$33 million Ridgefield horse farm
RIDGEFIELD — The Arts and Crafts main house may have its own sauna, golf simulator, wine cellar and elevators, but the more luxurious lifestyle on Double H Farm may actually be found in the amenities for its 43 horses.
“It’s like the Four Seasons for horses,” said Ingrid Hess, the listing agent for the 87-acre equestrian compound. “You wouldn’t believe how these horses live.”
The property, found on Old Stage Coach Road, includes an Olympic-caliber Grand Prix Field, indoor and outdoor arenas and various paddocks, including specific stalls for the horses’ medical, grooming or feeding needs.
The breeding and competition-ready horses can also enjoy UV therapy lights, a covered hot walker and equine treadmill.
Hess said the well-maintained facilities reflect the passion the farm’s owners had for breeding, training and riding the horses. They invested about $45 million just in the property’s infra- structure, she said.
About 57 acres of the property have been developed, while another 30 undeveloped acres offer riding trails.
The farm is owned by Jeannie Harrison, the late wife of railway executive E. Hunter Harrison, who died last year. E. Hunter Harrison and both of his daughters were avid horse owners and riders, Hess said.
“This is a real horse-loving family,” she said.
Harrison was the chief
executive officer of the Illinois Central Railroad, the Canadian National Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the CSX Corporation.
The property, once an 18thcentury dairy farm, also boasts a tennis court, koi pond, jacuzzi with a waterfall, two guesthouses and staff apartments in the original 1782-farmhouse.
It first went on sale two years ago for $55 million and is now back on the market for $33 million.
The farmhouse, known as the Henry Whitney House, still has the original plaster, doors and general structure, but the Harrisons upgraded its systems and facilities, Hess said.
“It’s just magnificent,” she said. “They did everything in their power to maintain the integrity of the house.”
The same attention to detail was also brought to the main house, Hess said. The five-bedroom home, built in 2009, was purposefully built to take advantage of the “beautiful views” of the property from all three of its floors.
It also includes barn beams brought in from Vermont, antique glass walls in the wine cellar, mahogany decks, Italian mosaic floors and geothermal green technology for its heating systems.
“Everything about the house — the details, the solidity — is just an impossibly amazing house,” Hess said. “It’s exquisite.”