Valentine Farm

Dunn, NC
By Rebecca Eddy

“I wish I knew about [barrel racing] when I was ten,” enthuses Leslie Ramsdell. Her involvement with horses spans over 25 years with experience in a wide variety of disciplines. Throughout her teenage years and into her twenties, Leslie was an avid equestrian with a keen interest in English – hunters, jumpers, foxhunting, polo – you name it, she tried it. Her start in the heart of “English country” in the Northeast provided her with tutelage from some of the top barns in the area. A move to New Hampshire in 1993 introduced her to the world of Belgian draft pulling horses. The next nine years saw her bring home top ribbons until she picked up a horse at auction with the intentions of a hunter prospect. While her new horse worked great at home, his added energy made him unsuitable for the hunter divisions at shows.
A friend suggested gymkhana and Leslie gave it a shot. Their first time out they did really well. “We had a blast!” she recalls. The remainder of their show season was spent at gymkhana with a focus on barrel racing. Leslie had found her calling.
Leslie explains, “I learned more and more about the sport and trained my horse to properly run the barrels.” It took a few years to find my next prospect. I saw a classified ad for a horse and happened to be heading to Kentucky to drop a horse off for someone else. I took a chance and drove a few more hours to see Bo. I bought him and brought him home and barrel raced him the following year in the NBHA-NH circuit. He was high point horse of the year. “New Hampshire was a smaller circuit, very welcoming, and not intimidating.”
Another New Englander, Bob Miner, got involved with horses in the early nineties and began competing in gymkhanas as well. He too made the switch to running barrels exclusively. His late, great barrel mare, Westport Sue, was a transformed gymkhana horse that Bob turned into a 1D winning barrel horse. He became Leslie’s “main man” and the decision was made to escape the harsh New England winters and head south. Valentine Farm in Dunn, NC, was the right place – half way in between New England and Florida. Most importantly, there was plenty of barrel racing.
In North Carolina, Leslie and Bob have built Valentine Farm from the ground up. The ten-stall Barnmaster barn arrived on an 18-wheeler and Bob put it together. He has spent the majority of the past few years clearing land, building fence, putting in water pipes, building grain bins and cabinets and all those other projects necessary to make a farm run. In his spare time, Bob is also the resident trimmer/farrier at the farm.
The 90 acres encompassing Valentine Farm accommodates the barn as well as a 150’x275’ outdoor arena, individual turnouts and pastures. The farm is a welcome stop for many making the trek up and down the East Coast. It’s a popular layover stop for many hunter/jumper farms heading to Wellington and West Palm Beach for the winter. “Layovers love the individual turnouts off the stalls,” tells Leslie. “It allows them to move after having been on the road, but not get galloping.”
A commitment to quality, not quantity, affords Leslie the time to focus on a few outside horses each year. She has been successful in taking young horses, training them and turning out good barrel horses for their new owners. “I’ve sold horses from Arizona to Quebec and everywhere in between. They are doing well and that’s what we like to hear. It’s a compliment to your training when you hear over and over that your horses are easy to ride.”
Leslie’s attention to the basics is what makes her horses easy to ride. All of her horses are well trained before they ever see a barrel. “My horses are really broke, sane, quiet and level headed. You need to make sure they are listening to the rider. Whoa is really important, as are lateral moves. All of the work I do is geared towards keeping them level headed and happy about their job. It’s a tough sport on a horse. You ask them to go from 0-90 and then shut it down again at the end of a run. They spend some time knowing all of the cues before they are put on a pattern. It helps them and it helps me.”
One of her own personal horses, Sunny, taught her how important maintenance is to ensuring these athletes are kept at the top of their game. “I knew what it takes, but I didn’t catch the signs early enough that he was sore, until he reacted. I had an excellent chiropractor work on him, performing regular adjustments. But they’d only hold so long.” Wanting to do more for her horse, Leslie enrolled at Equissage in 2008. “I wanted to make sure that his massage therapy was done thoroughly and right. After working on him all winter, he was ready to run again and more importantly, was happy doing it. She shares, “I love making him feel better.”
Realizing that other horses could benefit from the same care, Leslie is now offering her equine massage therapy services to the public. “I want to help others keep their horses at the top of their game as well. It’s important because it can help prevent injuries before they happen.”
One of the things that really attracted Leslie to the sport of barrel racing is that you don’t have to have a million dollar horse to do it. “If you have the drive, patience and determination, you can do it. It doesn’t need to be a rich man’s game. It’s weekend rider friendly.” She is quick to acknowledge, “I’m fortunate to be able to do this. My mother has been a huge supporter my whole life and I wouldn’t have been able to take this leap and do it without her. She and Bob are my number one fans. I couldn’t make it without him. He makes life easier and is a heck of jockey!” claims Leslie. She pauses for a moment and says, “How did I get so lucky?”

For more information about Valentine Farms or Leslie’s massage therapy services, visit www.valentinefarm.net or call 910-897-7894.