104 SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Fabulous Farm — South Carolina
Stable View barn
A Little Piece of Heaven
By Dani Moritz
W
hile searching for a place to retire in Aiken, South
Carolina, Cyndy and Barry Olliff struck gold —
ultimately finding the perfect property not only for their
retirement, but something much greater. The Olliffs found the
perfect spot to establish a new international training facility.
They named the farmStable View, and the 164 acres surrounded
by conservation land, originally built for the Sage Valley Hunt Club,
came equipped with high-quality construction and strategically
positioned buildings, including kennels for the dogs and a work
shed — all on a beautiful landscape with stunning views.
It wasn’t difficult to see the potential for a world-class facility.
“We’ve taken this infrastructure and used it as a template for a
modern training center,” Cyndy explained. “We’ve continued
to spread out the facilities as we’ve developed them. This has
been undertaken with the intention of providing a quiet, efficient
and stress-free equine environment from both a practitioner and
spectator’s perspective.”
Since purchasing the property in 2010, they’ve added a 300
x 250-foot covered arena, on-site accommodations, stalls, two
new barns and an irrigated cross-country course. In addition,
they converted the existing four large pastures into 35 half-acre
paddocks to complement every stall on the property and are
currently working on an outdoor arena and hacking trail.
The cross-country course, which includes bank complexes,
ditches, a sunken road and many portable jumps, was designed
by none other than Captain Mark Phillips and was built by Eric
Bull. When asked what it was like working with the eventing king,
Barry described the experience as “brilliant.” He added, “He’s very
detailed and spends a lot of time looking at the topography.”
Stable View has already hosted dressage and combined
training shows and a Jimmy Wofford eventing clinic. Eventers
will get their first taste of its cross-country course in September
for Stable View’s first USEF-recognized horse trial with divisions
ranging from beginning novice to preliminary.
The Olliffs hope this is just the beginning of a bright competitive
future for Stable View as they attempt to create a gathering place
for all the best equestrians — a very viable goal as the United
States Eventing Team has already used the facility for its training
sessions during the winters of 2013 and 2014.
They’ve also developed a community outreach program. “We
A rider enjoying a winter hack
Photos by Shelly Marshall Schmidt,
unless noted otherwise
