Back to Pony Power!

By Laura Krok-Horton, Associate Designer

Rachel, Keith and I had a successful 2-day visit to Pony Power this week, our favorite therapeutic horse farm in Mahwah, NJ. We’ve worked with Pony Power since 2016 and always love reconnecting with their amazing crew and programming. This trip focused on re-energizing the design process for a 6-acre educational farm which had been put on hold due to Covid. Together with staff and donors, we revisited the goals of the project, reviewed the site plan, walked the land together, and heard how staff have been using the space in the 2-year interim.

When the pandemic put farm fundraising plans and work on hold, our team shifted focus and created a variety of raised bed designs using recycled materials for staff to trial. Today those beds are bursting with productive plants – and that initially unplanned trial period has given our team valuable feedback for our next round of accessible farm design. The future design will include a variety of elements that focus on education and accessibility so that all wheels and feet are on the ground working with plants and seeing where our food comes from. One of our favorite parts was seeing the horse manure becoming compost – a reminder that Pony Power is truly powered by their horses!