MILLBROOK — Following a long and storied history of buying and selling horses, formidable horseman David Hopper has recently relocated to Winley Farm, finding that downscaling his specialized business and transferring aspects of his responsibilities to his longtime assistant, Katie Lynch, has been the correct move.
His former business location along Leedsville Road in Amenia, Longreen Farm, served the enterprise well since he moved the business there in 1970 from Lakeville, having grown the Amenia property over several years to offer 30 stalls and an indoor arena that was added in 1974.
The Leedsville Road farm has been recently purchased by Hope Rising Farm and is providing an expanded space for its growing therapeutic equestrian program.
During an interview on Thursday, Oct. 5, Hopper and Lynch described history, philosophy, and the business of buying and selling champion horses to a worldwide equestrian community.
Beginning with the historical aspects, Hopper said that through the early 1980s, close to 100 Thoroughbreds were being sold each year at Longreen Farm. His business partner at Longreen Farm, the late Ira Shulman, was finding horses at racetracks in Arizona and the American Southwest and sending them back east to Hopper.
In 1983 Hopper started going to Europe to buy horses, first to Denmark, and then to Holland. He said that he continues to source most of his horses in Holland through contacts he made in those early years.
In 1993, Hopper and Shulman had split the business and Hopper began to broker horses under the business name of David Hopper Inc. Through the early 2000s, Hopper was selling about 50-60 Warmblood horses every year. Horses he has sold have competed at the Olympics, World Championships, and the Pan American Games in all three major disciplines with good results.
“It was always to learn from David,” Lynch recalled, noting that she first joined the business in 2016, fully committed to the mentored experience. She has been managing the business for the past six years, always learning and supporting day-to-day operations.
Lynch’s day-to-day work is to train the horses for competition, amateur or professional. She described their sale horses as the types best suited to the show jumping, hunter, equitation, or eventing dressage equestrian competitions.
“I’ve worked for a lot of good horsemen over the years, but David has a particular kind of genius for what we do,” Lynch said. “He can help a horse learn how to think,” an essential trait in competition.
That gentle temperament and ability to learn are keys to selecting horses, both Hopper and Lynch explained about the acquisition process. Additionally, each horse under consideration is thoroughly radiographed and clinically evaluated by veterinarians before purchase.
“The basics are hard; they are what you need to practice the most,” Lynch said of the patient process of training a horse to compete.
“I care about the horses’ well-being, day to day,” Hopper said, also important to solid training.
“I still enjoy training horses as much as I did when I was a teenager. I’ve been buying and selling horses since I was 16 and living in Lakeville, Connecticut. I’m turning 80 next month,” Hopper said.
Hopper said that he used to have a large operation, selling 60 to 100 horses each year. Now his horses number six or seven being trained at any one time, and he sells about 20 to 30 horses annually. He spoke about diminishing returns when there are too many horses to be tended to.
Hopper said, “It’s important to maximize the profit.” “We are looking to stay small and have a good crew.” The business presently has three staff members.
He will often buy horses as foals and have them shipped to the U.S. when they are grown, Hopper said. When they are young, they are more affordable, although untrained. It can cost as much as $8,000 to transport a horse by air to the U.S., he noted.
Nathan Miller
Voters also passed a resolution to purchase two new 72-passenger school buses.
AMENIA — Webutuck Central School District voters approved a 2026-27 budget on Tuesday, May 19, that triggers the district's first property tax increase in over five years.
The approved spending plan locks in a 1.35% increase to the tax levy. Under the new rate, property taxes will sit at approximately $8.77 per $1,000 of assessed home valuation. According to Webutuck Business Administrator Robert Farrier, a homeowner with a property valued at $200,000 can expect a total school tax bill of about $2,036 for the upcoming year.
That tax bump will cover a 4.45% increase in overall expenditures, largely driven by salary increases and health insurance costs.
Farrier said the district has multi-year agreements with labor groups that mandate increases to employee salaries, meaning those costs are predictable year over year. Salaries are set to increase by a total of $515,344 over last year’s budget, including special education positions that were added during the 2025-2026 school year.
Health insurance costs are projected to rise sharply next year. Farrier said he expects regular annual increases averaging 8% to 10% going forward.
In addition to the budget, voters also approved a bus purchase and reelected three incumbents to the school board.
Voters approved the purchase of two 72-passenger buses and a Bobcat UW56, a side-by-side all-terrain vehicle.
Judy Moran, Amy Wesley and Jerry Heiser were all reelected to the school board. The three incumbents ran unopposed for an additional three-year term on the board.
Superintendent Ray Castellani said the vote reflects a supportive school community. He thanked voters for coming out to the polls at Webutuck High School on Tuesday.
Graham Corrigan
MILLBROOK — Millbrook Central School District had its proposed budget ratified Tuesday, May 19.
Residents voted 391-221 in favor of the $37,992,751 plan. It’s a year-over-year increase of 6.57%, and the tax levy will rise at a rate of 7.02%.
Millbrook’s budget does not exceed the allowed state tax rate — meaning the budget needed a simple majority to pass. While some program and staffing cuts are included, the district was able to avoid a contingency budget and the additional $1.5 million in cuts it would have necessitated.
The district is faced with rising insurance and transportation costs, and is still waiting on state aid from the to-be-determined New York budget. Governor Kathy Hochul announced a broad agreement on key priorities earlier this month, but state legislators filed for their twelfth budget extension last week.
The next year at Millbrook will include a number of capital projects aimed at repairing the school’s aging buildings. Leaks and roof damage have been a persistent problem at the school’s buildings, and a capital project fund transfer is set to address the damage.
Further down the ballot, Howard Shapiro and Chris Rosenbergen were both reelected to their Board of Education seats.
Nathan Miller
Wassaic-based cannabis grower Douglas Broughton in his basement greenhouse at his home on Old Route 22 on Sunday, May 17.
MILLERTON — A cannabis dispensary planned for Main Street is facing lengthy delays that the Wassaic-based grower behind the project attributed to bureaucracy at the Office of Cannabis Management.
Doug Broughton, who operates a commercial cannabis farm at his home on Old Route 22 in Wassaic, plans to open a retail wing of his licensed cannabis microbusiness at 32 Main St. in downtown Millerton. Broughton first announced the plans earlier this year, targeting March and April openings that were later pushed back
He now hopes to open the shop in early summer, but said he can’t peg a specific date due to delays at New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management.
Broughton attributes sluggish administration at OCM to interference from larger cannabis businesses. Those businesses, he said, consume much of the agency’s time and resources, creating delays that can place significant financial strain on smaller microbusinesses like his own.
He said selling his cannabis wholesale to retailers has been keeping him afloat as he pays $1,800 per month on rent for the space on Millerton’s Main Street. Despite that, he’s confident the quality of his products and his shop will make up for the wait once it’s over.
“We have a lot of options and we can be very competitive,” Broughton said, adding he believes his cannabis is of a higher quality and better value than larger, corporate producers. “They threw huge amounts of money into bullying their way into a market and now nobody wants their weed.”
Broughton’s business has also faced other challenges. Rising fuel and commodity prices due to the Trump administration’s conflict with Iran have increased shipping costs, cutting into Broughton’s wholesale profits.
Those price hikes hit Broughton in multiple ways, affecting the cost to purchase packaging for his cannabis and the cost to ship it to retailers.
“I just got containers. I ordered a year ago and the shipping cost would be $2.50,” Broughton said. “Now, it was $6.50.”
The situation isn’t dire, though. Standing in his basement greenhouse in his Wassaic home, Broughton explained that he’s only utilizing just over one-tenth of his legally allowed grow area.
Under OCM regulations, licensed microbusinesses such as Broughton’s are allowed up to 5,000 square feet of mixed-light growing space, his preferred growing method.
Mixed-light growing means Broughton uses a combination of artificial and natural light to grow his cannabis plants. He said he exercises scientific precision over his crops, manipulating artificial light color, humidity levels, nutrients and temperature to ensure his ideal product.
Broughton said he uses just over 600 square feet of his allotted growing space currently, so the business has plenty of room to expand to cover rising costs. But Broughton encouraged proponents of small business and legal cannabis to write to state officials about the effects of long licensing periods on small businesses.
“If people want to get this open, write a letter,” Broughton said. “I’m wholesaling still. It’ll be fine, but I’m excited to get it open.”
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Nathan Miller
A Life Flight medical helicopter carried a man to Westchester Medical Center after he sustained injuries to his foot caused by lawn mower blades.
MILLERTON — A man was flown by helicopter to a regional hospital Friday after a lawn mower caused injuries to his foot.
New York State Police troopers arrived at 43 Scenic View Drive in the Scenic View trailer park at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, May 15, after a 52-year-old man had gotten his foot stuck in the blades of his lawn mower.
A police spokesperson said the man sustained serious injuries. A helicopter operated by private ambulance company Life Flight landed in Eddie Collins Memorial Park to transport the man.
He was taken to Westchester Medical Center for treatment. The man’s identity and current conditions are unknown as of press time.
Leila Hawken
Enhancing educational opportunities for students in the Millbrook Central School District since 2001, the Millbrook Educational Foundation took part in the Millbrook Volunteer Fair on Saturday, May 16. Residents were invited to learn about volunteer opportunities with the foundation and a variety of other local and regional organizations. The event, now in its fifth year, was held at the Millbrook Library.
Millerton News
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity report May 10 to May 13
May 10 — Deputies responded to Kings Apartment located at 20 Pine Drive in the Village of Pawling for multiple 911 calls reporting a disturbance. Three tenants at that location reported getting into a verbal and physical altercation with a female at the same location. The matter was resolved without further police intervention.
May 11 — Deputies responded to a residence in the Town of Stanford for a fraud complaint. The caller reported that she was contacted by a local realtor who made her aware of the fact that he received correspondence through a messaging app where the sender was trying to sell her home. Caller reports that another realtor showed up at her home to look at it after receiving similar correspondence. Caller reported that her home is in fact not for sale. Investigation on-going.
May 12 — Deputies responded to Oak Summit Road in Washington for a verbal domestic dispute between a mother and son. The matter was resolved without further police intervention.
May 13 — Deputies responded to Old Route 22 in Amenia for a domestic dispute between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The matter was resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE: All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845 605 CLUE (2583) or email dcsotips@gmail.com. All information will be kept confidential.
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