A new chapter is being written for Lana Lobell

Lana Lobell was a picturesque landmark farm known around the world for the standardbreds it produced. The horses, used for harness racing, were bred and trained at the Bedminster, N.J., facility. A number won such prestigious races as the Hambletonian, held during this era at the Meadowlands in northern New Jersey.

But the farm came on hard times, with bankruptcy declared in 1989. Various plans for it fell through. Now, however, it is on track for a new identity in conjunction with the Fiddlers Elbow Country Club, also once part of an estate, that is located just down Rattlesnake Bridge Road.

The plan doesn’t include anything to do with horses and indeed, the vast decrepit stables will be torn down. Permission is being sought to replace it with an “event barn” for club events, weddings and similar activities.

But the big attraction is the relatively well-preserved mansion on the property, with its welcoming entrance hall, balconies, a classic wood-paneled library and a circular staircase worthy of Tara from “Gone with the Wind.”

Green fields, which will be planted with wildflowers, stretch out in scenic fashion from the back portico of the building, adding to the country ambience.

Ken Donovan, the president and a trustee of Fiddlers Elbow, knew exactly what he wanted to do with the building after he vacationed in England’s Cotswolds region.

The Cotswolds have been mentioned a lot recently in equestrian circles because it was there this summer that British show jumping gold medalist Harry Charles married show jumper Eve Jobs — daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs.

As Ken recalled, earlier this year, when he and his wife were “hanging out at a Cotswolds manor house, I had this weird feeling come over me:`This reminds me of something.’ ”

What it reminded him of was the mansion presiding over Lana Lobell, because he was familiar with that property. When he inquired about the farm’s status, he learned it was coming up for auction in three days, and wasted no time taking action.

“We were the winning bidder,” said Ken.

Lana Lobell was purchased in May 2025 for a bit more than $5 million from Bank of America, which acquired ownership in a mortgage foreclosure sale last year.

Bedminster Mayor Larry Jacobs said the township is eager to see “the property put into someone’s good use and to see something great happen there and to restore the property, restore the fence, restore the fields. It’s been in a poor situation for a number of years. We look forward to its improvement.”

The farm has quite a history. According to a volume of  “New Jersey Country Houses: The Somerset Hills” series by W. Barry Thompson and Jack Turpin, the property originally was known as the Field Farm, owned by brothers Hendrick and Jeremiah Field, who fought in the American Revolution.

In 1926, the prominent Schley family bought the land and built their 23-room Georgian-style home, reminiscent of the type of house found on a Virginia plantation. The bricks and roofing shingles came from John D. Rockefeller Jr. They were the same type he was using in the restoration of Williamsburg, Va.

In 1976, the farm was bought by a corporation controlled by Boris Leavitt, a Russian immigrant, and his wife, Sophie. The couple, who started the standardbred stable, were pioneers in the catalogue business after World War II. They promoted their wares from a small chain of shops under the name Lana Lobell.

Most of the 128-acre property, 122 acres, has been preserved for agriculture or agricultural uses. But something that is not agriculture-related can be done within the balance of the tract.

So the manor house will become a club with a farm-to-table restaurant and serve as a guesthouse with overnight accommodations supporting Fiddlers Elbow. Members will have access to both facilities.

The property is getting a name change to Oxbow Farm, after a bend in the Lamington River that looks like an oxbow. Fiddler’s Elbow is also named after a bend in the river, which is stocked so guests can participate in fly fishing.

A farm store will be the only place on the property open to the general public. Most of the acreage will be used for growing lavender, hay, sunflowers and “tons and tons and tons” of vegetables. There also will be some animals on the property; goats, sheep, Highland cattle, ducks and chickens.

Ken’s son, Tommy, who handles the environmental and green initiative at Fiddlers Elbow, will be heavily involved and many from the horticulture staff will be at the farm, along with additional employees.

Though there had been a suggestion that part of the farm, with its white-fenced pastures, could be a home for retired horses, Ken noted his company isn’t familiar with the horse business and felt that wasn’t a realistic use.

“It’s not what we do,” he pointed out.

He did, however, note, “We’d be crazy not to have some sort of homage to the horses who were there,” but what that will be has not yet been determined.

He quickly added, “We love horses,” noting his father had racehorses. Equestrian themes can be spotted throughout the house. A carved fox head above one fireplace, for instance, is flanked by Currier & Ives-style depictions of a farm on one side and a hunting scene on the other.

The mansion is being refurbished but Ken noted that “the house, for not being fully occupied for a long time, is in really good shape. They don’t build houses that way anymore.”

Work has begun on the rooms in the manor house and Ken hopes they will be ready by next summer, although plans eventually call for an expansion that will yield a total of somewhere around 30 rooms, if the township approves.

Show horse trainer Rachel Rosenthal Bellard of Heronwood Farm in Bedminster, recalled working for Lana Lobell in 1986. At age 18, her job involved helping to get yearlings ready for the sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“My job was to drive this old Jeep around the track with a horse attached to the gate behind it. I had to watch the horse in the rearview mirror and make sure it wasn’t cantering, (it needed to be) either trotting or pacing. Craziest horse job I’ve ever had. We then took 110 horses to Harrisburg. Amazing experience!,” she remembered.

“I am so pleased to hear that this property will not be parceled out and developed. I can’t wait to see it brought back to life. Even if it’s not going to be a horse farm, I am so happy to know it will be used for agricultural purposes.”