If you happen to be driving along Palmer Road near the edge of Plympton, you may notice tucked among the quaint farm stands and antique houses, an idyllic-looking farm with a sign that easily hints at the name: Rocking Horse Farm. Always tidy and seasonally dressed with cheerful blooms in planters or pumpkins and mums tucked in every corner, Rocking Horse Farm is the epitome of countryside charm. Goats laze on wooden spool tables, two resident canines run about, toys in mouth, looking for someone to play fetch with. There are picnic tables, gardens, and white wooden fences, but what really makes this place special is what goes on inside the barn, stables, and arena: children and adults learning the beautiful sport of horseback riding.
Rocking Horse Farm was started in 1983 by Lillian Gilpin. Her parents, Paul and Dorothy Gilpin, purchased the land for their daughter immediately following high school so she could embark on her dream of running a barn. It began as a small garage and chicken coop and has grown into a 28-stall barn with a thriving teaching program. The program is now run by Katie Alemian Flannery, Gilpin’s niece. Flannery’s love for and involvement with horses began early in her life. “I began riding as soon as I could walk. My mom and dad were very involved with the horses when I was born. Once I started showing, my father took a back seat and let my mom and I continue to show.”
Flannery’s natural talent in the sport was nurtured as she spent nearly every day of her childhood on the farm where she quickly became one of the top students. She began to show at local shows such as Briggs in Hanover and at the South Shore Horsemen’s Council. Flannery then began to compete in leadline and walk trot classes at larger shows in the New England area. Gilpin was there for her niece every step of the way. “Lillian coached me throughout my junior exhibitor career, guiding me through new horses and new challenges almost always!” Flannery recounts. She then went on to compete at the Worlds Championship Horseshow in Kentucky multiple times and always came home with ribbons.
Showing and riding for fun were just the beginning for Flannery. She left Rocking Horse Farm to attend William Woods University in Missouri where she majored in Equestrian Science. Flannery worked with many top trainers during her academic years and loved it so much that she only came home for Christmas breaks. Although she enjoyed school in the South, she knew she wasn’t meant to stay there. “As much as I loved the South, I really missed New England and wanted to come home after school.” Flannery moved back and worked with Gilpin for several more years until she took over the business in 2019 -right before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. “This was so hard for me just staying on my own and many show clients moved when she (Gilpin) retired but my lesson program was what kept me going.” Flannery’s resourceful nature helped keep the barn afloat. She asked her students for continued financial support in lieu of tuition during lockdown. “Even though lessons couldn’t happen, horses still cost as much to care for,” she said. Once people were comfortable holding activities again, many found horseback riding and being outdoors cathartic and thus the barn recovered from this setback.
In keeping a barn and lesson program intact, in spite of such a huge disruption as a pandemic, Flannery has managed to take the business from surviving to flourishing. Being one of the only Saddle Seat barns on the South Shore, Rocking Horse Farm specializes in American Saddlebreds, horses known for their high stepping gait and powerful front action. “We do not jump, we do not do individual dressage patterns, but I like to say we put on a show!” Flannery explains, “Our horses perform their gaits in a ring and are judged on many specifications depending on division, to earn ribbons.” Flannery says there are sometimes as many as three judges in the center of the ring looking for techniques of the horse and rider working as a pair.
There are currently 50 lessons a week at Rocking Horse Farm and the riding program spans all ages starting at age six. The students are taught to be proficient in basic riding techniques and once they are deemed ready Flannery begins to take them to shows, beginning at local levels. As riders advance, Flannery has them show at larger horse shows throughout the Northeast. This summer Flannery is charting new territory as a teacher. “I am taking my very first student that I started from the beginning to our Worlds Championship Horse Show in Kentucky!”
Competitive horseback riding is a sport that demands stamina and the mastery of many skills, athletic and mental, of both human and horse. “Any student that wants to compete typically rides 2-3 times a week. Just like any sport the more you practice the better you get,” Flannery points out, “A lot of riding is the use of the core and the leg muscles, so the more you ride the stronger you become.”
Of course, it is not just the human athletes that put in hard work. The horses of Rocking Horse Farm are beloved, healthy, and trained to be at their peak. All of Flannery’s students who compete at higher levels own their horses and keep them at the barn. These majestic animals demand constant top of the line attention and care. “They are maintained just like athletes. They have an exercise routine that I maintain throughout the week and they are individualized for each horse,” Flannery explains. The students ride their particularly trained horses on Saturdays and use the Rocking Horse Farm lesson horses during the week. Flannery allows lesson students to take the lesson horses to shows to make sure they are enjoying the sport enough to make the commitment of purchasing a horse.
When asked what unique lessons riding horses teaches young (and grown) people Flannery replies, “Riding horses is so amazing for our youth because I feel like it teaches a responsibility that no other sport can teach. No matter how you’re feeling or how long of a day you have had, the horses still need you.” Flannery also models and teaches respect and admiration for the horses at Rocking Horse Farm. “I am thankful for the amazing group of lesson horses that I have and if you ask anyone that works for me, my expectations of their care is to always go above and beyond. They are the heart and soul of my program and I think it is important that all of my students know that.”
In addition to learning how to ride and show horses, students at Rocking Horse Farm are taught to care for them. They get their horses ready, clean their tack, and even clean their stalls. Rocking Horse Farm also runs a program called Paddock Pals where students come once a month and learn different aspects of horse care and farm maintenance, in addition to riding. Paddock Pals is open to anyone age six and above even if they are not enrolled as a student at the barn.
Rocking Horse Farm students also hold fundraisers to help purchase items the lesson horses may need such as blankets, new sheets, tack, etc. The farm also hosts two weeks of summer camp and day camps on holiday breaks.
In addition to a full schedule at the barn Flannery keeps busy with her family -including her twin sons, Joseph and Jameson, who will be two in October. Flannery’s husband, Nick, is also an intricate part of Rocking Horse Farm in spite of having no previous experience with horses or barn maintenance. Flannery remarks with gratitude, “He has put more than his blood, sweat, and tears into helping me almost completely rehab and maintain this older barn and I can’t thank him enough for it!” Flannery also makes sure to take time to work on goals for her own riding ventures. “I still show if we have new or young horses at the farm. This year I have been lucky enough to show my mom’s new horse, TickTock! He has been so much fun and now it’s time to turn the reins over to her.”
Flannery’s passion, not just for her career, but her way of life is easy to see and feel. Her positive enthusiasm sets the tone for Rocking Horse Farm and is a great benefit to the students and horses there. “Teaching is my passion,” Flannery says, “I love introducing kids to horses and watching them grow and learn with them.” Rocking Horse Farm’s success goes well beyond the collection of trophies in the viewing room and ribbons on the walls. Its success story is found in the many lives enriched by the life lessons learned and bonds forged between horse and human in the picturesque farm just off the side of Palmer Road.