B&D Builders
Ann Marie Snyder was taking her children to summer camp early in the summer of 2010. At drop-off they met another family who planned to attend a week-long horse camp at the end of the summer and they invited her daughter Audrey to join them. From that point on Audrey pestered her mother for weekly riding lessons.
After her first lesson that December, Ann Marie knew they were going to be in deep. She then made it her job to learn everything she could about horses. She did tons of research, attended every lesson, and volunteered whenever she could.
Riding non-stop since that first lesson, Audrey completed her junior career in the fall of 2021 with successes at both Equitation and Jumper finals. She is now 19, employed in the industry and continues to compete regularly, recently as a member of Team USA at the Young Riders Nations Cup in the Netherlands.
Patriot Farm in Saddle River, New Jersey is just under 40 acres and includes some wooded areas as well as 13 paddocks, an outdoor riding arena, and a round-pen. The master construction plan was completed in stages, starting with the house, followed by some accessory buildings and finally the barn and indoor arena.
Ann Marie’s husband built their previous home in the Adirondack style, which they wanted to continue at the new location, liking the natural elements: stone, wood and a rustic look. The house and barn have fieldstone on the first floors sourced from the property.
“I knew we needed an expert to design and build the barn,” says Ann Marie. “A regular architect knows how to design a building, but when you are building an equestrian facility, there are many details to take into account to provide what’s best for the horses and their comfort and most importantly, their safety. Right around the time we purchased the property, my mother saw an advertisement in a magazine for B&D Builders. I called them and knew right away that we had found our barn builders — it was the start of a wonderful relationship and a very positive experience.”
Additionally, they needed assistance in the overall design of the property — a quick Google search put Ann Marie in touch with Deborah Cerbone, a landscape architect specializing in equestrian properties.
“Working with equine specific experts allowed the picture in my head to become reality. Every day I wake up and see my vision right in front of my eyes.” RB
