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)
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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.
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