KATONAH, N.Y. - All aboard!
Muscoot Farm’s recent acquisition of two ADA-accessible wagons will give visitors with mobility issues the chance to safely enjoy one of the county park’s most beloved experiences – going on a hayride.
Money to fund the new wagons and new steps for the farm’s existing ones was raised by The Friends of Muscoot Farm during last year’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The official unveiling took place earlier this month. The wagons will start rolling this summer.
“We are so lucky to have the support of the Friends of Muscoot and the county,” said Farm Manager Jonathan Benjamin.
(The wagons have wheelchair lifts attached at the rear.)
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins noted that the new wagons are “more than an upgrade, they are an investment in the future of Muscoot and accessibility for generations to come.”
In an earlier statement, he emphasized that “accessibility is not an add-on, it’s a responsibility.”
“Every improvement we make with inclusion in mind ensures that individuals of all abilities can enjoy our public spaces with dignity and independence,” Jenkins added.
Kathy O’Connor, commissioner of the county’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, called hayrides “a signature experience at Muscoot Farm.”
“These new wagons will allow us to expand and enhance our programming in meaningful ways,” she said in a statement.
Peter Tartaglia, first deputy commissioner at the county’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, spoke at the ceremony about inclusion and “experience.”
“Who doesn’t want to come to a farm and go on a hayride?” he asked.
“There’s nothing we like to do in our parks than have everyone experience what we do,” Tartaglia said, pointing out that the county system is comprised of 18,000 acres. Of that Muscoot accounts for 770 acres and seven miles of hiking/nature trails.
The new wagons are aligned with the Westchester Parks Foundation’s “Trails Without Limits” program which provides disabled individuals with all-terrain track chairs to use in county parks, he added.
Sue Moga, Friends president and Muscoot’s former farm director, was up next.
“This is truly a special time to be part of The Friends of Muscoot Farm,” she said, noting that for the past 50 years the group has partnered with the county “to serve the people of Westchester and those well beyond.”
It’s funded equipment for haying and hauling and hayrides, a new kitchen, pig house, animal sheds, and the animals themselves.
And it has sponsored, Moga said, “a plethora of programs from festivals to fairy walks, from gardening to goats, from sheep shearing to blacksmithing and many in-between.”
Offering such as pumpkin picking, holiday light shows, and the farmers market also draw crowds to the farm.
“The most common thing I hear well is I brought my kids here when they were young and now I’m bringing my grandkids,” Moga said.
With the county’s support, it has won many state and national grants. Over the last 50 years, the friends have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the farm.
“None of this would have been possible without the support of county leadership and the parks and recreation commission,” said Moga. “And yet all of this hasn’t served as targeted an audience” as the wagons endeavor.
“Westchester is the first around to make hayrides possible for everyone,” she said.
A fierce advocate of the parks system, county Legislator Erika L. Pierce highlighted the partnership between the county and the friends group, calling it “critical to creating the experience that we have here at Muscoot Farm.”
Pierce has great memories of the many times her own children visited Muscoot Farm.
A photo of her then-toddler daughter – who is now in her 20s -- when she was on a hayride there still sits on her dresser.
She’s wearing a delightfully mismatched outfit, gigantic rubber boots, and a mile-wide grin.
“Every kid deserves that experience. Every grandparent who wants to travel with their kid on a hayride deserves that experience. Every disabled adult deserves that experience,” Pierce said.
GOOD TO KNOW
Alfred B. DelBello Muscoot Farm is located at 51 Route 100, Katonah, N.Y. It is open year round. For information about programs and events, visit its website, www.muscootfarm.org.
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