{"id":8850,"date":"2025-11-05T06:57:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T11:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=8850"},"modified":"2025-11-03T14:57:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T19:57:49","slug":"gold-rush-farm-eastons-hidden-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=8850","title":{"rendered":"Gold Rush Farm: Easton\u2019s Hidden Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cecelia Myers &#8217;27<br \/>\n<em>EE\u00a0<\/em>Staff Writer<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An autumn breeze hits Connecticut, and suddenly the phone at Gold Rush is ringing off the hook. With a trail system of gold and the autumnal rush of customers, this Easton horse farm surely lives up to its name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deep in the heart of Easton, Connecticut lies a 100+ acre farm, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gold Rush Farm LLC<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Just a few miles down the road from Silverman\u2019s, this equine business has a trail system for the books. In addition, the sense of community is what earns this business its place in the spotlight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Silverman\u2019s is crowded and the unseasonable heat is becoming too much to handle, Gold Rush is the place to be. Especially during the fall foliage, it\u2019s a smooth transition from goats and apple picking. Although, the farm is home to three goats as well: Thelma, Louise, and Sparkles. Alongside them is a group of tried and true trail horses (that happen to look great in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> posts).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The farm hosts a 45 minute trail ride, at a walking pace, through their 120 acres of leased land. However, the hack horses are really what tie the experience together. A 22 year old wild-caught Mustang, \u201cHank The Tank\u201d, is a seasoned and reliable trail horse. His slow and steady pace is what inspired his nickname, rather than his wild Nebraska nativity. Hank is trained specifically for these trails, so much so that if you get lost, all you have to do is drop the reins and he\u2019ll take you home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Often alongside Hank is Raine, a 24 year old American Paint mare. While she\u2019s a little bit quicker than her partner, she\u2019s perfect for the beginner rider. Her eager demeanor and black &amp; white coat is what customers love most about her, as well as her feisty personality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These horses are the initial attraction of the farm, but the community is what makes people stay. \u201cI have met so many wonderful people at the farm that have really helped me grow as a person,\u201d said longtime volunteer\u00a0 Zoe Jurgielewicz, who was inspired by the farm&#8217;s staff and other volunteers to apply to Trumbull Agriscience this fall for the 2026-27 school year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jurgielewicz, 13, has been volunteering at Gold Rush every weekend since she was allowed to at 10. She claims her initial interest in volunteering was because of the animals, describing the horses as \u201csweet and very loving.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think my final favorite thing about GRF is the community,\u201d Jurgielewicz said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An experienced instructor and trail guide, Natalie Newmark, has similar feelings about the farm. \u201cI have no idea where I would be without the farm today,\u201d Newmark said. Having attended riding lessons since she was nine, Newmark has honed her craft for eight years now, always at Gold Rush Farm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to book a trail ride, customers contact the farm at 203-268-9994. They may also visit their website at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldrushfarmsct.com\/trail-rides1.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">goldrushfarmsct.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Trail rides run for $65 per person for 45 minutes. Consider going on a ride through roughly 120 acres of forest with an experienced trail guide this fall!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Feature Photo: Gold Rush Farm, Easton, CT, photographed by Cecelia Myers.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cecelia Myers &#8217;27 EE\u00a0Staff Writer An autumn breeze hits Connecticut, and suddenly the phone at Gold Rush is ringing off the hook. With a trail system of gold and the autumnal rush&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":8851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8850"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8853,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8850\/revisions\/8853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}