Once again the Prancing Horse therapeutic riding program will present a 2009 Horse Farm Tour featuring nearby farms.

Last year's tour attracted over 600 Sandhills residents.

"The planning committee has created a great variety of venues and horse breeds this year--guaranteed to interest the general public, as well as seasoned equestrians," said a spokesman.

This year's tour is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18.

Loch Hurst Farm

Paula and Robert Johnson have worked diligently for two years on their 50-acre Loch Hurst (which literally means "lake on a hill") Farm.

Features include a large pond with fountain and gazebo, a barn/hunt box, a bed and breakfast cottage, and an indoor arena. An outdoor arena, complete with end mirrors, pastures surrounded by Elecrobraid fencing, and a hunter jumper course are also located on the property.

A Sport Horse clinic will be given by Linda Hoover, weather permitting.

Dr. Robert Johnson grew up on the family farm in Laurinburg, and the family's love of horses and golf brought them to the area.

The mega-sized, 20x60-meter indoor arena is fitted with shaved rubber and sand footing, and huge 20-inch diameter fans, which can cool the temperature by as much as 30 degrees. Visitors will find many other interesting details at this picturesque site.

Their sabino-colored mare, a KWPN, Unforgettable (bred to Good Times) loves to greet guests. Ten horses currently board in the airy barn, with stalls for 14.

April, a Welsh cross pony, and Osado, a Lusitano, call Loch Hurst home as well.

The Johnsons are dentists who enjoy riding and country living. A peek inside their adjacent bed and breakfast reveals a homey antique-filled yellow cottage where weekenders can find respite at the end of the day.

Up the Creek Farm

Munro Russell is the owner of Up the Creek farm, whose 15 acres abut the Walthour-Moss Foundation.

Russell and Cindy O'Reilly beautifully renovated and restored the Hunt Box, which was "yearling barn" once owned by Pappy and Ginnie Moss.

Longtime local horse people have pleasant memories of these fields and of neighboring farm get-togethers there. Built in the 1940s, the original barn featured feeding entrances on each side, one for cattle and one for yearling thoroughbreds.

Through meticulous planning and creativity, Russell was able to salvage original beadboard, woodwork, barn doors, and unused furniture, and use these to remake and renovate the second-story barn interior into remarkable hunt-box living quarters.

Visitors will be able to see the house and view its unique architectural and design features plus enjoy the scenic view of historic Buchan Field.

A photo retrospective, showing the renovation stages, will be available.

Architects refer to this type of restoration as "re-adaptive," since the function was originally a barn and has been adapted to a residence, which the owners are obviously enjoying.

O'Reilly and Russell are avid carriage drivers. Russell drives black Welsh ponies, and O'Reilly has cross-bred, Thoroughbred-Percheron mares. Carriage demonstrations are planned at this farm, weather permitting. An antique carriage will be on display.

Behind the historic barn/hunt box is a kennel which houses working Jack Russell Terriers, the kind that still seek quarry at sporting events, and are registered with the Jack Russell Terrier Club of America as opposed to the American Kennel Club.

Tickets can be purchased for $15 (in advance) and $20 on the day of the event (children under 12 are admitted free of charge with an adult).

The Equine Health Center, 6045 U.S. 1 North, (across from Hyland Hills), will be the staging area for those wishing to purchase tickets on the day of the event.

Advance tickets are available at: Southern Pines Feed and Supply, Cabin Branch Tack Shop, the Country Bookshop, and The Clothes Horse, Southern Pines; Given Book Shop (Olmsted Village); Poppy's, King's Gifts and Collectibles (Pinehurst Village Theater); and Not Just Linens, Vass.

For more information, call (910) 246-3202 or e-mail prancinghorsecenter@yahoo.com.