Tour a Thoughtfully Planned 8-Stall Barn in Mexico

Inside this charming brick exterior is a modern and light filled stable.

Situated in the beautiful countryside near Mexico City, is a private barn at La Roca, a state of the art riding center. La Roca is home to two additional stone barns made from stones excavated from the land. The facilities at La Roca are abundant. The property has a main ring, dressage arena, grass ring, indoor arena, walker, club house, lounge, 8 grass paddocks, swimming for the horses, a race track, jump course and eventing jumps on the track. La Roca’s owner wanted to build a smaller, private barn to be rented out since they were always at capacity in the other barns, which was designed by Jade Maillet.

Jade’s equestrian business is called Stable 8, named after her lucky number which is tattooed on her wrist. She rides, trains and sells show jumpers and focuses on designing horse barns in Mexico and the United States with her new partners.

Photography by Anwar Esquivel

The 8-stall barn has a tack and feed room, wash and grooming stalls, client bathroom with a shower, office, storage for hay and shavings, plus additional groom’s quarters and a private garden.

Jade’s inspiration for the barn’s black and white interior came from Pinterest, Instagram and a couple of barns featured on Stable Style, including DarkHorse and this stunning black and white barn in Australia. When it came to planning out the layout and features, Jade used her wealth of knowledge and experience from working for successful riders and traveling around the world.

“I’ve seen so many beautiful stables before in Florida, Europe and Calgary with different styles and layouts.”

As a rider and a groom Jade worked out of a variety of barns with different layouts. She noted that at every barn, there was always one thing that someone didn’t think of. A lot of the beautifully designed barns do not consult the workers or grooms, the people who use the stables the most. Jade took this into consideration when designing the barn’s floor plan.

Every inch of this stunning space was hand made by local construction workers. It saved on costs but did pose challenges when it came to making duplicate pieces that needed to be precise. Sometimes doors or parts had to be made over several times if they didn’t come out straight or the same size. This pushed back the barn’s one year building time frame to about a year and nine months.

Creating a bright and light filled environment is a priority for Jade’s designs. The barn has high ceilings, skylights and well ventilated stall fronts.

The tack room is centrally located in the barn and across from the grooming and wash stalls, making access easy for everyone.

Tack Room & Feed Room

The multi purpose tack and feed room has a place for everything, leaving no excuse for clutter. All of the cabinets were custom made and designed with their contents already in mind. Open shelves hold saddle pads and boots for the horses, while the cabinets next to it stores rider’s items and has ample storage. Across the room, cabinets hold grain and supplements.

This side of the room is used for grain and supplements. Each storage bin can hold three bags of grain and the counter space above is made for preparing meals. The left side of the room holds space for a future washer and dryer next to the sink.

“Even if it’s a feed room, it can be tidy, clean and beautiful.”

The enclosed cabinets on the tack side of the room can hold hanging clothing, store riding boots, helmets and has a drawer for smaller items like gloves, spurs for clients.

The floor inside the tack room is tile, designed to look like wood since it’s easier to clean.

The saddle and bridle racks were all handmade by a groom who used to be a woodworker.

The pendant lights were sourced from a small shop in Mexico.

Bathroom

A shower and bathroom offers a place for riders to clean up before heading home or perhaps going off to work.

Barn Office

The office in the barn features two walls of glass which offer spectacular views of the sunset and mountain views. You truly feel at peace in this wonderful space.

Some of the pendant lights, sinks and faucets were the first pieces Jade bought for this barn. Those were key pieces that she fell in love with early on and helped inspire the ascetic.

This side of the office is meant for food storage and has a space for a small fridge in the right side of the cabinet.

The Exterior

Thank you Jade for sharing a closer look at this barn. Reach out to Jade at Stable 8 for any of your equestrian facility needs in Mexico and the United States.

Photography by Anwar Esquivel