MEET THE TEAM
Here at Fountain Greene Farm, we employ a long term devoted team of
professionals. With 10 full time and 9 part time employees, we are able to maintain the optimum ratio of 5 horses to one caretaker. Let us introduce some of the women who will be personalizing the care for your horse:
NANCY
Nancy had a vision 30 years ago that she wanted to develop a farm which
specialized in caring for aging and injured horses. The care would be highly
individualized and the fields would be lush and organic. When the homestead of
Fountain Greene Farm became available she and her husband made the
commitment and relocated to Wake Virginia with its access to 250 acres of
pasture and haying fields. Nancy had competed with some of the top
professionals in the country including the late Kip Rosenthal and maintained her
own barn from an early age. She knew that old horses could be kept fat and
comfortable with the right care. She committed herself to developing a program
that is presently state of the art. It starts with a large highly skilled staff and the
commitment to individualized programs for each equine guest. Horses have their
own spaces and the buddy turnout system. The horses at her farm are safe to
frolic and play and never have the fear of herd harassment. The fields are
annually renewed and maintained. She chose to employ and train qualified
women, ensuring the farm as an important source of local employment. It
requires a village to take good care of a horse and she is committed to this
precept. In addition to her 24/7 life on the farm, she has raised two children.
Molly competed successfully through college on the Mary Washington team and
is a practicing doctor now, still riding when she is not working in the hospital.
Walter represented the United States as the top national lightweight in crew (also
competing at Dartmouth at the college level) and is presently a doctor as well.
Nancy continues to learn and improve as she transitions to a more supervisory
role and hands over the reins to her long term partner Kate and the staff.
KATE
Kate Carey started riding at age 6 on Cape Cod. She followed her love of horses an accomplished Pony Club rider and trained with British Horse Society (Stage 3), completing a barn management and teaching certification. From there, she
apprenticed at dressage farms, Woodcock Hill in CT and Millbrook Equestrian Center in Millbrook NY, competing through 3rd level.
Kate Carey is the managing partner of Fountain Greene. She has contributed to building the business with co-founder Nancy Banfield for the last 25 years and has transitioned to directing the business from billing and supervision to hands on care with her team of horsewomen. Through study and her long term experience, she has worked to develop Fountain Greene as the industry standard.
Kate’s Mission:
Kate Carey not only provides an income to many single mothers and women, but also the farm opens its door to local children to learn about geriatric equine care, a specialty that has been studied and recorded in depth at Fountain Greene. Kate
Carey is also the mother of two girls who both ride and help on the farm on
weekends. Corn, strawberries and tomatoes are harvested on the Fountain Greene Farm property and provided to neighbors. The eggs from the farm’s chickens are boxed and handed out to those in need. The charitable activities of the farm set it apart as a purveyor of good will and hope for the community.
BRIANNA
Brianna loved horses from childhood, spending time on her family’s working farm, riding around on old cow ponies. She convinced her parents to let her ride at age 10 and become an active member of 4-H until she aged out at 18. She spent her spare time working at barns in exchange for board and lessons. She gained experience showing in the American Paint Horse Association. Her complete immersion in the horse world began when she started working at Fountain Greene in 2013. She mentored with Nancy and Kate and studied equine geriatrics and related medical issues at night. She has experienced every level of horse care from foals to 35 year olds. She loves her work and prides herself in the health and happiness of every horse on the farm.
KARA
Kara’s parents had horses when she was born. She began taking lessons and showing hunter ponies early on. She showed most weekends at local shows on her medium welsh, attending 4-H and Pony Club. She later competed in Eventing with an Appendix horse that she trained. During high school she worked at local barns as a groom, barn hand and exercise rider and spent time as a working student with Paul Valliere. She began working at FGF in 2009, a few months after graduating from high school and continued working at the farm while she completed her R.N. degree. In 2019-2020 she trained MacDuff, a Fountain Greene pony, that later qualified for Pony Finals. When she is not working as a nurse in critical care transport, she is helping out at the farm. She is beginning a pony training business in partnership with Fountain Greene to develop top show ponies.
LILLY
Lilly started her career at Fountain Greene Farm in 2016 and has an active role in the daily maintenance of the grounds and personal care of the horses. With 10 years of active experience, she has broadened her horizons from simple care and
maintenance of equines to operating the equipment during haying season. Lilly’s spent 6 years in 4-H, where she focused on honing her equine knowledge in national competitions in Hippology and judging. At the end of her 4-H career, she began working with racehorses. After becoming a certified groom, she spent four
years in the thoroughbred industry, learning how to properly wrap, groom and
ride racehorses. She has transferred the skill she learned on the track to the high
level care of rehab horses at Fountain Greene. In her spare time, she trains her
ex-racehorse and guides the riding of her daughter Marissa.
EMILY
Emily brought a broad range of experiences when she joined the Fountain Greene team in 2016. She worked with racehorses and performance (dressage) horses as a certified groom, with several years at rated shows in the USEF. She competed to the national level in 4-H in Individual Presentation on Colic, Team Presentation on the Thoroughbred racing industry and Hippology. In addition she was successful on the national level in FFA (Hippology and Horse Judging). She graduated from Emory and Henry College with a degree in biology, while competing on the IHSA team and National IDA team. Emily is a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves as a Transportation Officer. She is highly experienced with farm equipment and arena maintenance. She is often called on at Fountain Greene to share her range of expertise. In her “spare time,” she and fellow worker Lilly apply their creative carpentry skills to making custom jumps, displayed in the Fountain Greene ring.
HELENANNE
Like most of the staff at Fountain Greene, HelenAnne started riding early. She progressed from her first pony at six to become an active member of 4-H. While riding and raising two riding daughters, she spent 20 years working in restaurant, retail management, and went back to school to get her Bachelors in Accounting. In her “spare time” she spent one year as a director of a Pony Club and four years as a 4-H leader with her members competing successfully at the state and national knowledge contests. Both of her daughters share her commitment to horses and work professionally in the industry. She began working at Fountain Greene and is an indispensable member of the team.