About us:

The mailing address : 4855 Heardsville Rd., Cumming, GA 30040

The farm address is: 4867 Heardsville Rd.

History of the farm

 The original farm was owned by Andrew Jackson  Lummus, the First, in 1850. It was primarily used for agriculture and boasted 600 acres. The original home on the property was built around 1850 by Andrew and Charity Lummus and was added onto as time went on (the last part in the 1950's). The old corn crib/barn, in front of our house, was built before the old home place. The "smoke" house was used by the family for slaughtering hogs as late as the 1960's. The well house was torn down due to safety problems in the early 1990's. The house was partially renovated in 1993 and completed 1998. In 2003, we took over the house, furnished it, and converted it into a bunkhouse for interns, visitors, and campers.

"This was the home of Andrew Jackson Lummus (1828-1886) and Charity Baker Lummus (1830-1923), married 1850.  In this home they had nine children.  They donated the land for the church and some of the cemetery.  The first grave was baby Andrew Jackson Lummus (Sept. 18-22, 1856).  Before A. J. became Lieutenant, Company F, 3^rd Georgia Calvary in 1862, he added a secret area above the front porch to be used for hiding food from the Union soldiers while he was gone.  A ladder was stored in the loft, to be pulled down for access when needed.  He was promoted to Captain in 1864. Their only child born after the war was named Andrew Jackson Lummus, Jr. (1872-1940), which was the father of Robert ‘Guy’ Lummus (1901-1964).  For many years Guy built the fires in the old pot-bellied stoves, painted the black rubber runners down the church isles before revival, and saw to it that the preacher had a pitcher of fresh cold water every Sunday on the pulpit.  He was the janitor who sat quietly in the corner, beaming with pride, proud of the little church that his family had been a part of since the very beginning." This is an excerpt from Eula Jean Campbell's research. She's the only daughter of Gene and Maudine Lummus. Gene was the son of Guy Lummus.

Hannah was born and raised in Haiti where her parents (Ben and Gloria Loyer - a Canadian couple) were missionaries for over 23 years. Hannah is the oldest of 4 children - Carmen, Lisa, and Tim. We were a-typical missionaries in the since that Dad wasn't a pastor; his background was heavy machinery and construction. One of the many projects in Haiti, was to re-introduce the "horse and buggy" concept. Everything is done by hand and wares are carried on animals or by the people themselves.

Hannah and sister Carmen on Blaze - 1983

It sounded like an easy project, but turned into a huge endeavor. The biggest hurdle was teaching the Haitian horses (Barb type, under 14 hands, 500 lbs, tough-as-nail, beasts that live on whatever they can forage in desert like conditions) to pull a buggy. All Haitian animals are picked (tied) all their lives and are moved from place to place each day in search of forage, but only as far as their ropes would permit. When hitched, they'd pull to the end of their traces and stop - knowing they couldn't pull. So, a new idea was born. Let's breed the Haitian horses to a little larger horse for more pulling strength - carefully balancing horse size against very little water and feed available. A QH stallion was donated to the President of Haiti and we ended up with him. A herd of 9 mares were purchased and the breeding program was born. We raised over 50 foals on our ranch in northwest Haiti.

Ben and little Hannah plowing 1979

As the "new", 14.2 hand, 700 lbs horses turned into 3 - 4 year olds, a wonderful Canadian trainer Dave Polson started coming to Haiti each winter and trained the horses for the buggy and for riding. Hannah being fluent in Creole (language of Haiti) and an avid apprentice, helped with all the training (age 7 when the training phase started). After many years, Dave stopped coming and Hannah (with the Haitians) started all the horses.

Hannah grew up training and breeding horses, doing vet work (are no vets and farriers at home), managing the herds, and "stock rider" moving the herds to different pastures as well as checking for injuries. She even rode her horse Dream, to school all the way thru high school.

Hannah and Dream on their way to school.

In 1993, the Loyer family left Haiti to return to Canada for furlough. Hannah was invited to attend Reinhardt College in Waleska, GA. After a starting school, Hannah met and married Bobby the following summer.

Bobby and Hannah were married in 1994 and built the little log cabin. At the time, the entire property was heavily wooded with thick briars as underbrush. After a year, we purchased Blitz, our Arabian stallion, and the farm saga began. We were poor college kids with very little money, but lots of drive and determination. Over Spring break, we cleared enough land to bring the yearling Blitz home.

Each subsequent year, more progress was made as more trees were cut down and the land opened up. When the barn was to be built, Ben (Hannah's dad) and family came and helped grade off and put of the frame for a 3 stall run-in shed. The next 3 Christmases were used adding onto the barn as people wanted to board with us. The barn was built with very little money and a whole lot of sweat. You'll never see another one like it! Ben and Bobby would cut the trees down and cut them to length. Then Hannah and Blitz would come dressed in a Western saddle and lariat and skid the logs to the building site. From there, Hannah's family would peel and treat the wood before it was put up into the uprights and rafters.

Second phase of the barn

Hannah graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biology from Reinhardt College in 1999. The farm was in full swing by this time teaching lessons, hosting summer camps, and training horses.

In 1999, we started teaching at the very elite Woodward Academy and had around 65 students a week. We'd take our horses and equipment there 3 days a week during the school year. Hannah also took her first trip to Monty Roberts' in California.

In 2000, Hannah received her Monty Roberts's certification after spending about 3 months out there over the course of a year.

In 2002, we attempted to partner with some people on a huge farm in NC after letting all our clients as well as our Woodward account go. A few months later, we came home after realizing that we were much better off on our own. The positive thing was it made us more determined and made us pull as a team. We came home in full force.

The remainder of 2002 and 2003 were spent re-building our business as well as a month-long tour with Monty all over the southeast. 

The Monty Roberts' team on tour.

2004 was an exciting year. We've added to the amenities of the farm including: lights in the arena, a hot/cold wash rack, an outer perimeter fence, a walkway down to the arena, expanded the arena by 3,600 sq. ft., bleachers for the parents, a drink machine, expanded the gravel parking area, as well as planted many shade trees, shrubs, and decorative plants.

The future is bright. Hannah's teaching 70 students a week  The farm is a haven for students - horse and human - and it bustles with much activity. Thanks for being such a major part of our lives.

2008 will bring a big change into our lives with the birth of our first child - due Oct. 6th. Keep an eye out for more details.