Photo Venture will visit a horse farm owned by Shirley Tresner, which is located next to the Bainbridge Saddle Club.

LOCATION:  3052 North County Road 450 West, Greencastle, IN (DO NOT USE GPS ROUTES AS THEY ARE NOT ACCURATE!!) See directions below.
DATE:  Saturday, October 7th (rain date is Sunday, October 8th)
TIME:  10:00 am arrival time
PARKING:  Please try to carpool as parking may be tight.  We will try to post a sign at Brick Chapel and at Co Rd 450 to help with finding your way.

Note: If you plan to attend please RSVP to Joe Phillips at phillipsbaird @ comcast.net.

Shirley will give a talk at 10:30 at the stables about the farm, the horses, her interest in racing and how photography fits in the picture.  She will show us a mare, stallion and the babies, and if Festus the miniature donkey is up for it, she will bring him out, too.  (He's a hoot!)
 
A continuation of fall colors photo ops is also available after the horse farm tour.  Rachel Curtis' tree farm is just around the country corner from Shirley's (literally, just 3 miles away).

Shirley asks the following of each guest:

  1)  No flash photography (the flash scares the horses and this is a BIG no-no)

  2)  No smoking (everything is extremely dry and highly flammable)

  3)  Wear comfy shoes for hiking, and appropriate clothing (you're on a farm, so ....  :-)  )

  4)  The woods on her farm are close for some fall colors, but Mother Nature cannot be coerced!   A second location to visit is also available after the horse farm tour.

  5)  Please be mindful that this is a WORKING HORSE FARM.  She raises race horses here, and therefore there are certain protocols that need to be followed to keep all visitors and animals safe.  She is not responsible for accidents.

For those who would like to stop by after the horse farm tour, Rachel will lead a tour of her tree farm.  Owl Creek (sadly, not much water this time of year) is easily accessible, so we will trek down - and across it to the 85 acres of natural hardwoods (maples, oaks, hickory, sycamores, cherry, poplar/tulips, walnuts, etc...) to snap photos.  We will hike up a tree logging road to the back pasture where you might see signs of wildlife (deer, turkey, coyote, squirrel, raccoons, etc...)  It's about a quarter of a mile from the creek to the pasture - and uphill - so those who have mobility issues may choose to stay down by the creek.  Lots of deer trails meander through the forest with valleys all throughout the terrain.  Our forest is State Classified and is currently under a Conservation Reserve Program, and has one of the largest groves of White Walnut trees in the state.  The main logging road opens up to a 10 acre pasture where in the past we have planted food plots of sunflowers, turnips and milot for the wildlife.  If Mother Nature is kind to us, the colors will just be magnificent!

DIRECTIONS:

Coming from the West side of Indianapolis: From I-465/Rockville Road exit - head West on US36/Rockville Road for about 45 miles.  Come to the intersection of US36 and US231.  Turn Left/South on US231 for about 3.8 miles to the town of Brick Chapel.  Turn Right/West on CR 350.  Go 3.2 miles to County Road 450 West (there is a wooden sign for Bainbridge Saddle Club).  Come as far as you can (.3 miles) and you end up at Shirley's farm.

Coming from the South side of Indianapolis:  From I-70  to the Greencastle/Cloverdale Exit / US231.  Go north at the intersection to Greencastle.  US 231 goes through the town of Greencastle.  (Yes, you will pass a Starbucks located at the courthouse square.)  US 231 does the "zig/zag" in the heart of town so watch for the signs for US 231 (Left/"ZIG" on Washington Street, Right/"ZAG" on Jackson Street).  Stay on US 231 headed North out of town for about 4.8 miles to Brick Chapel.  Turn Left/West on County Road 350.  Go 3.2 miles to County Road 450 West (there is a wooden sign for Bainbridge Saddle Club).  Come as far as you can (.3 miles) and you end up at Shirley's farm.