Trail Talk - August 2024

August 2024

The Horse Shoe Farm

By Cindy Ruzak

The Horse Shoe Farm is an 85-acre boutique resort in the foothills outside Hendersonville. Just over a half mile from the Ecusta Trail, it offers a farm to table dining experience as well as a luxury spa in addition to accommodations. The property is owned by the Turchin family, as is the trail-adjacent Root & Bone restaurant (as featured in last month’s newsletter).

At the time, John Turchin owned Mountain Sotheby’s Realty, which had the real estate listing on the farm, when he decided to purchase it himself in 2015, and then it took a couple of years for everything to be finalized. The dream initially was to create a Baby Boomer oriented small home village development, but then that evolved over the next several years to the resort/restaurant/spa concept. He reminded me that the Horse Shoe name comes from the shape of the bend in the nearby French Broad River, the third oldest river in the world, according to some sources.

Like trails offering connections between towns, The Horse Shoe Farm offers the opportunity to disconnect from daily activities, slow down, and re-connect with oneself for a restful moment of peace. The Silo Cookhouse is open to the public for dinner and Sunday Brunch, as is the Stable Spa by appointment, and the entire property is accessible by means of purchase of a day pass. It is easy to envision a fulfilling day taking a bike ride on the Ecusta followed by an enervating and muscle relaxing massage, followed by a swim in the pool, and ending with a delicious dinner served by attentive staff.

The view of the countryside and the mountains is truly awe inspiring. Up to 75 guests can be accommodated in the 17,000-plus square feet of residential space within the 6 estate homes, 3 cottages containing 7 suites, and 6 loft suites in a variety of spaces and styles, providing a unique, artful, and luxurious experience for groups or individuals. The one-time cattle ranch also has event space for larger gatherings, and has recently hosted public events such as Heritage Fire and a 4th of July fireworks dinner.

Front desk attendant Lauren Woodbridge proactively sought out the Turchins to be part of the operation of the property. Although her initial foray into hospitality was culinary at Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, health issues with her grandmother, as well as some personal ones, influenced a path toward nutrition. That led to some time living in Richmond, Chicago, and Wilmington, all the while helping people and finding purpose and switching from focusing on food to helping people solve problems. The latter is why she sought out being part of the work family at The Horse Shoe Farm, where there is a “we care attitude” expressed that induces feelings of being “accepted, encouraged, and supported”.

The Silo Cookhouse operates under the premise that when you share a meal that’s been cooked with love in the presence of friends and neighbors, you dare to immerse yourself in the ritual of community and the possibility of connection with yourself and others. The primary dining experience offered is communal at long tables in the bar’s porch area, with beautiful views of Mt. Pisgah; however, individual seating is also available on the outdoor patio grill.

Executive Chef Daniel Williams explained that initially the communal dining was offered at a set time with each course served at the same time to all participants, but it has since been altered. He admits initially people might anticipate being put off by communal dining but soon find pleasure in connecting with others. The experience has evolved into the more traditional reservation times. This results in more spontaneous communication between people who have just met as they discuss what the person near them is eating.

The menu with ala carte options, and which is a delicious combination of foods, changes every 5 weeks or so to accommodate repeat local customers. Each menu will contain items and quantities that are intended to be shared, with the server coordinating with the kitchen as to the sequence of preparation to provide the desired unique dining experience. The restaurant also serves breakfast and lunch to Horse Shoe Farm guests, both overnight and on a day pass; and the kitchen prepares food for events up to 200 people in the Sunset Barn.

Daniel, originally from northern Virginia, began his professional career at Indiana University of Pennsylvania culinary school in groundhog haven Punxsutawney after switching focus from teaching English. He has been in the culinary Asheville scene for 10 years but claims family origins for his foodie orientation. His grandmother, “Mary B,” is Italian with a big family where food resonates in relevance. His first childhood memory of her is the preparation of her tomato salad (a straightforward combination of fresh home garden tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive left to sit all day) served with bread from an Italian bakery just down the street from her home. That same connective recipe to the past is served as a garnish on the Silo’s “Smoke Tomato and Crab Rici.”

Inspiration for each change of menu is equally collaborative, with all of his kitchen staff, including sous chefs and line cooks, bouncing ideas off each other. The goal is providing a high-quality experience that focuses on local farm produce. The bar offers classically crafty cocktails and an international wine list highlighting those of the Pacific Northwest and local Appalachian breweries.

The Stable Spa offers a wide range of treatments with a holistic massage in which therapists determine a specific approach to each client. The spa is housed in a renovated horse barn that is harmoniously integrated in the natural landscape of The Horse Shoe Farm.

Nicole Massengale, spa manager of a baker’s dozen of therapists, connected with The Horse Shoe Farm when, immediately after she taught one of the Wellness Classes there, she was asked by the property’s steward, Jordan Turchin, to join the team. The subjects for the classes range from moon circles to breathwork and cold plunge to soundscapes and energy flow. Nicole first became connected to the healing ways via an interest in cranial sacral therapy after having a positive personal response to it. The spa offers a wide range of services from classic Swedish massage to deep tissue mountain massage to self-guided 3-hour journeys.

Just down the hill from the spa is the resort-style pool, on the way to which you can see the owner’s horses, named after musical artists Bob Marley, and Willie Nelson. To further set the scene, Jordan was enjoying his son’s water antics. In talking about the connectivity of all the employees and family as it relates to the direction the Farm may take in the future, he expressed an attitude of evolving in a listening, patient way rather than pushing in a specific direction, but he acknowledged a multi-generational focus as being more desirable.

Visual art figures prominently, from the items sold in the spa shop to the cottages. They include selections and creations by Susan Turchin,as well as the glass sculpture at the pool by Chihuly apprentice Ryan Blythe. Art is everywhere, even in the selection of décor of each cottage.

It seemed appropriate that as the interviews for this article were coming to an end, the entire Turchin family was poolside enjoying each other’s company and intermingling with guests, embodying a slogan that is displayed on the property that the “only thing greater than living your dream is sharing it.”

Trail Teasers

There's been quite a bit of construction activity on the trail between Hendersonville and Horse Shoe and we all have reason to be excited. So we've added this new "Trail Teasers" section to highlight the work that's being done that will show the transformation of rail to trail.

North of W Allen St

Henderson County Rail-Trail

Advisory Committee

By Cindy Ruzak

Henderson County RTAC meeting July 10, 2024

Committee Chair Chris Burns introduced new member Bart Salvaggio, who replaced at-large member Dave Adams after the latter resigned. Salvaggio is an owner/partner in the Lennox Station development.

In response to Burns opening the meeting to public comment, Clifford Meek re-stated his comments from the June meeting requesting the RTAC address how the number of people using the trail will impact the adjacent areas. He suggested moving the flagstops to places where a street crosses the trail to make it a federally defined “multi-mobile transportation center” so that Apple Country bus can service the trail. He also inquired whether the RTAC or the city of Hendersonville will address the need for sidewalks.

Henderson County Engineer Marcus Jones responded that federal funding does not allow money to be used for anything outside the trail right of way, so the city would need to address this issue. Burns committed to raising the sidewalk issues with the city, and that Meeks’ concerns had been heard.

Mark Tooley, president of Friends of Ecusta Trail (FOET), advised that work continues on the website reconstruction. He proposed that the framework for naming opportunities that is in front of the committee be addressed either now or at a future meeting. Burns offered that the topic be included in the discussion later in the meeting as part of the presentation by Watermark. Tooley said once FOET gets specific locations from Watermark, they will be able to match up these opportunities. There are 100 people total in all the donor categories.

On the subject of branding opportunities, Burns said the FOET Board had been asked by the RTAC to review the design submitted by Watermark in comparison to the one initially developed by FOET. The FOET board decided they preferred to retain their initial version, so Burns suggested the RTAC accept that decision.The motion to do so, and for Watermark to incorporate the FOET design colors of light and dark greens, passed unanimously.

Hunter Marks from Watermark then briefly recapped his design presentation from last month’s meeting, and a second motion to authorize the company to move to the 100% design phase was made and passed unanimously.

A construction update was given by Jones. Paving has begun starting at Brevard Road (Highway 64) moving toward Hendersonville. Some areas, such as where 5th Avenue crosses the Ecusta Trail, need soil density adjustment prior to paving. The final layer will go on last and take just a week total. As an added benefit, the company doing the work, Tarheel Paving, is local. The bridges, six of them on the eastern section of the trail, should arrive by the end of July and will be placed very quickly since they are pre-constructed. One other area being addressed is at Allen Street where the angle of the stream creates the potential for erosion. Construction is still on track for a December completion.

Burns initiated a discussion about whether the paved sections are open to the public, with the consensus being that they are; however, people need to stay away from construction areas. So, the best message to the public is to stay off the trail until it is finished. Henderson County Assistant Manager Chis Todd said this is a good opportunity to send a message that it is impractical for the public to use it right now, and ask for the public’s help in doing that to avoid delaying the project. He will get specific wording on the topic to Lynn Huffman, FOET board member, to post on the FOET website.

An additional question period included a suggestion from Burns to Jones to keep a record of the dollars that were kept local in construction. Ken Shelton, FOET board member, asked about how potential tree root growth was being addressed. Jones responded that he doesn’t expect much given the amount of clearing done along the trail, but that any that is needed would be done under maintenance.

Burns said the next meeting of August 14 would need to be rescheduled as both he and the Vice Chair will be out of the country.

Shelton, in response to the comments made by Weeks, suggested that the specific professional roles of the RTAC members be listed on the RTAC website.

A member of the public inquired if anyone had an update on the Saluda Trail. Kristin Cozza of Conserving Carolina said there might be some news next week.

The August meeting has been cancelled.

Brevard Ecusta Trail

Advisory Board

The July meeting scheduled for July 31 was cancelled.

The next meeting is August 22, 2024 @ 3:30pm

August ET Events

Henderson County R-TAC Meeting

The August meeting has been cancelled.

https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/bc-rtac

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Brevard Ecusta Trail Advisory Board Meeting
August 22, 2024 @ 3:30pm – 5:30pm

Open to the public. Meeting at City Council Chambers.