Old Salem Farm has scored another successful season, doubling both its Westchester and Fairfield audience and sponsorship for autumn”™s American Gold Cup in its second year of hosting the prestigious equestrian World Cup qualifier.
But the 120-acre farm ”“ known not only for boarding horses but also presenting the elegant Spring Horse Shows ”“ is not one to rest on its laurels. Instead, it jumped at the chance to acquire neighboring Grand Central Farm for $14.9 million.
The 286-acre property, about a minute drive from Old Salem Farm, was once owned by Paul Greenwood, a hedge fund manager and former North Salem town supervisor who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud in 2009 and whose assets were thus seized by the court for liquidation to make restitution. Ironically, Old Salem Farm was once his as well.
“We look at this as a strategic move. It”™s a spectacular property,” Alan Bietsch, Old Salem”™s facilities manager, said of Grand Central. “It has wonderful turnout (pastures). The former owner used it for breeding, so it has vet rooms and gives us more opportunity to expand existing operations.”
The acquisition comes at a time when Old Salem Farm has increased its national and international audience. On Sept. 22, a week after the Gold Cup, NBC presented a program on its $200,000 Grand Prix, which the Fédération Equestre Internationale had designated a CSI 4*-W World Cup qualifier, making it key for those hoping to compete at the 2014 World Cup Finals in Lyon, France.
The event drew more than 4,000 people, with sponsors spilling onto the Grand Prix field. The cup was expected to add some $6 million to the region”™s coffers, part of the $2.4 billion equestrian industry in New York state.
What was gratifying for Old Salem, which is owned by the Hakim family, is that “we attracted people who had never ever come to a horse show,” Bietsch said.
Building on that, he said, the next step is to take stock of Grand Central Farm, a complex that includes a “spectacular” barn, staff housing, a caretaker”™s cottage and a riding ring that lies in North Salem and in Southeast in Putnam County.
“We”™re looking at older existing buildings and cleaning it up,” Bietsch said. “We”™re looking forward to operating it and being a good neighbor.”
