In Harmony with the Horses
By Tara Kelly
Photos by Ryan Lavine
A visitor to Equinox Farm knows they’re in horse country long before the winding drive deposits them at the barn door. Fields with inviting cross-country jumps give way to large paddocks with horses contentedly grazing, and rows of ornamental maples screening the complex of buildings nestled at the base of a small hill.
Located in the hamlet of Bethel, part of Pine Plains, the farm is the home of Ian Michaels and his husband, Paul Buboltz. It was the realization of Michaels’ dream to live in a house attached to the stables, attached to the indoor arena. And it was created to be a haven; a place of rest and refuge. Though looking after, exercising, and training upwards of 20 horses is not what most people think of as rest.
Michaels, an equine veterinarian, and a member of the Millbrook Hunt, specializes in selling imported Irish fox hunting horses. When he started his horse sales business, more than 45 years ago, he imported predominantly Canadian warmbloods. In the middle of the pandemic, with extra time on his hands, Michaels made connections in Ireland. Now he works with dozens and dozens of backyard breeders and a handful of professional sellers in Ireland, importing the best of what he finds.
Michaels and Buboltz met during the winter of 2002. “When I showed up, there was nothing here, except a hay barn, paddocks, and a run-in shed for the horses. Ian was living in a camper on the property during the construction process,” says Buboltz. Maybe that’s where the inspiration for the house attached to the barn came from. “After all, what could be better on a cold winter morning when you have to feed horses, but to get up, walk through the mudroom, and into the barn?” It took a few years before the builders had everything Michaels envisioned up and running, and since then the two of them have been refining, tweaking, and improving. The latest addition is a design studio for Buboltz.
For 25 years, Buboltz had his interior design studio, the Paul Frederick Co., in Hudson. It started as a workroom to create soft goods (window treatments, cushions, bed and table linens). “The interior design part naturally grew out of that,” he says. “The majority of my business comes as referrals from existing clients and a couple of the major antique dealers in Hudson. Having my studio here certainly lessens the commute and makes me more available for life on the farm jobs.”
Buboltz grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, “So this feels a little like my lovely childhood.” He doesn’t ride, but he is comfortable around horses. “I love the animal husbandry aspect of life on the farm, and I oversee the landscaping.” That means tending the perennial flower garden and the planters that adorn most of the entrances, and the dozens of pots that fill the pergola area off the kitchen. “We usually have lunch out there, with whomever is at the farm—the farrier, the barn help, and often customers, who’ve come to look at a horse or two.”
It’s the outside dining area that most embodies Michaels’ approach to life. The importance of relaxing with friends, of taking time out of a busy day to cook and enjoy a meal together—to truly connect with people. Visitors may arrive to try a horse, but whether they buy or not, they inevitably leave as friends. Guests at dinnertime are often treated to the sound of the horses snuffling in their stalls nearby, as they gaze out on a landscape unseen from the road. It is not a stretch to say that Michaels and Buboltz have created, in Equinox Farm, their own little Shangri-la. —irishhorsesusa.com
