Nicole Hornblower & James Denman
Little Creek Farm
Horse Farms Forever is happy to welcome Nicole Hornblower and her husband James Denman as Founder Members. Their primary residence is in Massachusetts, but they fell in love with Marion County’s picturesque countryside after visiting Ocala for several years for horse shows. In 2017, Hornblower and her husband decided to buy their own horse farm.
“This is such a beautiful area and my husband, James and I, are very excited to be part of the Horse Farms Forever community to help make sure that there is land for horses,” she said.
In 2018, shortly after they purchased their property, now named Little Creek Farm, they learned about the proposed Coastal Connector toll road from their realtor, Matt Varney of Ocala Horse Properties. They are grateful that the road was stopped, but they became concerned again when the Northern Turnpike Extension was recently proposed.
“I know there’s been a lot of change in Ocala because of the World Equestrian Center and all of the road construction” said Hornblower. “But it’s wonderful to have an organization like Horse Farms Forever to help protect farms. It’s a mission that I believe in and support.”
Hornblower grew up riding in the northeast and has watched a lot of farms in Massachusetts be developed. “We lost several farms to developers that hosted horse shows,” she said.
Horses have always been a part of Hornblower’s life. She competed at horse trails up to the Preliminary level as an amateur and helped organize horse trails in Massachusetts as a co-organizer.
“I have been riding most of my life and I accomplished what I wanted to with eventing,” she said. “But now I am focusing on dressage, with a horse that likes to do dressage, and I hope to earn my USDF Bronze medal this year.”
The equestrian lifestyle is also part of James’ life too. “He loves working on the farm and being on the tractor and mowing,” she said. “He is very supportive of the riding, but he loves airplanes and antique British cars.”
Hornblower also served as the Area 1 Young Rider coordinator for several years. “It’s fun to see the younger generation competing,” she said.
One of the competitors at the Area 1 Young Rider events was her daughter Heather Maytham, who is a three-day eventer. Maytham is a graduate of Jericho Forest Pony Club and she was named to the National Young Riders Championship team. She was also the Area 1 reserve leading Intermediate amateur rider before transitioning to professional status. She has successfully produced multiple horse through the FEI levels of eventing to the CCI*** level and to 1.30 m in show jumping. Maytham is now based out of Ocala full time at Basset Hill Farm.
Horse Farms Forever’s Founder Members encompass several equestrian disciplines from Thoroughbred racing to combined driving and we are delighted to have a family that competes in both dressage and three-day eventing as new members.