Bramblewood Stables
est. 2005
Lavender Hill Farm
est. 1825
Farm Access Memberships
Why Farmland Matters — and Why Now
In the United States, the landscape of farming is quietly shrinking. In the last five years alone, the number of farms has fallen by about 140,000 — a 7 percent decline — and total farmland acreage continues to contract year after year.
This isn’t a story of productivity or efficiency. It’s a story of places we are losing — soil that once breathed, grazed, and bore life now disappearing under development, economic pressure, and shifting markets. Since 1997, the country has lost roughly 75 million acres of farmland — a reminder that even “working land” is not guaranteed to stay working.
Across the country, fields turn into subdivisions and highways; pastures that once supported grazing and habitat retreat under financial weight. This loss is not abstract. It affects local economies, wildlife, food systems, and the continuity of land that sustains memory, identity, and labor that can’t be replicated once it’s gone.
This page isn’t inviting you to check a box or consume another experience. It’s inviting you to help keep land alive. To stand with something that exists not for spectacle but for soil, animals, seasons, and the quiet fidelity of embodied work.
Lavender Hill is part of that story — a place that has remained a working piece of land across generations not because it was popular or profitable, but because people cared enough to keep it so.
The memberships that follow are more than access to a farm. They are choices to help hold land in the world — to keep soil open, horses tended, and farming possible at a moment when so much of it is slipping away.
Farm members receive regular, scheduled access to Lavender Hill — time that is protected, shared, and held with intention.
This includes being on a working farm during designated access hours, where you’re free to walk the land, sit by the pond, and spend time near the horses through grooming, observation, and quiet presence. You are not expected to arrive with a goal or leave with an outcome. The value is in returning — and in knowing the space will be there when you do.
Farm membership offers a way to experience life with horses from the inside, rather than from the edge. You’re present within the daily structure that holds them — feeding rhythms, turnout patterns, quiet transitions, the way connection is built through consistency and care. Over time, you come to recognize individual horses, their preferences and boundaries, how they relate to one another, and how the day unfolds around their needs. This kind of access isn’t about doing more with horses; it’s about understanding how life with them is actually lived, through proximity, repetition, and shared time.
Members experience the rhythms of a real farm as it moves through weather, seasons, and daily care. You’ll see the same horses across weeks and months, notice how the land shifts, and become familiar with the pace of a place that doesn’t rush to accommodate. Staff are present to hold safety and boundaries, allowing time here to remain calm and respectful for both people and animals.
Membership also includes connection to a community that understands what it means to support farmland directly. Through shared access hours, occasional gatherings, and ongoing communication, members are part of what keeps Lavender Hill accessible to farming — supporting the care of the horses, the maintenance of pasture and soil, and the steady work required to keep land from slipping quietly into something else.
What you receive, in practical terms, is access, continuity, and relationship: a place you’re allowed to return to, time that isn’t measured by productivity, and the opportunity to be part of a working landscape that still depends on human care.
What Farm Member Receive:
Support a working farm through presence and commitment
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Time on the land. Responsibility shared
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Support a working farm through presence and commitment · Time on the land. Responsibility shared ·
Farm Access Membership Levels:
Grounded members are welcomed into two scheduled farm access windows each month to walk the land, sit by the pond, and be near the horses through grooming, observing, or simply being present. This level is for those who value time that can be spacious and unrushed — time that’s held, shared, and allowed to unfold.
Grounded
$95 a month
Rooted members are welcomed into four scheduled farm access windows each month, with time to be on the land and near the horses through grooming, hand-walking, and observation. Rooted also includes invitations to occasional member gatherings and priority access to select workshops and seasonal offerings. This level is for those who value continuity — a place that becomes familiar through presence, repetition, and shared time.
Rooted
$165 a month
Steward members are welcomed into eight scheduled farm access windows each month, with regular time on the land and near the horses through grooming, observing, and shared presence. Steward also includes a quarterly guided farm hour or Respite Session, invitations to steward days focused on land care and seasonal work, and a direct role in helping keep Lavender Hill a working farm well into the future.
Steward
$295 a month
Not everyone is in a season to commit to regular time on the land, and that’s okay. If your connection to this work fits better through reading, reflection, and following the life of the farm from a distance, Stable Roots offers a way to stay close through writing. Subscribing there helps support the work here while allowing you to engage at your own pace, wherever you are. Subscriptions begin at $5 a month.
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Thursdays: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Saturdays: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Sundays: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
These are our preliminary hours based on initial inquiries. We’ll be fine-tuning them as founding members give feedback.
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The process follows these steps:
Review the Land Memberships information
Submit an inquiry
Connect with staff to confirm fit
Schedule orientation time
Complete all required paperwork and waivers
Receive a payment link and confirm membership
Access begins only after these steps are finished.
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Orientation is required for all members, without exception.
It ensures:
Clear expectations around the land and horses
Consistent safety practices
Shared understanding of boundaries and access
This protects the horses, the land, and the community.
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Access depends on membership level:
Grounded: two access windows per month
Rooted: four access windows per month
Steward: eight access windows per month
Access takes place only during the scheduled hours listed above.
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No.
Land Memberships are not a lesson program and do not include riding.Time here is unstructured and presence-based. Interaction with the horses is limited and guided to protect their wellbeing.
If you would like to add lessons and/or Respite sessions to your membership at any time, our members receive preferred scheduling and skip the wait list. Contact us for pricing and details.
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Children who live in a member’s household may attend with their parent, with prior approval.
Important guidelines:
Memberships are held by an individual adult
Children are not members
Children must remain under their parent’s direct supervision at all times
This is not a childcare environment or kids’ program
Interaction with the horses is limited and guided by staff
Membership access is intended for the named member.
Occasional guests may be welcomed at the Steward Member level with advance notice and within capacity, but access is not transferable. Guest interaction with the horses is limited.
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All members agree to follow these guidelines:
Follow staff guidance at all times
No feeding horses without permission
No entering paddocks or stalls unless invited by staff
No running, chasing, or loud behavior near horses
Closed-toe shoes are required
Children remain supervised at all times
Respect posted signs and access boundaries
We reserve the right to pause or limit access if safety guidelines are not followed.
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Memberships are limited.
This allows the farm to remain calm, safe, and sustainable for the horses and the people who care for them. -
That’s exactly why we start with conversation, not checkout.
If you have questions or want to talk it through, we’re happy to connect before any decisions are made.