Shore Acres Farm is a Mane Attraction

 

A quote famously attributed to Sir Winston Churchill claims, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” That adage proved true seven years ago for Neapolitans Janie and Mike Yag, each coping with the recent loss of a parent. “Janie was depressed, and so was I,” Mike reflects. 

Recalling his wife’s fond memories of being around horses as a young girl living in Nova Scotia, Canada, Mike suggested she saddle up at a nearby stable, hoping it would lift her spirits. She returned home, he says, “smiling from ear to ear. They say horses are great therapy, and that’s what this ride was for Janie.”

The following week, Janie signed up for riding lessons on a Selle Français called Quaker de Kreisker. After four sessions, she leased the 14-year-old bay gelding but was determined to own him. “I became very possessive,” she admits. “I didn’t want anyone else to ride him; I wanted him to be my horse.” 

That acquisition ignited the Yags’ love affair with the Selle Français (which translates to “French saddle”), a breed renowned for its show-jumping ability. A few months later, they traveled to France, where the horses are bred and where they purchased three more at the Agence Fences Elite Auction in Fontainebleau, under the guidance of esteemed international broker Jean Fourcart.

Unable to find a local boarding facility for their foursome that met their needs, they contemplated moving to Wellington, Florida—“The mecca of the equestrian world,” Janie remarks—but decided to stay in Naples and build their own farm instead. They put their home in the Seagate neighborhood on the market, purchased a 47-acre tract of land in Golden Gate Estates and, over time, acquired the surrounding parcels for a total of 84 acres.

The couple harnessed the talents of Steve Peel, co-founder of Gulfstream Homes in Naples, to help execute their vision. “When I first saw the property, it was just a cow field, and I don’t think they even knew at the time what it would turn into,” he recalls.

What resulted is the Yags’ 4,800-square-foot, four-suite contemporary farmhouse and 53-acre equestrian facility, collectively known as Shore Acres Farm. The name is an homage to the similarly deeded site of their former oceanfront carriage house in Narragansett, Rhode Island, where they wed in 2014.

Home on the Range

Working closely with Peel, the Yags tapped into their considerable design expertise—Mike’s in architecture and space planning as founder of a trade show exhibit company and Janie’s from her studies at the Rhode Island School of Design—to create the plan for their home, which was completed in January 2020. The goal was an open-yet-cozy layout that offered vistas of the farm from every room. Mission accomplished.

Mahogany and glass French doors, faithfully replicated from the Seagate home, open to a capacious, light-filled great room, where the couple spend most of their time. The comfortable space, anchored by a floor-to-ceiling stacked-stone hearth, is furnished in soft earth tones accented with the shade of blue in the Shore Acres Farm logo. “We wanted a light palette to highlight the colorful antique posters throughout the house,” Mike says.

Among their collected works is a circa-1902 lithograph of Australian cancan dancer Saharet that was shielded from Adolf Hitler’s plan to seize fine art and cultural treasures for a Führermuseum. As Mike recounts, “The original owner hid the poster, along with his extensive art collection, in a barn on his farm in Germany. Most of the art was destroyed in a fire, but our Sarahet poster was one of the few items that wasn’t damaged because she was in the middle of a stack of other fine pieces.”

Adjacent to the great room, a bright, open kitchen and towering wall-width bar complete the main living area. A wall of 10-foot-tall folding glass doors leads from there to an expansive covered lanai, creating a seamless space for entertaining up to 30 guests. The gathering spot is replete with an inground pool and spa, half bath, outdoor kitchen, quartz-top island bar, dining area, gas fireplace, and flat-screen televisions. “This is where everybody who comes to see us spends all their time,” Janie says.   

“We wanted our home to feel comfortable when it’s just the two of us but also keep the same ambience when having family and friends here,” Mike adds. Visitors include the pair’s combined six children, ranging in age from 31 to 40, and four grandchildren, who have their choice of three en-suite guest rooms bedecked in a crisp white aesthetic. A spacious primary suite with a luxe spa-like bath provides a tranquil retreat for the owners, whose personalities match the warmth of their surroundings.

A Stable Environment

As they were designing their farmhouse, the Yags also focused on creating a state-of-the-art equestrian facility, touring properties in Wellington and throughout France for layout and design inspiration.

Janie took the reins on equestrian-related matters, researching the highest-quality hay and feed, stall flooring, barn ventilation, fly-spray systems, automatic waterers, arena footing, paddock fencing, and other critical components—a daunting task for one new to the horse business. “It’s almost better when you don’t know what you don’t know because you learn the correct way,” she says, adding, “I asked the right people to find the best.”

The Yags commissioned Morton Buildings in Port Charlotte to create the storage and equine-associated structures—including three barns with a total of 48 generously sized stalls—made to withstand a category 5 hurricane. Today, the barns house the couple’s two- to three-dozen horses, mostly Selle Français (the figure fluctuates based on births and sales), as well as those owned by boarders, which number around 24 in season.

The pristine, chandelier-crowned barns feature air-conditioned rider lounges and tack rooms, kitchenettes stocked with snacks and cold beverages, laundries, and bathrooms with showers, as well as other amenities not often found in equestrian boarding facilities. To wit, Wi-Fi pipes in soft rock and country music 24/7.

Forty-two 5,000-square-foot fenced paddocks provide the horses plenty of room to roam and graze. Equestrians can hone their skills in a 14,500-square-foot open-air covered arena and a smaller competition-size outdoor arena—both equipped with jumps, a 5-acre natural riding area, and private and semiprivate trails.

“It’s an impressive facility,” says Gulfstream Homes’ Peel, whose company also handled the build-out of the barns and storage structures. “As a home builder, we don’t often have the opportunity to be involved in something so complex.”

Dual Horsepower

Janie’s passion for the horses is perhaps equaled by Mike’s enthusiasm for his impressive car collection. His favorites include a 2022 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante, a 2024 Porsche 911 Turbo S, and a 2024 Porsche 718 Spyder RS. “I have horses, and he has horsepower,” Janie quips.

The automobiles are housed in an immaculate garage, which sits adjacent to an enviable man cave—a handsomely appointed 1,400-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment where Janie and Mike lived while their home was under construction. That space is presently occupied by trainer and professional rider Jennifer Olsen. General manager Jesus Arguello and his family also live on-site in a 2,100-square-foot home.

A 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom guest apartment above the 18-stall barn previously housed French Grand Prix champion Tony Cadet and his wife and daughter. The longtime head trainer, professional rider, and world-class competitive show jumper for Shore Acres Farm recently returned to France with his family to continue training young horses from there.

While Shore Acres Farm provides an idyllic home for the Yags and their team, as well as a first-rate boarding facility for their riding clientele, it is undeniably dedicated to the comfort and care of its equine residents—a concept reflected in the tagline: It’s All About the Horse. As Mike sums up: “We love our riders and team members, but we owe everything to the horses because they give us so much.”