Greenwich's last commercial horse farm is gone. Kelsey Farm, the 10-acre riding school on upper Lake Avenue in the Round Hill neighborhood, closed Saturday, Aug. 1, after its sale to new owners who have no plans to continue the riding program.

The horses have been removed, the pastures are overgrown, and the barn and stalls are already being reconfigured, according to a farewell tribute published by the Round Hill Association on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The closure ends 77 years of horsemanship instruction that began in 1949, when Elise "Sis" Kelsey and her husband C.W. Kelsey purchased the former Stubis Farm property from Joseph and Helen Wilshire. The founding story is local lore: Sis Kelsey brought home two ponies named Peter Pan and Tiny Tim from Playland, boarded them for free over the winter, and started giving lessons. What grew from those two ponies became Greenwich's longest-running riding school, with indoor and outdoor rings, 18 horses and ponies, three instructors and a summer Pony Day Camp that dates to 1951.

Elise "Easy" Kelsey, the second-generation owner who grew up on the property and rode an hour-long bus to Julian Curtiss School after morning chores, managed the farm since 1989. She became sole owner in 2019 after buying out her twin sister Sterett and brother Trey.

"It's really important that I keep this as a horse farm," Easy Kelsey told the Greenwich Sentinel in December 2019, when she announced the purchase. "It's a tribute to my mom and dad to keep it going."

Seven years later, the farm she fought to preserve has changed hands. The new owners' identities have not been disclosed. The Round Hill Association noted they have a history of keeping high-end horses on other properties but have expressed no intention of living on the Lake Avenue property or continuing the riding school.

The loss ripples across several community organizations. Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, which enhances the lives of individuals with disabilities through equine-assisted activities, has been based at Kelsey Farm's 1016 Lake Avenue address since relocating there in 1994. The Greenwich Riding and Trails Association, a nonprofit founded in 1914 that preserves open space and riding trails, worked closely with Easy Kelsey on trail conservation alongside the Greenwich Land Trust and Greenwich Audubon. The Greenwich Pony Club, whose roots trace to 1946 when Sis Kelsey served as a founding district commissioner of the New England Pony Club, also depended on the farm.

None of those organizations have publicly commented on their plans following the closure.

At its peak, Kelsey Farm offered group lessons for students ages seven through 18, a lease and share-board program with weekend rides, and an annual horse show that Easy Kelsey described as a place where families connected. Round Hill Stables was torn down in 1997. Quaker Ridge Stables closed earlier still. Now Greenwich has zero commercial horse operations, and no community meetings or alternative programs have been announced.