2024 Rates & Fees 

Location & Contact

431B Federal City Road Pennington, NJ 08534

General Information: (609) 730-9059

Ext. 403 - Adaptive Riding Information

Ext. 404 - Lesson Information / cancel or schedule a lesson

Ext. 401 - Director, Christine Cardinal and all other inquiries

Hours of Operation: 

Mon – Thurs       7:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m.

Fri                       7:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m.

Sat and Sun       7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

History & Establishment:

One of the earliest farmers to farm this property was Earnest Johnson, the son of Russell Johnson who owned a farm on the land that is now Rosedale Park.  Earnest utilized the land for dairy and crops.  In the 1960’s, the MacDonald Family purchased the farm and renamed it The Hadda Farm. The MacDonalds leased out the cropland to a local farming family, the Schaafsmas.  They grew crops and raised farm animals. In 1979, Janet Schaafsma built the main horse barn with the indoor arena and began operating a riding and boarding facility.  Her daughter Debbie took over the business until the County acquired the property in 1994.  Since then, Mercer County Stables has been updated to feature 51 stalls, and indoor and two outdoor rings, two grooming stalls, two tack rooms, two feed rooms, four wash stalls, and eleven horse pastures.

Facilities:

• The 243-acre facility has marked trails for bird watching, walking, hiking, and horseback riding that lead to Rosedale Park and Mercer Meadows via the Lawrence Hopewell Trail.
• The Mercer Educational Gardens are located here. To visit their website, click here
• Parking for Curlis Lake and Curlis Woods access
• Parking for the LHT access
• Horse trailer parking for trail riding
• Equine themed playset with barrier-free rubber safety surface

Mercer Educational Garden:

• Self-guided tours of 7 demonstration gardens, a native plant meadow, and 20 examples of home composting methods
• Educational signage and literature promoting the importance of responsible gardening and home composting
• Events that engage visitors in conversations with Master Gardeners about responsible gardening techniques
• For the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County website visit mgofmc.org

Rule:

• Feeding horses, hunting, fires, alcohol, picnicking without reservation is prohibited; dogs must be leashed at all times.