Horse hacienda
Jan. 1—For lifelong horse lover Patty Carter, her horses always come first. It's no surprise that she built her stables on the 25-acre parcel of land in the La Tierra Nueva neighborhood before she and her husband, Pat, even thought about the house.
"We installed this tiny little house to live in while the stables were being built," explains Pat, a former music producer who worked with the likes of Johnny Cash, Steve Earle and Guy Clark (whom he describes as "the Bob Dylan of country music"). "For years people thought this [the stables we were building] was our main house."
Who could blame them? Patty confesses that she went a little overboard when building the Hacienda-style horse facilities that include a three bedroom and a one-and-a-half bath caretaker residence. The entire structure is roofed with 100-year-old terracotta shingles imported from Spain. "You can't get them any longer," Patty says, explaining that the Spanish government banned their export once they recognized their value and historical significance.
Scrolled wrought-iron gates open to an enclosed courtyard where a stone-and-tile water fountain sits in the center of domed walls supported by travertine brick columns. The walls are made with stucco-coated concrete and there is a walkway that follows along the U-shaped courtyard. Horse stalls with arched openings and whitewashed wood doors line the outer border of the walkway and open to the courtyard. Rubberized flooring in the center of a herringbone-pattern brick floor prevents the horses from slipping. The heavy, carved wooden doors are the only element of the structure susceptible to fire.
"I've seen too many barns burn down over the years," says Patty. "I didn't want any wood in this place." She and her builder, Mark Skoog of E Builders Inc., kept safety first and foremost in their mind when conceptualizing the plans. They decided that there were enough fire-retardant elements overall that wood doors would not cause a fire to spread. There is also a sprinkler system and 24/7 camera monitoring. The horses enjoy air-conditioned stalls in the summer, and high-wattage lighting provides warmth in the winter, as do an assortment of blankets for each horse. "I have probably 30 blankets in the storage room," says Patty, who once lived with horses in Sun Valley, Idaho, where the winter temperatures dropped low. "Each horse has three or four blankets, depending on the temperature and weather."
The Carters spared no expense and went all out with many features, including the tack room. It has 10-foot-high ceilings and earth-toned Venetian plaster walls. Custom cabinetry with dark wood drawers and a marble countertop, conceals grain bins. A wall of saddles and miscellaneous tack is next to the powder room. Horse blankets line the walls in the two-car garage. "No stone went unturned," Patty says.
The area designated for the horses is situated below the main house, which sits atop the highest point of the Carters' acreage. The stables are somewhat hidden in the hillside, which creates a sense of privacy for the couple and inhibits the wind. In addition, there are several paddocks with open-sided sheds for shelter, a large outdoor arena, fenced-off turn-out areas for the horses to run and play, plus an obstacle course they build each spring that remains until the winter months. Next year they are hosting a pre-rodeo event for the Santa Fe Rodeo at the property, which they are thrilled to do. "We love the rodeo," Patty says. "I think they're planning to do the judging for the Rodeo Queen competition here."
A true horse woman, Patty says that when a horse joins their herd, it's forever. This year, they added a quarter horse named Scooter and a spotted saddle horse, a cross between a Tennessee Walker and a Paint, named Lineman. "I call him Lovely Lineman. He's just so sweet," she says. "I can't imagine a life without horses."
Horse barn heaven
