A Very Merry Equestrian Home Tour for the Holidays

Step inside Rebecca Yuhasz Smith’s well decorated holiday home.

Known for her classic and timeless accessories at Rebecca Ray Designs, Rebecca’s style at home is a celebration of sporting art, mostly dogs and horses, Rebecca explains.

“I love all things animal. The tree in our family room is 90% animal ornaments. My husband and I love to mix high and low – some wonderful things with extensive pedigrees paired with things of much lesser value to create an eclectic yet traditional country house feel,” Rebecca said. “At the holidays, I find my taste tends to be more traditional and nostalgic. I’ve been collecting sporting art since we were first married (26 years) and I’ve been collecting antique holiday items for as long as I can remember. I can never pass up an antique ornament in my travels, especially those with stripes, shiny brights and handblown. I also love all things German at Christmas, many of those include handmade wooden and composite animals.”

Filled with eight Christmas trees, the Smith household has four live Fraser Firs and four antique and/or vintage feather trees. Rebecca’s favorite holiday traditions include stuffing stockings and setting a formal table with family antique dishes and silver. Each year she does it a little bit differently, matching porcelain dishes in unexpected ways.

The dining room features fieldstone and barn stones taken from the property during the home’s remodel. A Baker dining table is accompanied by 19th century hand-painted rushed chairs. Staffordshire and stirrup cup foxes and dogs sit on top of the table along with glass swans and a forest of bottle trees.

The grey horse water color is a late 19th century piece. The felt Percheron on the cabinet is hand-felted by artisan Diane Grey Felting. A top hat, antique German horses and bottle trees round out the collection.

A feather tree is decorated with shiny antique glass ornaments.

An antique stirrup is accented with more bottle brush trees.

The Staffordshire dog is surrounded with bottle brush trees on the table.

The oil painting in the corner depicts a river in Wisconsin.

This is the cozy family room.

A Rebecca Ray 2020 holiday pillow rounds out the pillow assortment.

The family room table features a paper mache Pinto pony surrounded by a display of German toys. The oil painting on the left is a grey Percheron from the late 19th century.

A peek into the Butlers pantry. Stainless steel countertops original to the house (c. 1920) and oil painting of Rebecca and Derek’s daughter on a grey pony, painted by Rebecca’s mother, an accomplished oil and water-colorist.

Rebecca’s Laundry Room features a Berkshire pig double-sided lithographed farm sign. The original house sink has been reglazed in black, a farm table is perfect for folding laundry.

Here is the kitchen with a fieldstone fireplace and backsplash. The center island is new stainless steel with rivets and was painted the same color as the dining room. The English Setter painting by Leon Danchin over the fireplace was Rebecca’s grandmother’s.

Paper mache mold horse.

This is the front hall powder room with a concrete sink of antique corbels. The room features antique fixtures and oil sporting art paintings throughout.

A metallic feather tree, vintage metal leaf lamp, antique British and German animals.

Ornaments on this small Fraser fir have been with the house since the 40’s and were given to the Smith’s by the previous owner. Other notable pieces include an antique bird cage and a German candle carousel purchased at a German winter festival in Cologne. The English Setter portrait features one of Rebecca’s show dogs and was commissioned as a special anniversary present.

Here is the front hall with an antique tea caddy lamp, painted paper mache disk with dog. The English Setter sculpture and livery sign were purchased at Portbello in London. The Hackney pony oil sign was placed on the back of a livery carriage.

A beautiful white vintage feather tree decorated in all blue antique ornaments. The horses were the original casting pieces for bronzes by Hugette Wheeler, famous equestrian sculpture who is best known for life-size bronze race horse installations at major race tracks.