About Bobbi
Rebeka Kennedy, better known as Bobbi is a lifetime horse enthusiast. Beginning her riding career as a child taking lessons in North Vancouver Bobbi learned the hard work and dedication necessary to become a good horse woman doing barn chores at the local stable in exchange for lessons taking any and every opportunity given to her to sit on any horse at the stable. Given how her riding career began; riding anything and everything Bobbi easily transitioned into a working student position after graduating high school. First working with an eventing barn for International event rider Sabrina Glaser before narrowing her focus on Dressage and working for Dressage coach and Trainer Terry Scott for nearly 3 years. During her time with Terry Bobbi had the opportunity both to start and bring along young horses as well as her first experience in the FEI arena having the opportunity to show a clients horse in the FEI Young Riders Division. Bobbi's development as a trainer and coach is much to the credit of the diverse scope of the riding she did in her younger years. She learned, and continues to learn that there are many "right ways" to train a horse or teach a rider; and that the "best way" is the way that that horse or rider THRIVES!
About the Farm
Ernest acres is an ever evolving vision of Bobbi and her Husband Rob. Purchased in May 2024 they are still quite new to farm ownership but the decades of barn management and horse care in Bobbi's career leading to this point have given her a good idea of what it is that we want to create at Ernest Acres.
Coming from the lower mainland Bobbi was very used to having the horses kept indoors for most of the hours in a day with limited turnout and the focus for the horses is that they were athletes that needed a lot of bubble wrap to stay sound enough to do the sport. This mindset was forced to shift when Bobbi moved to Penticton in 2012 with her 2 horses as well as 2 client horses and the only boarding facility had outdoor pens with shelters- and the horses were SO MUCH HAPPIER.
This revelation sparked the biggest shift in Bobbis mindset towards having the horses be able to live as close to natural as possible. This shift in mindset is the biggest influence in what we are trying to create at the Farm. The majority of the horses live outside full time in small groups or a herd environment and whenever possible they live on pasture and get to graze for the majority of their feed.
The farm is 10 acres with about 8 of those acres divided into 9 large pastures. The herds are rotated through the 9 pastures daily to allow plenty of time for the grass to rest ensuring good quality pasture for most of the year. There is also a 5 stall barn with in/out paddocks attached to the barn for those horses unable to be part of the herd for whatever reason, for these "special needs horses" we have 3 smaller turnout areas as well. For training there is a 25m x 60m sand all weather riding arena as well as a large round pen.
The farm is located in the community of Willowbrook which is a very equestrian based community where there is a public riding arena as well as 100's of miles of trails accessible at the end of the road.