Quentin Riding Club

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Nestled in the lush Pennsylvania "Dutch" farmlandsare the estates of families whose forbearers owned the mines, ore pits and furnaces that produced artillery, shot and stoves for Washington's army. In 1972, storm waters of Hurricane Agnes flooded the mines, which were closed after two centuries of productivity. Some of the mansions of the founders' families are gone or were converted to other uses, and piece by piece, their orchards, pastures and croplands have yielded to suburban sprawl. But one parcel has become a unique recreation center, Quentin Riding Club. To this farm the Colemans imported America's first Hackney horses, the fine carriage animals that moved England's aristocracy in the mid-nineteenth century. The farm included stables with box stall doors made from 3-inch oak. Hinges were made from wrought iron and latches were formed from recessed brass. Mountain spring water was piped to each stall and to hand-hewn stone watering troughs. There were blacksmith shops, carriage sheds, isolation barns for mares in foal, tack rooms, grooms' offices and small animal shelters, all surrounding an 18-room home occupied by the manager and including a detached office building for the business staff of the Estates. Local businessmen purchased the facility for their prize steeds in 1934 and later enrolled social members to help defray the operating costs.

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