Verida Farm is a beautiful and peaceful facility dedicated to letting horses be horses.

Here they will live and/or recuperate in a caring and quiet environment.

There are several acres of open pasture for those who wish to have their horses live out full time and there are 19 stalls ranging from 10' x 10', 12' x 12', and two foaling stalls, for those who wish to have their horses stalled part of the day and for the lay-ups. Each stall has a Dutch door front and window for your horse’s comfort, visibility and ventilation. These stalls are bedded with straw on a clay base. There are also three medical paddocks for the recuperating equine.

Verida Farm’s 24 hour on-site, conscientious and well-motivated staff provide greater safety and monitoring for the retired or recovering equine and peace of mind for the owner.

Where did the name come from? 'Verida' was created by Michele's father, Tom Brennan.  When she was living in Kentucky, she needed a name for her farm there.  "I called my father, the creative one, and after a couple of days he came up with 'Verida Farm'.  Vermont for where I am from, and Florida for where my husband, Chip, is from."

 

VERIDA FARM STAFF

Penny L. Tomka has been a resident of Poughquag, NY for some twenty-five years. She is very happily married, with two orange cats. Her passions include animals, photography and writing, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and, of course, Verida Farm. You can view some of Penny's photography in our Gallery section, and visit her website at http://www.pltphotography.com.

Helen Peparo has been an equestrian since she was a little girl and has now been at Verida Farm for the past four years.  She enjoys training and competing her six-year-old thoroughbred, Reign, which Michele hand-pickedfor her two years ago, and could not be happier. "Verida is such an amazing farm...it is truly a wonderful getaway from the typical stable atmosphere. Here, it is truly all about the horses. The greatest asset of the farm, by far, is Michele’s vast knowledge and willingness to share it with the people around her.  I look forward to many more years at this farm watching my horse, Spec, enjoy his retirement."

Aaron Purdy was born and raised in Lakeville, CT, and grew up around all sorts of animals. He had his first job at the ripe age of 12 at a dairy farm down the road from his house. His mother owned two horses herself, so Aaron has always had a great love for horses. He graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 2000, where he took many agricultural classes. Aaron moved to Rhinebeck in 2003 where he got a job at Buttonwood Farm. He also worked on a few beef farms in the area, but his love for the horses called him back to work at Verida Farm. When Aaron was younger, he wanted to be a farrier. His dream is to own his own team of draft horses that he could develop into a logging team. He would really like to thank his mother for giving him all his knowledge of horses!

Fern Blair has been a happy volunteer at Verida Farm since February, 2007.  As a lifelong horse lover, Verida has been the answer to a dream of working with horses and finally owning her own horse.  In November, 2009, Fern became the proud adopter of A. J. Awesome, an off-the-track thoroughbred. And yes, A.J. is awesome!  Fern lives in Bethel, CT with her very significant other, Duke Hart. Fern has two daughters, Nicole and Michelle,  three granddaughters, Alexandra, Kylie and Madison as well as  four German Shepherd dogs - Elke, Asja, Rocky and Apollo - and three cats - Rudy, Bela and Mitzi.  It is all about family - both two legged and four ! 

Thank you, Michele, for allowing me to have so much fun with the horses!

Marie Boalt started working with Michele five years ago. Knowing nothing about the world of horses, she has grown to be a fine asset to the farm and in the office. She resides in Stormville with her husband, Jeff, two children and their dog. As long as Michele keeps the jar filled with York Peppermint Patties, she’ll keep coming back!

Danny Carroll came to me one April afternoon after hearing from a mutual friend that I was looking for help on the farm. He told me he could only work until September because he would be going to boot camp. He had been working for an electronics company but wanted to work on a farm for the summer to start getting in shape for the next step of his life's journey.

Danny proved to be very dedicated to this dream that he had. He worked long and hard in the summer heat to build up his stamina mentally and physically. I think we are all very fortunate to have had Danny in our lives even if for a short time. We are also very lucky that someone like him has chosen to serve for our country.

Danny, all your friends here at Verida Farm wish you the very best and a big THANK YOU!