Mesa Farm is an 80-acre diversified farm on Muschopauge Road in Rutland, MA.  It is the home of Ann Tripp and Dale Perkins and – now that they are grown up and off on their own – the home-away-from-home for Elizabeth and Samuel Tripp.

   The equestrian program is the primary enterprise at the farm. Dale is a certified riding instructor who teaches riding and vaulting skills to traditional students, as well as specializing with those on the mental health end of the therapeutic riding industry.  Some students ride on a regular weekly schedule through most of the year while others participate in a week-long Summer riding program in July and August. 

   Mesa Farm is also the home stable of the Dale Perkins Horse Show, which performs at area fairs and festivals.  The “show” horses are the same animals that serve as lesson horses and additionally provide much of the labor on the farm such as garden cultivation, occasional logging, and hay and sleigh rides. 

   Land uses at Mesa Farm include ~50 acres of managed woodlot, a one-acre market garden and a small home fruit orchard. Sixteen acres of pasture provides some grazing and hay for the horses, a year-round flock of grass-fed sheep, and a few beef steers and goats during the Summer.  The farm also has various species of poultry and a small apiary.  The farm abuts Muschopauge Pond, which serves as the public drinking supply for the town of Rutland.

   Facilities at the farm include a traditional farmhouse with attached barn dating back around 200 years, an early 20th century poultry barn that now serves as a horse barn, and a newer indoor riding ring that hosts several functions each year including an annual Live Nativity the second weekend of December and an occasional farm-to-table dinner. The farm also hosts a Field Trot 5K each June to benefit City To Saddle. 

   Mesa Farm got its name from its rectangular appearance when seen on a plot map and the first initials of the members of the Tripp family when they purchased the farm in 1995: Mark (who passed away in 2002), Elizabeth, Sam, and Ann.  Ann and Dale Perkins were married in 2006 and the equestrian programs were started at the farm in 2009.