Print PageThe Animals
Animals have always been an important part of life at Pebble Hill Plantation.
The stable complex was built in 1928 as a home for Kate's Jersey herd. The award-winning Pebble Hill Jerseys reigned for a number of years as one of the finest herds in the country. Jersey exhibitions and auctions featuring the herd sire, Brampton Standard Sir, and prize-winning cows like Xenia's Sparkling Ivy, nicknamed "Mother Superior" because of her many champion offspring, were held in the stable courtyard.
Later prize horses, such as Pansy's hunter jumpers and polo ponies, were the focus. Pansy won the hunter jumper competition at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Gardens in 1929. Today the horse stalls still have the names of many of those fine horses. Numerous trophies and ribbons won by the PHP horses are displayed in the museum. Registrations and detailed record books, now a part of the archival materials at Pebble Hill, further attest to the importance of horses at the plantation.
For many years, the dog kennels housed 75 to 100 dogs that were an important part of the hunt on the plantation. Bird dogs, beagles, fox hounds, and others had their own cookhouse. A dog hospital on the grounds made it possible to give extra special attention when needed.
Pansy's "Slow Down, I Mean It" sign on the main drive is a constant reminder of the importance she placed on the animals at Pebble Hill.
Today Pebble Hill is home to 8 horses and 3 mules, a sampling of the many animals that added to the charm of Pebble Hill in its heyday.
