Queen Hive Farm

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Welcome to Queen Hive Farm, the Eastern Shore’s Royal Place to Ride. Located just minutes from Chincoteague Island, we specialize in riding instruction and boarding, as well as trail riding for both local residents and visitors to the area.

For our regular students, we also offer Trail Club, parades, beach rides, off-farm trail rides and much more! In addition, we are involved with horse rescue, and several of our lesson horses and ponies have been saved from slaughter pens. Take a ride on one of them and learn more about what’s involved with rescuing a horse.

Beau Rescued

Beau was our first rescued horse. In April 2009, we learned through a Morgan rescue group about Beau, a 15-year-old former Amish carriage driving horse that had aged out of his job and sold through auction. Unfortunately, a horse-slaughter dealer bought him, and he was scheduled to ship to a Canadian slaughterhouse in a few days. Since I had just lost my best beginner lesson horse, also a Morgan, due to her old age, my clients (and a bunch of their friends that I didn’t even know) pitched in money to buy Beau from the dealer.

Beau has turned out to be an excellent beginner lesson horse for children and adults. We’ve used him in lessons, parades, trail rides and carriage-driving lessons. Our great experience with Beau led Queen Hive Farm to consider other slaughter-bound horses as possibilities for lesson horses and horses for students who were ready to buy their own horses.

Esprit de Lark

Year after year, breeders return their mares to this exceptional stallion. They know their foals will reflect the style, intelligence and winning appearance Esprit always sires.

FCF Esprit de Lark has made his mark on the Morgan world. And now he can make his mark on yours!

Blessed with extreme natural action and upheadedness, dynamic hocks,exquisite face, and a perfect gentleman’s disposition, Esprit is the horse that mare owners want to reproduce. And they do. Esprit is one of the most consistent sires anywhere.

He is by Waseeka’s Skylark, one of the breed’s winningest stallions and full brother to Waseeka’s Moonshot, Waseeka’s Killarney, Waseeka’s Joy and Waseeka’s Charm.

Esprit De lark is backed by a family of winners producing winners. Sire of numerous World and National Champions including FCF Val d’Isere, Stonecroft Esprit, FCF Capestranno, FCF Dearest Illusion, FCF Angelo, FCF Capezio, FCF Passion, JW Romance, Absolut Appeal, FCF Protege, FCF Lantanna and many others.

JW Millionaire

JW Millionaire is one of the well-known Morgans at Queen Hive Farm. Holder of six World and National Championship titles, JW Millionaire also won numerous Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice awards during his show-ring career in the 1990s.

Owned by QHF co-owner/trainer Jennifer Cording since he was a yearling, JW Millionaire (barn name: Bucky) is now enjoying semi-retirement at Queen Hive Farm, where he’s mostly found eating (his favorite pastime) or helping Jennifer to lead the trail rides.

Trainer and Philosophy

Farm Philosophy

It is the goal at Queen Hive Farm to teach our students the rewards of skilled riding and the proper handling of horses. Few joys in life can compare with a harmonious relationship between rider and horse. Of course, there are responsibilities associated with riding and handling horses, and we teach those skills as well. Respect and proper care for the animal are paramount at Queen Hive Farm.

We know our students want to learn more about horses and riding – and to have a good time doing it. Therefore, we strive to make every experience fun and educational. However, we must emphasize that no skill is learned overnight. A beginner can’t “learn to ride” in a month, or even a year. In fact, even an equestrian with 20 or 30 years of riding experience doesn’t know it all. Learning to ride is a never-ending journey with many challenges and infinite rewards. At Queen Hive Farm, we are happy to share the journey with you.

About the instructor/trainer:

Jennifer Cording is a Shore native with nearly 35 years of riding and horse-care experience. She learned the basics of hunt seat, saddle seat and western riding, and the art of showing horses, under longtime local instructor Mary Ann Bradley.

As a young adult, Jennifer furthered her education in the hunt seat and saddle seat disciplines under Kathleen Peeples of New Jersey and Scott Thacker of North Carolina, both world-caliber trainers and instructors with multiple world and national championships to their credit. Kathleen showed Jennifer’s home-trained Morgan, JW Millionaire, to six national and world titles in 1996 and 1997. Jennifer has extensive show-ring experience and has won on a regional level. She has trained numerous horses of many breeds, including green and very young horses.A bachelor’s degree in education and several years of classroom teaching experience add to her ability in instructing riders. Jennifer combines the skills she has learned from many people (and horses!) to teach her students and train her horses. She believes there is no single “right” way to teach a rider or a horse, as long as the result is respectful and successful for both and does no harm to either.

Trail Rides

What is the cost of the ride?

$65 each for one or two riders; $60 each for three or more riders.

What does the ride include?

A tutorial, brief practice in the ring, the trail.

How long is the ride?

The trail is approximately 40 minutes. Plan for an hour experience counting the tutorial and practice.

Is experience necessary?

No experience is necessary. This is a beginner-level, walk-only ride.

Can children ride?

We take out kids as young as 4 on a small pony. Small children will be accompanied by a helper on the trail.

What will I see?

The ride is half woods, half fields. It’s a tour around the perimeter of the farm. We often see white-tailed deer, Eastern bluebirds, hawks and other animals.

How do I book?

All rides are by reservation only. A deposit is required. The deposit is refundable outside of 24 hours or in case of unrideable weather. Texting Jennifer is best because we often are in the saddle; email is second-best. Phone messages will be returned when possible.

Boarding

Full Board

Includes 12′ x 12′ matted stall, with pine pelleted bedding; daily pasture turnout; grain and hay; supplements/medications administered; riding ring; wash stall with hot/cold water; temperature-controlled tack room; and client bathroom in barn.

$350 per month.

Extra charge for extra feed and/or bedding. $2 per blanketing fee.

$10 fee to hold horse for farrier, vet or dentist.

Reduced Board

Includes 12′ x 12′ matted stall, with pine pelleted bedding (in bad weather); full-time pasture turnout; grain and hay;

$275 per month.

Extra charge for extra feed and/or bedding. $2

Field Board

Includes full-time turnout and once daily feeding.

$220 per month.

Text: 757-990-0017

Email: [email protected]

What is the address?

11172 Atlantic Road, Assawoman, VA (sometimes comes up as Temperanceville).