Welcome! We are Angela and Scott Armstrong. We purchased Southern Pines Equestrian (formerly Sunshine Acres) in July of 2018 to be closer to our two daughters and grandchildren who live in Jacksonville, FL.
After moving to St. Augustine, I soon fell head over heels in love with my beloved horse, Amazing Grace “Gracie,” who came with the property. This began my love of horses and desire to revive and renovate the property for other horses and their owners to enjoy. Knowing that I couldn’t do it alone, I quickly enlisted family members to help with the task of running a horse farm.
My dad, Carl Lowery, known as “Popsi”, is the main caretaker of the facility. Retiring after working 54+ years taking care of multiple golf courses in different states, he was the natural choice to maintain the grassy pastures, grow healthy snacks in the horse garden, and work on equipment that seems to always need fixing. It is so wonderful to have three generations contributing to the success of the barn when my son, Alec is home from college and working on the farm and my daughter, Courtney works on the business side.
“My main focus here at Southern Pines Equestrian is the horses! Their care, well-being, and safety is my utmost concern and I am honored to have them at our facility!” Angela Armstrong, Owner
Where we strive to cultivate a thriving environment promoting the care, love and nurturing of horses while honoring Christ.
Barn
Our beautiful barn is designed for the comfort of our horses as well as our students! It features a climate controlled classroom, a dedicated supply room for students and an indoor bathroom. For our beloved horses, we provide spacious 12 x 12 stalls, fans for keeping them cool and thick beds of shavings for their comfort when they are indoors. The barn's open airy center matted concrete aisle way is easy to keep clean and safe for both horses and students. Our grounds offer spacious pastures with plenty of grass for grazing, mature trees and outdoor shelters that provide shade and large restful spaces for our horses. Outdoor covered wash area, along with uncovered wash areas allow us to regularly and safely clean and cool down our horses.
Training Amenities
Our training amenities feature a large new outdoor arena with premium footing and fencing, a separate grass arena with jumps, a round pen with premium footing, a square round pen perfect for learning to trot, obstacles positioned throughout the property, newly fenced paddocks with covered shelters, hay huts with lush hay in some pastures, and newly constructed separate stalls in others. A pond for horse swimming with trails around the perimeter of the property and a fully trained instructional team for your equestrian training needs.
Team
Our team of professionals includes instructors and barn staff of different backgrounds who all share the love for horses. Safety and comfort for all barn guests is our number one goal.