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Will a historic West Stockbridge property see the opening of a horse-riding club?

A local investor and a European pro rider are joining forces to open the gates of a new equine facility.

West Stockbridge — A multi-generation estate originally owned by German immigrants may soon see new residents, of the four-legged variety. Following the purchase of a historic 63-acre West Alford Road property earlier this year by Blueberry Hill LLC, the corporate owner, Stockbridge resident Dr. Gabriel Kaufman, is teaming up with an award-winning European horse show jumper and equine veterinarian, Dr. Dory Klotz Czech, to offer an equestrian facility and a riding school on the site this fall.

Kaufman, through architect Christopher Vicek of Littlewolf Architecture, filed a special permit application on December 17 with the West Stockbridge Planning Board, and the item is on the group’s January 22 in-person-only meeting agenda to be set for a hearing next month. The document seeks a change from the property’s primary residential use to riding stables.

Dory Czech, a Swiss equine veterinarian and former professional horse jumper, hopes to make her dream come true: opening an equestrian center in West Stockbridge along with Stockbridge resident Gabriel Kaufman. Photo courtesy of Czech.

“It was an opportunity,” Kaufman said of the purchase. He has lived in the Berkshires for the last decade, and a residence on the property would allow him to be close to Tanglewood and Great Barrington where the plastic reconstructive surgeon plans to open a new practice.

Known as Blueberry Hill, the compound is home to a five-bedroom main house; three-bedroom guest house; caretaker’s house; and facilities for outdoor sports including a swimming pool, hiking, and a greenhouse.

Citing the property’s 1794 farmhouse that had undergone multiple renovations, Kaufman plans to “bring [the home] back to its glory.” However, he said the equestrian project, dubbed “Berkshire Pony Club,” will encompass about 10 to 12 agricultural acres. It is not affiliated with the national Pony Club organization.

“The Berkshires used to be very equestrian, and there actually still are a lot of private equestrian experiences you can have,” Kaufman said. “But public [facilities] and giving a more European style of riding, instruction, and experience is what [Czech] wants to bring to the Berkshires.”

Czech’s goal is to train all ages in not only horse showmanship but also regarding the animals themselves, their care and behavior.

In a telephone call with The Berkshire Edge from her current home in Switzerland, Czech said, should the project come to fruition, it “will be a dream come true.”

She has been around horses since she was three years old. At age 12, Czech acquired her first horse in Germany, a 13-year-old training reject purchased by her parents. In just a short time, she turned the animal around, winning awards as a show jumper. In 1993, a severe fall at age 19 badly injured her knee, forcing Czech to give up the sport professionally. But her love for the animals remained.

Czech eventually became a veterinarian, a renowned colic surgeon specializing in equine stomach issues at the University of Leipzig and Pferdeklinik Niederlenz. An advocate of horse acupuncture, she has amassed many rescued horses over the years. “All of my horses had a history of [being] tortured or illness,” Czech said, explaining her successful efforts at rehabilitation.

After local visits, she “fell in love with the Berkshires and its residents.” Czech plans to relocate to the Great Barrington area this summer with her two children and seven trained horses—four Connemara ponies, one German Grand Prix Dressage pony, a Holsteiner Show Jumper horse, and a Swiss Show Jumper—all of whom were rescued and are now rehabilitated and well behaved, all done without the use of whips or spurs.

Czech hatched the idea with Kaufman in discussions following their chance meeting when both were listed on a dating website. According to Czech, when she came to Kaufman’s bio, she meant to swipe to delete his request but inadvertently swiped the other way, a start to their communications.

The new facility will incorporate an academy and pony club, complete with an outdoor arena, barn, and open stables. Students will learn the sport of dressage, or horse-riding exhibitions, jumping, trail riding, and eventing (a competition that pairs a single horse and rider across three disciplines) as well as being schooled in practical lessons on caring for a horse and what to do in an emergency.

For Czech, horses are family and friends, “incredibly sensitive,” and, at times, mischievous. “I’ve had difficult situations in my life, and the horses were always there,” she said.

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