Barrington Hill farm will expand to more acreage from its smaller confines in Hillsborough.
By JAMES THORNER
Published October 7, 2004
DARBY - On the edge of Hillsborough County's ritzy Cheval neighborhood, Barrington Hill has created an enclave for kids and adults fond of riding, jumping, showing and breeding horses.
But the horse farm has run out of room in the suburbs and is reaching into rural Pasco County for relief.
Starting next spring, Barrington owner Alicia Padro wants to create an outpost for equestrian events on 49 acres of pasture stretching east of Interstate 75 to Lake Iola Road.
She bought the land in April for $700,000. It's in Darby, off the beaten track, but only three minutes from the northernmost Pasco interchange on I-75 and an hour south of Florida's horse raising capital, Ocala.
"It's as close as you can get to Ocala without being in Ocala," said Padro, who has run Barrington Hill and a complementary day school on Lutz Lake Fern Road for five years. "It's got a creek, it's got ponds, it's got gorgeous grandfather oaks."
A childhood horse afficionado herself, Prado grew up on a Maryland farm where her mother mixed riding lessons with running a day school.
Later she was hired to run the equestrian program at Cheval, where many monied families encourage their kids into the saddle. Five years ago, she and husband Alberto started Barrington Academy, a day school. It sits next to Barrington Hill, the horse farm.
Barrington vouches for the educational benefits of horses. Equestrian sports teach respect, empathy, etiquette and other good behavior, Padro said. "It gets kids out of the malls and off the streets," she said.
With its northward Pasco expansion, Barrington expects to fill a vacuum caused by the recent collapse of Cypress Trails, an equestrian business in Odessa.
The eight acres on Lutz Lake Fern just isn't roomy enough. The Darby site allows much more room for cross-country trail riding and hosting horse shows.
"I expect we will pull people all the way from Ocala to Sarasota," Padro said. "It's a great location."
