DREAMS COME TRUE
Many people ask how Majestic Oaks Ocala came to fruition. The history of the farm and the owners is quite interesting. What initially started as a dream and youthful passion for horses, quickly turned into a thriving business. Ron DiMauro, with his wife and equine co-enthusiast Marisa, has established a premier Equestrian venue and farm. Located in the heart of the Horse Capital of the World. The Reddick, Florida location is conveniently located between Ocala and Gainesville, Florida.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Ron grew up in Hawaii. Ron has lived in Oregon and California. He has had multiple career paths. He owned a trucking company in Hawaii. A wood manufacturing company in Oregon. He managed his own almond orchard. He purchased four golf stores in California. And constructing housing in California. Each of these careers added to his incredible depth and diversity of knowledge. Ron’s interest in raising cattle and horses was first ignited in Oregon.
Soon, the DiMauro’s moved to Central Valley California. While there, he and Marisa, a distinguished teacher and award-winning district school administrator, began making trips to and from Florida to care for Ron’s mother, who spent her winters in Ft. Myers.
During one of those trips, he drove through Ocala and fell in love with this area. Ron found a beautiful home in Ocala’s Pinnacle Park, and the next chapter of their lives began. The home was a perfect retreat for them in a perfect location. It was so perfect that they decided to build a 2/2 guest house for their moms. Being in the center of the Horse Capital of the World rekindled Ron’s love of horses. Soon the dream of participating in Marion County’s equine community grew.
THE BEGINNING
We purchased Majestic Oaks in August of 2017. The previous owner, Richard Trayford of Equiventures, had held the Exmoor Horse Trials on the property, as well as schooling shows and clinics. Equiventures scheduled a USEA recognized event during October 2017, and we were able to observe, meet a number of riders, and become acquainted with Nancy Russell. She was the show secretary at the time and was able to provide us with a great deal of information needed to be able to continue using the grounds for recognized events and schooling shows. Subsequent to that event, Nancy Russell has been our guiding light through all the necessary elements of recognized events and schooling shows.
We applied for a received our first license for a recognized show in January 2018. Due to the time constraints, however, we were not able to run a recognized event, but we did schedule a schooling show where 140 participants came to Majestic Oaks. We subsequently applied for and received two more licenses for recognized events at Majestic Oaks in 2019.
MAJESTIC OAKS COMMITMENT AND RECOGNITION
Majestic Oak’s main focus is to maintain and improve the venue and to provide both local, state, and national riders who come to Florida for the winter with a place that was well-maintained, user-friendly, and has a range of cross country jumps from Tadpole/Starter through Preliminary. More recent additions include a show jumping arena with fiber footing, new show jumps, new cross country jumps, and additional stalls are a few of the improvements just within 2019. Check our amenities page for continuous improvements throughout the year.
Our equestrian events are special to us because we feel a deep sense of commitment to our entire Majestic Oaks team. Including the riders, the volunteers, and the spectators. We care that they have a rewarding and fun experience while on our grounds. Their time spent with us brings a smile to our faces. We try to improve the quality of their experience with each passing schooling show and recognized event. We are continuously adding more and more events to our calendar. Please check our calendar of events and Facebook frequently for updates.
Majestic Oaks was recently honored with two awards: the Florida Horse Trials Association “Outstanding Commitment Spurring Others to Realize Dreams with Horses” and the Marion Soil and Water Conservation District “Farm of Environmental Distinction” awards.
OCALA’S EVENTING COMMUNITY UNITES
We have a great number of people who have been instrumental in our voyage. First, Nancy Russell, who has helped guide us through the myriad of protocols, policies, and procedures. John Williams, who designed our first course. Cyndi Kurth helped guide us through the application process and the officials at the USEA and USEF assisted us as well. Local riders and trainers Lisa Murphy, Chris Aytug, Carol Ogden, Natalia Neneman, Katie Walker, Sinead Halpin, Tik Maynard, Clayton Fredricks, Charlie Hicks, the army of volunteers, Emily Holmes from the Florida Horse Park and Nick Godano, the list goes on.
We know that we may have missed a number of our incredible supporters and my apologies in advance. Just know that from the very first moment we arrived on this beautiful farm, the warmth, acceptance, and the embrace from our community has been overwhelming.
