Whistling Dixie Farms
Josh and Julie met in 2016 and quickly discovered a shared love of horses, animal rescue and training. Josh with young, untrained or abused horses and other domestic pets, and Julie with taking children and young adults from never being around horses to confidently cantering and jumping a course.
They decided to create a place together that was inclusive and affordable, where animals and children could learn from each other. Josh and Julie McFall married in 2019 and together with their 5 children, they began Whistling Dixie Farms LLC. It’s purpose of not putting pressure on a rider to perform at a specific level, but to enjoy themselves and gain a true bond with their horse. They quickly grew from a few training horses and riding students to a full riding program on the 5 acre facility they presently operate.
Julie offers recreational horseback riding lessons in both English and Western disciplines. She teaches brand new riders to seasoned riders looking to get back in the saddle again. Josh has recently retired from a 20-year career in the golf course industry to dedicate his focus on Whistling Dixie Pet Sitting, a full-service concierge pet and farm sitting business. He serves the needs of all types of animals and welcomes all breeds under his care.
Josh
Josh grew up in western North Carolina, in the rural town of Black Mountain. As a child, he was taught the importance of animal care from his family who farmed the land they lived on. At the age of 18, Josh left NC to raise his first of two children in Naples FL.
Serving as the assistant mechanic at a local golf course, he found his home in Golden Gate Estates, where his love for
animals was quickly rekindled. Training under an experienced horse woman, Josh was able to train his first horse in 2005, a horse that he still rides today and is used not only to train new riders, but also competes at local shows. Over the years, he has adopted many rescue dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep.
Josh married his wife in 2019 and together with their 5 children, they began Whistling Dixie Farms LLC, which started as a horse training and riding lesson program. In 2020, they decided to grow to the 5 acre facility they presently operate. Josh also works behind the scenes at Estates Show Series, helping young riders enjoy the horse show experience in a fun manner.
After 16 years as equipment manager of a top-rated golf course, Josh decided to use his love of animals and talent of understanding their temperament to bring forth a pet and farm sitting service that can bridge his passion for animal care with helping his clients rest assured that their animals are receiving the best possible care while they are away.
Julie
Julie was born a native of Naples, Florida in 1984. It wasn’t until age 8, with the invitation of a family friend, that she was exposed to her true passion, horses. Being born into a middle-income family, horses were not in the budget. Consequently, Julie did what any passionate young horse woman would do, and she found a local barn to trade cleaning stalls for horse lessons. Working her way through the years, she gathered useful knowledge and skills to move from cleaning and mucking to assisting in their lesson program and doing office work that would one day help in her future career.
As her work ethic begin to pay off, she had the opportunity to own her first horse at age 13. Julie and her horse grew and bonded, teaching each other along the way what a team really meant. She also gained confidence in her horsemanship, under the guidance of her mentors, that she still leans on to guide her today.
At one point, the responsibilities of adult life and being a parent caused Julie to put equine activities on a hiatus. Once her three children got older and her career in finance was established, she got the opportunity to once again begin riding. It wasn't long before she was once again a regular at the barn.
In 2016, Julie met her now husband, Josh, who was a western horseman. Teaching each other their disciplines and expanding their own knowledge they wanted more. After a few years Julie began to teach and train friends and family. As word of mouth grew, so did the desire to begin a true lesson program for the community. As a result, in 2019, Whistling Dixie Farms was born.