Fantasy Farm Thursday: Upstate NY Rider’s Paradise, Complete With Modern Art

A tastefully elegant home, two barns, indoor and outdoor arenas, access to a hundred miles of public trails, an adjacent nature preserve, and all the modern outdoor art your horses can pretend to spook at.

All photos courtesy of Houlihan Lawrence.

The town of Bedford in upstate New York’s Westchester County is often referred to as “billionaire’s row,” but this property, called Le Bestiaire, is offered at a modest $8.5 million to the equestrian in an Empire State of mind. Once the home of William “Kelly” Simpson, professor emeritus of Egyptology at Yale University and his wife, a niece of David Rockefeller, the compound is offered for sale in a rare opportunity to buy not just a grand Bedford house, but property, complete with equestrian facilities.

For most people, having 14 stalls across two barns plus an indoor and outdoor arena would be plenty. Sweeten the deal with access to a hundred miles of trails on the Bedford Riding Lanes and you’ve got a real winner. Collect your own herd of 14, take on a few boarders to help pay the bills… the possibilities are endless, really.

Um, those pastures though.

Just imagine yourself going on a lovely post-ride cool-down ramble down this gorgeous lane, reminiscent of hacking across some of Europe’s finer locales:

And when that starts getting old, the grounds are dotted with modern sculpture, perfect for terrorizing your horse when he catches sight of it across the lawn.

Need a place to put up your visiting trainer or riding bestie? There’s a guest house. If you’re expecting a big party, there’s also a pool house. Which, of course, means there’s a pool. (And what a pool.)

I’m torn already between going for another pass at the spooky sculpture or hanging out in a chaise lounge poolside.

When the day is done, you’ve ridden all over your trails and arenas and put your horses happily out on that lush gorgeous pasture, this beauty is waiting for you.

It’s the perfect home for the practical equestrian with elegant tastes — basically, the kind of person I aspire to be, but in my messy day-to-day life can’t quite seem to master (I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw the actual writing surface of my desk, my coffee table is cluttered in old magazines and knitting projects of days gone by and our dining room table has literally become a staging area for “stuff that needs to go to the barn.”) It’s clean and simple, but tasteful and comfortable. There’s a ton of natural light. Basically, I love it.

Let’s take one more look for good measure here: gorgeous house, guest house, pool and pool house, two barns with 14 stalls, indoor and outdoor arenas, plenty of pasture space, access to bridle trails. And yes, the sculptures.

All I have left to add is that when one lucky reader makes Le Bestiaire home, can I please come for a visit?

Visit the web page for this property at Houlihan Lawrence. Tell ’em Horse Nation sent ya.