Silver Eagle Stable Forest owner Tom Russell stands in front of the Parkgate Plantation property and history home.Recently, Silver Eagle Stable in Nokesville purchased 15 acres from neighboring Parkgate Plantation, extending its total acreage to 87.
Silver Eagle Stables located on Parkgate Drive opened early this year. It has now expanded its acreages to include 40 acres of woodland trails, 72 boarding stalls and an indoor horse arena.
At Silver Eagle, people can board their horses, lease horses, buy horses, train their horses, take riding lessons, or enroll their children in classes or camps. Now, with the new property, Silver Eagle has room to grow.
Park Gate Plantation has a rich history. It includes a historic house built in the mid-1700s that is one of only 16 examples of British Tidewater architecture still standing in the U.S.
The historic home was once owned by Col. Thomas Jessie Lee, the eldest son of Richard Harry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas lived there with his wife Mildred Washington Lee, niece of President George Washington. President Washington has documented his visits with his niece at Parkgate while traveling from Mt. Vernon to his property owned in Culpepper.
Across from the house is an even older structure, a kitchen that dates back to 1691. Not too far behind the kitchen house is small graveyard where Thomas and Mildred are buried.
Silver Eagle Stables owner Tom Russell said although he bought the property to increase the size of his stable, he was also attracted to the stately Park Gate plantation home. He is interested in either occupying the home or renting it to someone who would appreciate and cherish its uniqueness.
Russell notes that he is rejoining property that originally belonged to the Park Gate Plantation which at one time occupied 5,000 acres. “So, I brought it back home so to speak,” Russell said.
His goal for the new property is to open a third large grazing pasture so that he can establish a healthy and sustainable pasture rotation of his mares and gelding. He also hopes to add ten additional stalls.
“It also gives us a space to put in another arena,” said Russell. “It will ensure that my riders will continue to have plenty of places to ride.”
At Silver Eagle Stable, they continue to groom their trails, improve their infrastructure and expand their parking. Next summer, they plan to host horse show events once improvements are completed.
While they started with only 21 horses five months ago, the stable currently boards 47 horses on the property. Russell expects Silver Eagle Stable will likely have to start a waiting list by the end of August.
He is not surprised that the stable is in demand since they take pride in housing the horses.
Tom Russell visits with one of the horses on his property."Our focus is on the health, safety and quality of life of our horses," Russell said. "We take the best care of them and everything else will fall into place."
Since Russell expects to stay with the Stables for the foreseeable future, he is investing in helping it reach its full potential.
“This property expansion represents the future of Silver Eagle Stable,” Russell said. “This Stable is going to endure for decades. My hope is this will remain a home for horses as long as I am drawing breath.”
Currently at Silver Eagle, they have just completed their last home school riding class. This summer, they are offering several equestrian camps for children ages 6-18 for which they are still accepting enrollment.
Things are progressing quickly, and Russell is confident that with the additional property he can fully realize his goals for the stable and riding facility.
“At 87 acres we are self-actualized. It’s adequate space to address the long-term needs of our English and Western riders. We are very optimistic about the future.”
Readers can visit Silver Eagle Stables website sestable.com for more information.
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