Nancy Pugh Later

Mother Nature Gave Nancy Pugh Later a Life-Altering Experience

Nancy Pugh Later has always put the love she feels for her horses, family and friends above all else, but a natural disaster in 2006 sealed her belief that ribbons and winning aren’t the most important things in life. That year, Hurricane Wilma hit her new farm and took down one of the barns.

"It was the first season in our new farm. After hurricane Wilma it took a lot of work and team work to get our farm back in shape. One of our barns had blown down and we had a lot of tree damage. My boyfriend taught me how to use a Bobcat, and on New Years Day 2006, he and I spent the entire day and several more days cleaning up the last of the tree damage."

For Nancy, the whole perspective changed because of Wilma. "My friends and horses were all safe, and I was grateful for that."

The original Heartwood Farm was located in upstate New York and was Nancy's grandfather's property. "My mom and dad bought Heartwood Farm in Ashaway, Rhode Island, where I started riding as a child." Nancy's parents have been a close part of her riding career throughout her life. In fact it was at Devon that Nancy made her riding debut in a leadline class. "In May of 2005, my parents helped me to buy this farm that we have now in Loxahatchee Groves, and we named it Heartwood Farm as the farm in Ashaway had been sold. It was a big step for us to have this beautiful farm together, and I am very lucky to have their support."