About Us
We are a small barn in Colfax, Indiana. We want to be distinguished by our safe, friendly, and clean atmosphere. We are a family run business and co-exist peacefully with the equines we care for. We believe God created us, our horses, and our clients, therefore every being has value and should receive equal treatment regardless of their background, race, or social status. We hope that everyone that turns down our driveway will find acceptance and God’s peace at our farm. As you scroll down this page we will tell you a little bit about those who reside or work at the farm and what they do.
Jim Stitzel is part owner and manager at Stillhaven Farms. He maintains our website, helps with building projects, and regularly handles the morning feed for the horses. Jim has about six years of horse experience and a unique talent for calming frightened horses. He enjoys riding his personal mount, Turk, from time to time as he gets a chance, but is usually to be found giving Liz a hand with the farm chores.
Liz Stitzel is also a part owner and manager of Stillhaven Farms, however she does different day to day tasks. Liz has 13 years of horse experience. She has groomed for Advanced Level Eventer Pam Watts and has an Associates Degree in Equine Science from Ohio University. Liz is not into training fads but rather approaches each horse as an individual. She favors classical methods such as lunging and ground driving work to establish basics before mounting, but also uses natural horsemanship or any other gentle technique when a horse does not respond to classical methods. She believes the keys to training are kindness, patience, and consistency – not a particular technique. Similarly, Liz believes in teaching students horsemanship, not just how to ride. This includes basic knowledge such as how to handle an emergency, equine first aid, nutrition, and equine anatomy. Liz continues her education by seeking out other more advanced horse people and attending clinics regularly. She is the instructor and trainer at Stillhaven Farms and does her fair share of farm chores on the side!
Sonny is, first and foremost, Liz’s personal mount. He was her first horse to train and the first horse she ever owned. He is a blood bay 14 year old Quarter Horse gelding with many talents. Over the last 12 years he and Liz have done everything from trail riding to barrel racing to western pleasure. He is very honest and kind. Sonny also helps Liz teach – he is wonderful with very frightened riders and as a mount for the first few jumping lessons. He can handle any level of rider and excels at teaching children, but Liz tries to save him for herself as much as possible. Sonny is at Stillhaven Farms for life.
Turk is a gray 13 year old fiery Anglo-Arab gelding. He is very gentle from the ground, but has a great deal of spirit under saddle. He is Jim’s mount for trail riding and Liz schools him in dressage and jumping. He is talented, but takes some skill to ride. We mostly use him with intermediate and advanced riders right now. He is very social and usually one of the first horses looking for attention. Turk is also a permanent resident at Stillhaven Farms.
Zema is a chestnut 12 year old Haflinger mare that joined our herd in the Fall of 2006. She is very sweet and broke to both drive and ride. Five year olds have ridden and groomed this mare. She enjoys people and being scratched all over! She is a valuable addition to our program as she makes her riders ride correctly, but is never mean or dangerous. Lord willing, she will be one of our first driving horses for lessons when we have enough interest to start a driving program. She teaches all levels of riders.
Jules came to us as a rescue in April of 2006. He is a bay 17 year old Arabian gelding who suffered neglect. Before that, he was a children’s mount and rides rather nicely. He has a lot of heart and enjoys his walk and trot work the best. He will be a mount for beginners and intermediate riders. Since he is just a little horse, he is only used with children and small adults.
Amar came with Jules April of 2006, but was much worse off. It has taken him a full year to regain enough weight and energy to be ridden. This chestnut 23 year old Arabian gelding has a heart of gold. We have found that he is exceptionally well trained and gentle. This horse helps with our 6 and under riders and is ridden by beginners. We monitor him closely to make sure he does not use to much energy. We feel he has been through enough so he will live out his days at Stillhaven Farms where we can be sure he has everything he needs.
Socks came to us winter of ‘07 from Indiana Horse Rescue. She had been neglected and has some scars from her old life. She is a sweet older chestnut Quarter Horse type mare. We started out fostering her, but fell in love quickly. Socks works with all levels of riders. She is probably our shyest horse, but loves to be loved on once she gets to know you.
Blaze is a big Tennessee Walker who enjoys attention and always has to know what’s going on! He is a horse of extremes who is always into something and making you yell or laugh – our own personal barn clown!
Nova is a pretty gray Arabian mare who thinks she is an equine diva and expects the best of everything! This mare should be very nice when her training is complete. She has made great strides since she came here and we fully expect more progress this season.
Ramm is a big Percheron who has found a home here. He is trying to decide weather or not to become a barn teddy bear. Meanwhile he absolutely insists that if you walk by his stall you MUST pet his nose!
