Magnolia Farms at Live Oak

Dressage Barn

Magnolia Farm

Magnolia Farms at Live Oak is a beautiful facility located between Live Oak and Lake City, Florida, about 20 minutes from i75 and i10. Cathy Willson owns and manages the dressage barn, she works hard and does most of the work on the farm herself! I have hauled my horse to the farm countless times so can personally say the facility is beautiful and accommodating. Cathy is helpful, friendly, and ensures that the property is always well kept.

Cathy Willson has owned the property since 2002 and has made several upgrades to the farm over the years. When she first moved in the only buildings that existed were the main house and the small barn. Since then she has added onto the main house, renovated the small barn, and added additional buildings to the property including a guest house, a guest cottage, two more barns, and the arena. During her years of competing in dressage Cathy has earned her bronze, silver, and gold medals through USEF/USDF. Cathy is not only a horse woman, but it heavily involved in the arts community of Live Oak. She’s a member of the Color Pencil Group, Live Oak Art Guild, and the Plein Air Society of Live Oak.

Magnolia Farms sits on 57 acres which includes about 25 acres of trails of huge oak trees and the rest in grassy paddocks. The main barn, beautifully decorated with blue and yellow shutters, has 8 stalls, two wash racks, a tack room, and a lounge. There are two others barns (each with their own wash racks) located on the property giving the facility 13 stalls available for rent (in addition to Cathy’s personal stalls). The facility is complete with a 100x250ft covered arena with a regulation sized dressage arena inside and Martin Collins footing.

While Magnolia Farms mostly concentrates on dressage, the farm is available for schooling and have locals haul their horses in to get away from the heat in their covered arena. For those who are looking to winter in Florida, Magnolia would be a great choice. The covered arena allows you to stay cool (trust us, even in the winter a covered arena is a God send!), there are several housing options, and your horses will stay cool and safe in their large stalls and shaded paddocks. The facility stays pretty busy! There are several clinics hosted at Magnolia through out the year including Bent Jensen, Paul Belasik, and Christof Hess. Cathy and Andrea Haller of Wellborn Quarter Horses manage the clinics. If you would like to host a clinic at this beautiful facility, you can contact either of them at cathywillson@windstream.net or andreainwellborn@yahoo.com.

If you have a barn that you would like featured on the Barn Tour, contact shellywilliamsphotography@gmail.com