A Farm Dream Turns Real

WHETHER YOU’RE TAKING a drive or riding a bike along River Road, there are so many amazing hidden gems to be found and explored throughout Upper Makefield Township. With each turn you can come across an extraordinary house, a historical structure or a vista filled with picturesque landscapes.

Normandy Horse Farms owner Tom Oliver had a dream of owning a farm one day and was able to find one of these precious locations which encompassed all the uniqueness of the area.

Oliver has worked in auditing for nearly four decades, but about 30 years ago he realized he wanted something more in his life besides his career. When he reflected on his childhood, he always loved playing with toy tractors, farm sets and being outdoors.

While contemplating a new business endeavor, he was at the Middletown Grange Fair in the early ’90s, when he spoke with A Better Way Belgians farm owner Hutch Hamilton, who told Oliver there were still farms out there for sale.

Then one day while riding his bike on the canal path, Oliver saw a “For Sale” sign at a property he passed all the time. It was a long process, but in 1997 he finally purchased the horse farm and renamed it Normandy Horse Farms.

“It was just the beauty of it—a calm place between the canal and the river and next to the bike path,” he says. “It had everything. I love being near nature, and it had that old colonial feel. It’s such a special place for me.”

GALLOPING TO SUCCESS

When When Oliver bought the property, he took over the business of boarding horses. Right now, he boards seven horses, but the stables hold up to 15. All of the horses’ owners are located in a 15-mile radius of the farm.

The previous farm owner was a popular horse trainer in the area, and her daughter mentored Oliver on how to work with the animals. Oliver says he grew up around horses and is constantly reading and learning about them. He still holds a full-time job auditing but does all the work on the farm himself.

“The horses are just incredible animals; they are so intelligent and peaceful,” Oliver says. “Every day I muck the stalls, make sure everybody is secure at night, feed them—and all of those jobs complement my regular work schedule. It’s my exercise for the day; I don’t view it as extra work.”

Oliver also inherited experienced horse owners who knew how to care for and train their animals. He says some newer owners he has worked with over the years are looking for instant gratification when they purchase a horse. He emphasizes that it takes a lot of patience and repetition to train a horse, and financial investments in proper safety measures and types of feeding are important. In fact, Oliver spends a lot of time protecting his fields so the horses have safe grass to eat at all times.

On a typical day, Normandy Horse Farms is like its own small community. You can see Oliver riding his tractor, horses roaming in their paddocks and sheep having full reign of the property. And of course, the horse owners come to see their gorgeous animals and spend time with them. Oliver says some owners like to ride on the towpath, in horse arenas on his property or in the pasture area of the farm.

Bucks County resident Julia Karasinski has owned her rescue horse Polka for four years. She opted to be a self-care owner, so she’s here every day to take care of Polka, feed her, clean her stall and ride her.

“This is a great place to board,” Karasinski says. “Polka is my heart horse, and because she’s a rescue, I really like the open greenery and open land, so she’s outside all the time. [The farm is] also the perfect place because of its location and accessibility to the canal. Tom is really laid back and makes it easy to board here and be with my horse.”

TIES TO THE PAST

In addition to the horses, there are sheep and goats on the farm. Oliver also discovered there is a ton of history tied to this land.

Through his research and information provided by previous homeowners, he learned that this was an original William Penn land grant farm. William Penn owned the property and sold it to one of the first settlers in the area.

Originally there was a log cabin, but it was replaced by a stone house. Today you can see remnants of field stone and quarried stone where the original barn stood. Years ago, Oliver found a book at an auction house about the Battle of Trenton that shows where artillery was held during the Revolutionary War, and he believes the location matched up to the old barn.

“There were many troops encamped on this property, [and] the prior owners found a lot of cannonballs and New Jersey militia buttons [here],” Oliver says. “It was definitely where troops during the Revolutionary War encamped, probably before the Crossing.”

The farm started as a crop farm growing wheat, barley and corn, then transitioned into horses in the 1960s. Unfortunately, the main house and the barn burned down during that time. But what has withstood the test of time is a large Sycamore tree, which is over 500 years old.

Oliver named the farm Normandy because his father was in the Navy and they spent a lot of time in Europe while Oliver was growing up. Oliver was always fascinated by the invasion of Normandy, so he wanted to commemorate the D-Day landing and the veterans who fought there. After giving it the new name, he discovered an unbelievable coincidence.

“The pine trees that line my path to the canal bridge, they’re very old and beautiful,” he says. “When the prior owner saw that I named the property Normandy Horse Farms, she said she was told by the owners before her that they planted the pine trees on June 6, 1944. When they finished planting, they came in for lunch and it was announced on the radio that the Allied Expeditionary Force landed in Normandy.”

A SPECIAL PLACE TO SHARE

One of Oliver’s future goals is to verify that the old barn definitely stored Revolutionary War cannons and then apply for a grant to restore the barn.

Although he privately owns the farm, he is willing to share the beauty of his 16-17 acres with any interested community members. He gives tours and provides information about the animals and the farm’s history.

“When I have people come to the farms, it’s for agricultural purposes and to learn about the horses, sheep and goats,” he says. “I hope they take away what it was like back in the day when there were no cars and it was simpler. Upper Makefield Township is such a beautiful area and so environmentally diverse. So when people see the land, they can see why I just think the farming life is a good life.”

BY DARI KOTZKER