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This weekend (Sept. 21-22), check out three significant equestrian spots in Woodside and Portola Valley on a tour curated by local real estate agent Don DeFranco. Included on the tour are the Folger Stable Historic Site at Wunderlich Park (4040 Woodside Road, Woodside), Spring Down Equestrian Center (725 Portola Road, Portola Valley) and a private estate at 1240 Westridge Drive, Portola Valley, which includes a Barnmaster stable and is currently on the market (DeFranco is the listing agent and the property is having its open house during the event).
Folger Stable is part of what was formerly the estate of the Folger family (as in the coffee brand), and visitors can tour the Carriage Room Museum, dedicated to local history. Spring Down is a longtime equestrian center offering riding programs for students of all levels and ages and will eventually be donated to the local equestrian community, DeFranco said. The private home on Westridge Drive includes equestrian facilities, and has served as the base for many educational activities for Portola Valley Pony Club, a volunteer-run organization teaching equestrian skills, according to DeFranco.
DeFranco, who grew up in Kentucky and has long ties to the equestrian community, said he has a “deep love and respect for really beautiful stables and barns.” But it’s not just about the buildings themselves.
“I’m almost like an evangelist for the horse world. I really believe in the connection between horses and people, and especially young children,” he said. Learning to work with and care for horses “teaches empathy and it teaches responsibility,” he said, speaking from personal experience. And especially for shy and introverted children, it can bring them out of their shell and give them lifelong confidence. “I was one of those kids, and today I am not,” he said with a laugh. He believes spending time outdoors working with horses, rather than glued to social media, is beneficial for mental health, – something he feels is needed more and more, especially in fast-paced Silicon Valley.
He founded the organization Equestrian Legacy to emphasize and celebrate the area’s equestrian heritage. The weekend’s event helps showcase that community, he said.
In addition to seeing the sites themselves, there also will be equine art by local artists and local history exhibitions on view. Folger Stable will feature art by Robyn Drake, Katherine Basso, Elizabeth Parashis and information on Why Worry Farm and Lurline Matson Roth. Spring Down will host artist Lynda Mason, while the Westridge Drive property will feature historical information on the Pony Club and Los Altos Hounds, according to the event flyer.
DeFranco, who’s produced equine art shows before, says a love of horses and, relatedly, of equine art, is multigenerational, and brings people together. “You never outgrow that. You might have been a kid supposed to be doing your math homework and you were drawing ponies instead,” he said.
The event is free, self-paced and open to the public, and DeFranco, who is also on the board of the nonprofit organization Friends of Huddart and Wunderlich Parks, sees it as akin to an artist open-studios weekend. He already has venues in mind for future tours later this autumn.
“You can pop in and pop out; you can go to one or you can go to all three,” he said.
Historic Stables & Art Tour, Sept. 21-22, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Folger Stable (4040 Woodside Road, Woodside), Spring Down Equestrian Center (725 Portola Road, Portola Valley), 1240 Westridge Drive, Portola Valley; free. For more information, contact Don DeFranco at don.defranco@compass.com.
This version corrects information on Spring Down Equestrian Center.
