Nova Fjords

Nova Scotia
Website: 
http://www.novafjords.com

 They came from different countries but share a love for Nova Scotia and Norwegian Fjord Horses—a sturdy, compact dun-coloured breed equally adept as draught animals or driving or riding horses. 

Together the founding members of Nova Fjords  want to promote Norwegian Fjord Horses, open the market in Nova Scotia and increase the historic breed’s visibility internationally through works by Nova Scotia artists. “And in all of that, promote the province and open our farms for tours so people can experience what we were fortunate enough to experience when we all found this wonderful place,” Kathy Monroe explains.
 
The group’s recently launched website (www.novafjords.com) includes a section with Fjord art for sale including paintings, carvings and jewelry. The initiative brings the creativity of provincial artists to the horse lovers’ market.
 
“We are in the process of starting, and we have more than a dozen artists working with us,” Inge Burr says. “They’re all really excited about it.”
 
On another front there are planned talks with a German travel company to discuss potential touring opportunities. Visitors would not only be exposed to the Fjord Horses but also to other points of interest showcasing the province’s natural beauty.
 
This beauty struck Nova Fjords’ Inge and Guenter Burr, who own Blue Raven Farm in Moose Brook, Hants County. They travelled from Germany to Nova Scotia in 1994 to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Spotting a “For sale” sign on a barn sitting on 29 acres overlooking the Minas Basin proved a life-changing moment. 
 
“I was here standing in front of the house, looking down to the water and it was breathtaking,” says Inge, who raised and trained Fjord Horses in Germany. “It all surrounded me with a feeling of home.”
 
Uncertain of what the future would hold, they bought the property and haven’t looked back. Guenter, a mixed-media professional artist, says Nova Scotia’s landscape, climate and friendliness are complementary to the Fjords, whose traits include gentleness, athleticism and hardiness. Today visitors can witness this blending through pre-arranged walks with the Burrs’ herd along the ocean floor.
 
For 30 years, Nova Fjords members Carol and Arthur Rivoire have raised Fjords. The owners of Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II Ltd. in Pomquet, Antigonish County, had an established Fjord farm in New Hampshire when they visited Nova Scotia in 1987. They were considering, at most, a cottage. Before returning to the States they made a deposit on the 350-acre farm. In 1991 they made Nova Scotia their permanent home. 
 
The Rivoires wondered whether they’d be accepted in the Acadian community of Pomquet. The answer was definitive. “The day we moved in we walked into the house and the neighbours had put a big pot of corn chowder on the table with a plate of biscuits and put a sign on the wall saying ‘Welcome home,’ ” she recalls.
 
Carol, who authored the “first English language ‘how to’ book that has ever been written about the Fjord breed,” offers, with Arthur, instruction on subjects including carriage driving theory, general horsemanship and stable and pasture design. They also have an intern program drawing participants from Europe, North America and beyond, to spend six weeks to two months living on the farm and working with the Fjords. 
 
Nova Fjords’ Kathy Monroe and Nancy Barmore and Janie and Sandy Sommer participated in programming offered by the Rivoires. Now they, too, have established roots in Nova Scotia.
 
The Sommers live in Missouri and spend their summers in Nova Scotia. In 2007, they purchased McKinnon’s Neck Farm in Glenwood, Yarmouth County, and are lovingly refurbishing the property which dates back to the 1700s. There are still stone walls remaining from that period.
 
“We knew nobody, and when we came to do this the neighbours came up and said, ‘What can we do?’” Janie says. “Everyone has had a part in this project.”  
 
Monroe and Barmore, who own Wallace Point Fjords in Belmont, Hants County, moved from Minnesota to Nova Scotia in 2008. It was a memorable road trip with an entourage including 14 Fjords, 16 cats and two dogs. 
 
“An example of the friendliness of Nova Scotia is that we arrived to I don’t know how many people, 20, 30 friends waiting to greet us,” Barmore says.
 
For Monroe, “It’s all about values and people. Of course it’s for the horses. Of course it’s all the wide open and beautiful green. But there’s just something about the people here. The people just make it. And they’re true. They’re genuine, honest, real. It’s a real place. It’s not phony. Too many places in the world have gotten phony.”