B2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 1,1983 Persistence BY SALLY BAIR Staff Correspondent “If you want something bad enough, you can do almost anything.” These are the words of Donna Bean, talking about the 60 120-foot indoor arena which she and her husband, Ned, built this summer for training and riding horses. ‘‘You appreciate something a lot more if you do it yourself,” Donna says. She’s sure to continue to ap preciate the arena, because all the work was done by the “Bean Construction Company,” with the exception of drawing up the plans and having someone set the roof trusses. The addition of the arena to their homestead This 60x120-foot indoor arena was completed this summer by Ned and Donna Bean, and will allow Donna to continue to train horses and give lessons throughout the winter. It will eventually have stalls and a washroom added to both sides of the building to accommodate what Donna hopes will be an expanding business. Donna works with Luv Ta Deck Ya, a gelding purchased by her and her husband. Here she puts the halter on in preparation for a workout. Pays Off for Horse Lover six-acre Horse ‘n Around Farm, north of Manheim, will allow the training and riding lessons to continue through the winter and inclement weather. They hope to add stalls to both sides of the arena which will make room for boarding more horses. Working with horses is something Donna always wanted to do, and she says forthrightly that she never expected that it wouldn’t work out. That’s a pretty positive attitude for someone who grew up on Long Island, far from lush meadows and fertile fields. Nevertheless, her family sup ported her goal by giving her tiding lessons and taking her riding, and today she feels she’s fulfilling that lifelong ambition. Her career was helped by a family move from Long Island to Warren County, Pennsylvania, after she graduated from high school. It was there that she got her first real horse, who is still a favorite. "Candy” was a bred mare Palomina Quarterhorse, and from there, Donna says, "My horse family just grew." She attended Huntlea School in Tennessee where she learned more about riding, training and grooming horses, and also became a certified instructor. When she was an instructor in a riding camp in Ohio, she decided that she wanted Quarterhorses. Why Quarterhorses? "They are versatile and have a good temperament, and other breeds take longer to mature. They are so massive and have good muscling - even as babies you can see the muscling,’’ Donna ex plains. Donna rides both English and western pleasure, and likes to show animals, both for herself and others. From April until October, she travels nearly every weekend to a show. While her husband is not "into showing” as she is, Donna says, "He’s my right hand man, and has been really supportive of this. He likes to pleasure ride.” It’s obvious that he likes horses as much as Donna, because even their wedding took place on hor seback. "It was something Td always wanted to do,” she recalls. In fact, when he popped the question, she told him her dream of being married on a horse, and he agreed then that it was alright. "He thought it was great,” she says. It wasn’t too difficult to find a minister who was willing to per form the ceremony, although the first one they asked turned them down because he was afraid of horses. The bride, groom and attendants were attired in western garb, and following the ceremony at the Bean farm, the reception was held in a restaurant which was a remodeled bam. The cake, naturally, was in the shape of a horseshoe. The honeymoon was a trip to the Quarterhorse Congress. Donna says that once you like horses it gets in your blood, and that seems to be the case with her. (Turn to Page B 4) I S&S**- af > A sri * - jt\ £ Jf&ii A&Jr-r'r ~ ,V' , < 4 ?- <-;hV -.; '*v.^„. ' *„ ** ~k Training horses is the part of the business which Donna would like to expand Here she rides Luv Ta Deck Ya in the new indoor arena, which she and her husband built to allow training and riding lessons to continue year round. The sign and farm name were contributed by Donna’s mother, and the actual construction of the sign was done by her father. It beckons visitors who are always welcome. These two young “babies” are favorite of Donna's. They get lots of opportunity for exercise in the newly ronstructed indoor arena on the property. \v * S ' ? V J % , s
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers