Here are some scenes from a peaceful morning in June at Stephanie Nixon’s Horseshoe Hill Farm in Ashland.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill16-1024x768.jpg)
She currently has about 20 horses that reside on site — five older, retired horses and another 15 Certified ones that are in the new Virginia Residency Bonus program.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill12-1024x768.jpg)
“This time of year, it’s a bit more quiet so we do a lot of repair and maintenance work,” she said. “At the peak time, we’ll have between 40-50 horses here.”
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill3-1024x768.jpg)
Nixon employs three riders and three grooms. The farm features a 3/8ths mile track with a starting gate which she says “Is a big enough oval to break babies on.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill10-1024x767.jpg)
Nixon, who is a first term Commissioner on the Virginia Racing Commission, specializes in breaking, training, stallions, sales preparation and rest/recuperation.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill8-1024x768.jpg)
Horseshoe Hill Farms is off Route 54, several miles west of downtown Ashland and it borders the Hanover Golf Course.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill19-1024x768.jpg)
The second Virginia-Certified bonus winner — courtesy of the new Residency incentive program — was Bird Mobberley’s Maryland-bred No Refunds, (shown below) who spent her six months in Virginia At Horseshoe Hill Farms. Photo courtesy of Jim McCue.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/No-Refunds-LRL-june-30-1024x833.jpg)
Here are several other pictures from Horseshoe Hill.
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill9-1-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill4-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill18-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill14-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill6-1024x768.jpg)
![](https://www.vabred.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/horseshoe-hill13-1024x768.jpg)