The farm was gutted by an arson fire in November, the second fire in 14 months. The first fire caused major damage to the indoor arena and stables, but no loss to life. This year’s fire destroyed the entire stable and arena and claimed the lives of 15 show horses. Despite the tragedy, Nobodaddy Farm is up and running and looking ahead.

Nobodaddy Farm is, by name and nature, "everybody’s farm." According to owner, Beth McCann, "the name came from a term from the 1800s. It was actually the title of a poem by William Blake. To me, it means everybody. When I started the farm and had my goals and dreams for what I wanted to see, I wanted it to be everybody’s farm."And it is. The farm offers various riding lessons for all stages of equestrians, beginner to advanced; they board horses and train for horse shows, and operate the Rainbow Connection Equine Center—a therapeutic riding program for impaired and disadvantaged children and adults.

"Like any sport, it’s really a matter of time and money," McCann notes. And Nobodaddy is more than willing to work with all kinds of budget constraints. "We have a kind of barter system. Some people help us take care of the horses in exchange for riding time. It all goes along with the whole goal of the farm, which is to be able to make horses more affordable to people. By having people help us out, it allows us not to have to hire workers, which helps keep our prices down, and thus allows more people to be able to get involved."

In fact, McCann adds, some people even share in the owning of their horse. "We’ve been here over 11 years, which has enabled us to pool people together—if someone can make the initial investment for the horse, but can’t keep up with the day-to-day costs, we can match them with another individual who is interested in splitting the bills on the horse."

Sharing the horses has taken on new meaning since the fire. "A lot of these people had saved for years in order to be able to buy a horse and it was their first horse, so they can’t just go out and buy a new horse, so we’re sharing the surviving horses so that everyone can keep riding."

Unfortunately, due to their owner’s budget constraints, many of the horses whose lives were lost were uninsured. McCann explains that "there’s always a risk in owning horses, but you do your best to take care of them, and when you have a good management program, someone who lives right there with them all the time, it’s rare that you lose a life."

McCann and friends of the Farm have established a trust fund to help the owners whose horses perished in the fire. The Nobodaddy Farm Memorial Horse Trust Fund has been set up to help those who lost horses, purchase new ones.

"Almost half of the horses died; horses whose owners actually mucked their own horse stalls to make their board more affordable. Most working very hard to do it on a budget." McCann explains, "Now most of them will not be able to own horses again if we can’t help them out."

If McCann sounds passionate about her responsibility, it’s because horses are her life. "I started riding lessons and mucking stalls at a local farm when I was about 12 years old. I got my first horse when I was 15," she recalls. "After studying animal husbandry at Penn State University, I worked at three different farms in exchange for being taught by trainers how to ride, teach and manage a barn. I then got the opportunity to start this farm, through the help and investment of my father."

Nobodaddy Farm began as a six-stall barn. A few years later, an indoor arena with 22 stalls was added. Next came an addition with 16 more stalls. Most recently, McCann started the therapeutic side of the business. "I didn’t come here and say, I know how I’m gonna do this.’ I just set up the ideals as to what I wanted the farm to become," she notes. "I’ve been continuing my education the entire time, through reading and working with more experienced trainers. The horse world is really neat in that way. Other farms will keep helping each other. Most people involved in horses want to see all of us be able to get better and better. It’s just a fun thing to be able to pass along."

So, of course, McCann won’t let tragedy keep her from her passion. She hopes to start rebuilding by the end of January. "A lot of it will depend on the weather," she observes. "We have an excellent construction crew. They were very fast last year. We didn’t lose the whole building last year and the fire was earlier in the year. It’s gonna be a lot harder this year. A lot, lot harder."

To contribute to the Nobodaddy Farm Memorial Horse Trust Fund, send your donation to the Fund in care of Harris Savings Bank, 1161 Mae Street, Hershey, PA 17033, or call Nobodaddy Farm at 717-469-0783 for more information.

Your help is greatly appreciated.