Bedford horse farm is ready for its closeup

Above, aerial view of Skyview Farm by Modern Angles for Houlihan Lawrence.

Walls are adorned with original art and photography. Skyland owner/equine photographer Shelli Breidenbach at work. Shelli Breidenbach walks her two mini horses at Skyland Farm.

By JOYCE CORRIGAN

Even the stable at Skyland Farm was designed with custom windows so the horses could enjoy the view from their stalls. It was truly “one and done” when, in 2018, Shelli Breidenbach — artist, equestrian and mother — first laid eyes on the splendid 1930s-built, 25-acre equestrian estate on The Narrows, arguably Bedford’s most exclusive dirt road.

“The name of my vet, Elizabeth Kilgallon, was on the wall of one of the original stalls,” she recalled. “That was a good omen.”

“Reimagine” has become a big real estate buzzword — signaling how iconic structures are transformed to serve new purposes. But few can match the pace and creativity of Breidenbach. She has crafted a home of livable luxury: a peaceable kingdom where three horses (a 30-year-old show jumper and two rescue minis), three rescue dogs, two Nigerian dwarf goats, and a remarkably intelligent pig are part of both the family and the floor plan. Beyond expanded paddocks, redesigned spaces and tweaked stables, the exquisitely minimalist primary bedroom unofficially sleeps five — thanks to three plush, palatial dog beds that form part of the décor.

Outside the main house, three barns have found fresh purpose: one became a lacrosse practice space for the family’s varsity-athlete son, another transformed into her husband’s home office, and a third glows as her luminous art studio. Skyland Farm itself often serves as backdrop.

Breidenbach is one of today’s most in-demand equestrian and fine-art photographers, celebrated as a master of equine minimalism. After launching her career in New York fashion, shooting advertorials for magazines, she transitioned to horses in 2007. Her supersized portraits hang generously throughout the estate. 

“Ultimately,” she said, “I owe much of my success to Ralph Lauren, who became my biggest client globally.”

Her “equine nudes” — sleek, sensual images of untacked horses against simple backdrops — recall the starkly beautiful portraits of Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, two of her greatest influences alongside Georgia O’Keeffe. Minimalism is her mantra: “I only see the horse — beginning with the kindness and intelligence in their eyes, then their form and structure,”  Breidenbach said. “Animals show you only what they want to show you. As a photographer, you must learn how best to ask.”

Living amid so much reconceptualized space has naturally required compromise. 

“Having the art barn next to the lacrosse barn has presented its challenges — like when a canvas goes flying off the wall after a 100-mph ball strike,” she laughed. “And my husband has learned to tune out my perpetual Steely Dan playlist during conference calls. But somehow it has all worked.”

Set against rolling pastures and almost supernatural sunsets, the five-bedroom main residence— a chic, single-level ranch — showcases natural woods, stone, soaring ceilings, and original architectural details from exposed beams to fieldstone fireplaces. The heart of the home is an open plan sunlit great room/kitchen, where a wall of French doors leads to the terrace.

Skyland Farm has long carried a spirit of reinvention. While the bones of the heritage estate remain, Breidenbach revealed that the sauna was once a pony barn (the original stall door survives), the luxurious primary bath began life as a chicken coop, and the outdoor terrace overlooking the sparkling pool once doubled as a helipad. Enhancing the pastoral charm, a manmade pond was added in 2005. The current owners immediately contributed a new roof and fully updated bathrooms.

This fall, with their children grown, Breidenbach and her husband became empty nesters and decided to put Skyland Farm on the market. 

“It feels like the right time for a new chapter and a smaller footprint,” she explained. “This decision is new, and we’re still figuring out next steps.”

Leaving Bedford is of course bittersweet.

“There’s no replicating it — the property, the people. Not a day passes without seeing someone riding or walking on the BRLA, which is an absolute joy,” she said of the Bedford Riding Lanes Association paths. But have camera, will travel. Breidenbach and her pop-up studio will always be welcome at the finest horse farms nationwide, where she will continue to photograph her beloved muses barn-side. 

“I just won’t know what to do if I’m not mucking a stall,” she said wistfully.

Skyland Farm, 149 Narrows Road, is currently listed with Angela Kessel of Houlihan Lawrence. For more information, visit houlihanlawrence.com/realestate/details/25905002/149-narrows-road-bedford-hills-ny-10507