ANDOVER — Six or seven thousand years ago on a steppe somewhere in Eurasia, when man first turned a horse into his work mate instead of his dinner, that considerable effort formed an unbreakable bond that transformed human history. It expanded the future of the species, created a new society, developed transportation sources that opened unknown lands, built nations, and produced power methods fueling innovation and industry.
Today, even as machines assume those roles, aside from loving them, there is still nothing simple about horses. Not buying them, not training them, certainly not caring for them. Even riding these four-legged, 1,000-pound, yet amazingly graceful athletes comes with a significant amount of time, muscle and money.
“Horses are hard, so there are days when this life is hard,” says Marissa Gough, owner of Andover Equestrian in North Reading and Andover. “But then they do something the next day to make you love them all over again.”
Gough should know. The 35-year-old Stoneham native has been working hard loving horses since she begged her parents, Bill and Nancy Theobald, for lessons. When Nancy tipped off her mother-in-law, Doris Theobald, about her granddaughter’s request, it’s doubtful they saw the lifelong impact it would make.
“My grandmother bought me horseback riding lessons for Christmas when I was 10, and I never stopped,” Gough says.
Lessons at Route 114’s former Andover Riding Academy and subsequently Hunters Haven Farm in Groveland developed Gough’s knowledge of the brawny beasts with the velvety noses and big brown eyes that can melt a girl’s heart.
“I’d ride a couple of times a week, and I’d work there for extra riding time, for extra lessons or just to work with the horses,” she says. “That’s when I really fell in love with working with horses.”
So in love that after graduating from Stoneham High, she headed to the University of Massachusetts’ equine program.
“I graduated in 2008 with an associate’s degree in equine management and never looked back,” Gough says. “I built my own website: The Traveling Trainer. I’d go to people’s barns to train their horses.”
A little bit of luck
In 2008, with the help of her brother, Chris, Gough also bought her first horse, Chloe, for $600 from the Suffolk Downs racetrack after the mare’s racing days were done.
“She was a Thoroughbred and a spitfire,” Gough says. “She still is.”
Chloe is still beautiful, too. A 19-year-old, lean, tall chestnut with an elegant head and face that speak of Thoroughbreds’ Arabian roots. Bought originally to retrain and resell, Chloe quickly became more than an opportunity to turn a profit.
“I told my brother, ‘I can’t sell her. How can I sell her? She’s my first horse. I love her,’” Gough says, laughing. “My brother claims to this day I never paid him back, but I swear I did.”
At the time, all Gough could afford was to “rough board” Chloe at an acquaintance’s backyard barn, attending to all the horse’s needs herself daily, while turning the mare schooled simply to gallop fast, into one who trots, canters, jumps and even perform the intricacies of dressage.
But Gough had higher ambitions. While surfing the internet one day, she found a listing for a stable for rent in North Reading. After 30 years, owners Paul and Michaela Denaro, were looking for someone to take over their business, boarding, caring for and training horses. Gough had found her dream job.
“I opened the North Reading barn in 2010,” she says. “At that time, I named it Bit O’ Luck Stable.”
Leasing the facilities, she ran the 8-acre, 10-stall equestrian center with outdoor riding arena and paddocks, located right off Interstate 93. It kept her happily earning a living working with horses.
When romance intervened, Gough left Bit O’Luck, moving to New Jersey when the man in her life, an air traffic controller, was transferred. They bought a home on nine acres with a seven-stall barn, and after her day job, Gough taught riding evenings and weekends.
In 2018, Gough returned to Massachusetts and began searching the web for another opportunity to keep horses in her life.
“I saw an ad for someone to manage a barn in North Reading,” she says. “I said to myself, ‘Wait a minute. There’s only one barn in North Reading, and that’s my barn!’ I made a call.”
Five months pregnant, Gough met the couple running the stables, Molly and Kevin Edmonds, who would become good friends. The Edmondses agreed to remain at the farm — which they called Whispering Winds Stable — until after Gough’s child was born.
In March 2019, little Blake arrived to her mother’s delight. In June, Gough took over in North Reading again, and Whispering Winds became MG Equestrian Services.
“I’d bring Blake to the barn with me. It was great; she grew up there,” Gough says. “Molly and Kevin stayed for about two years and were a great support system. Then they moved their horses to their home.”
Making a move
The Edmondses soon set the stage for Gough’s next career move. They told her of a nearby empty stable. On 32 acres, right over the North Reading line in Andover, it had 20 stalls, professional riding facilities and fields abutting trails at Harold Parker State Forest.
It had hit hard times, the Edmondses told her, but Gough investigated, meeting with owner Mohammed Khusro.
“It was a mess when I got there, but I could see it had a lot of potential,” she says.
What she found was previously part of Flying High Stables, but issues needed addressing before it could reopen.
“In 2016, I think, there was a big snowstorm and the roof of the indoor (riding) arena collapsed under the weight,” she says. “Mohammed closed the facility.”
By the time she met with Khusro in 2021, small trees were growing in the arena.
“Mohammed rebuilt the indoor arena, and did a lot of work on the stables,” she says. “I had been working on all the permitting for the place since summer 2022. I started on cleanup and fencing in December 2022. ”
In March 2023, the barn doors opened at 180 Jenkins Road as Andover Equestrian — North, distinguishing it from the renamed North Reading facility, now Andover Equestrian — South.
Together, they offer boarding, riding lessons and horse training. Andover has the newly rebuilt indoor riding arena, viewing room, dressing area, jumping field and a new outdoor arena.
This is absolutely a labor of love, Gough says, and not just hers. Her father has done some heavy lifting, lately helping build Andover’s outdoor arena with his daughter.
“He’s here because he loves me,” Gough says. “And I have a great crew working with me.”
That includes Hailey LaPointe, Jen Grooms, Kat Fish, Julia Barrons and Amanda Maddalone. There’s also Arlo, Gough’s low-key German shepherd, and Lola, Fish’s dog, greeting visitors with tail wags.
North Reading’s stalls are mostly filled with boarded horses, as are about half of those in Andover, including Gough’s six horses, most used for lessons. There are the mares: Chloe, of course, and Priscilla, a bay, Dutch Warmblood/Quarter Horse mix; blond Ophelia, an adorable but shy Shetland pony who loves children, especially Blake; and Maisy, a liver chestnut who could have Morgan in her, but whose bloodline is iffy.
There are also two Thoroughbred geldings recently acquired from a New Jersey racetrack: Smalls, a bay, and Louie, a gray flecked with black. Gough plans to train both for riding and jumping.
Trotting along
Managing two stables requires nonstop energy because equestrian centers include the business and physical side of catering to big, muscular animals who don’t take time off and can knock a person down with a single hoof.
“It is a lot of work, but I think this area needed a barn like this,” she says. “We’re kind of laid-back; we’re not competitive. Other barns pressure students to take lessons, pressure them to enter horse shows. That’s not what we’re about. We’re about enjoying being with horses and all the good feelings that brings.”
Her style is working. Gough runs clean, full-service facilities dedicated to horses, their owners and “no shortage of people who want to learn to ride.” Animals and people appear happy to be here.
“I really like it here; it’s very peaceful,” says software engineer Larisa Kreismanis, who is learning to ride at Jenkins Road. “Marissa’s an excellent teacher. She’s patient, not pushy, and she gives me a lot of positive reinforcement.”
On days when Kreismanis and lesson horse Flirt do not feel like being put through their paces, she says, they enjoy Harold Parker’s trails.
Andover resident Renee Caruso Hernandez boards her gelding, Patriot, with Gough. She can spend time with her horse there, she says, and when they’re not together, Patriot is not stuck in a stall all day. He’s outside.
“The paddocks in the back are a big attraction for me,” Hernandez says. “Marissa puts the horses out, unless the weather’s bad. That’s where horses want to be; that’s their natural setting.”
She also praises Gough’s training skills.
“Marissa’s one of the most honest people with horses I know,” Hernandez says. “You can trust her. She’s helped me with my riding. and Patriot had mounting issues. She’s helping us work through them.”
Endlessly cleaning stalls, grooming and training horses and riders is not for everyone, but the life is perfect for Gough.
“Sometimes, it’s a grind and the love for it seems distant,” Gough says. “But then you’ll have a great day with great horses and great people, and it makes it all worth it. I enjoy teaching people to ride. I love how honest horses are, and if you really listen, they are usually telling you exactly what they need. I love how gentle they are with children. I love horses.”