LA GRANGE, Ky. – Shannon Thelander grew up on a farm in Northern California and fell in love with horses at an early age. The horses had been gone for a while from the farm, but her love for them never left. When she was 14, she saw a flyer offering horses to lease. This started a whole new journey. “I leased three of them, Thelander said.

The owners also spent time helping her get reacquainted. “They taught me to ride again, and my world exploded.”

She began working with the horses to pay for the lease, and then at 15, she began working at a dude ranch where she stayed on learning to train horses, helping with trail rides. She would pack for the trips, take campers and families to the camp station and she said, “Live in the mountains where we did both basic and luxury trips for office retreats.”

Thelander added that they also did cattle drives for a Jewish camp, where she said, “We taught kids to ride and do a three-day cattle drive, then bring the cattle back. It was good experience where I worked with all kinds of horses, both high end, and backyard varieties.”

In days gone by, horses were broken through harsher efforts. Today, teaching colts to accept riders has a new, gentler technique. Thelander said they took a lot more steps, and she learned them all. “I left the ranch at 18,” she said adding she returned home, did some horse training and worked with horse therapy program connected to Mustangs.

“Then, she said, I came to Kentucky to visit my boyfriend’s parents,” fell in love with the area, saw a lot of potential, and decided to move. “Before the plane landed,” she shared, “I decided to move.”

It wasn’t just Thelander making the move to Kentucky, she said, “I had three horses; one was one of the ones I had leased when I was 15.”

She said the trip from California to Kentucky was strenuous, with her three horses, plus, a stallion she was hired to haul. With a lot of tire changes, she said the difficult trip made her decide she was in Kentucky to stay. When she first arrived, she worked all over the state before finding a farm. “I’ve been here for 10 years now, for a year, I bopped around training here and there.”

The round-the-clock hard work that first year allowed her to buy her farm and settle down near the town of La Grange, which is just a scant 20 minutes outside of Louisville. Her family from California would come to visit, and they stayed at the nearby Pillow & Paddock Bed and Breakfast. With frequent stays – and learning of the Thelanders dream to eventually retire and open a bed and breakfast – it all came together. “The owner kept telling me it was for sale,” Thelander’s mom Michelle said about the inn.

Eventually, the Thelander family moved from California to Kentucky and down the road, Michelle and Shannon began running it together. While she is no longer training horses, Shannon has two horses (Hippo and Jess), and two pet pigs, Mr. Pig, and Meatball, that greet visitors that come and eat leftover breakfast waffles. The pigs are a big attraction and delight the guests.

Set in the heart of horse country next door to a Thoroughbred Horse farm, antique tractor collectors can enjoy a quiet, fun getaway, run by a farm family that loves the country life with amenities for guests to enjoy. With five suites and two apartments, one handicap accessible, there is room for a small wedding, family reunion, or just a couple wanting time away. For those that travel to the Louisville National Farm Machinery Show, this is a great place only 30 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Pillow & Paddock offers a Friday night meal, high tea, for additional fees, and a hearty breakfast is included in the stay.

These days, Shannon just recently committed to working with a horse farm neighbor to rehab a rescue mustang. To find out more, log onto their website at www.pillowandpaddock.com.