Honey Hill Farm Mobile Petting Zoo and Pony Rides

Honey Hill Farm Sets New Single Day Event Record

Honeyhillfarm.net News
By Megan Adams, Honey Hill Farm Staff
Berry, KY
4/25/12

On Saturday, April 7, 2012, Honey Hill Farm Mobile Petting Zoo and Pony Rides broke a new company record for the number of events done in a single day. The business provided animals to twelve separate Easter events, with the first one beginning at 9:45am and the last one ending at 8:00pm. Of the twelve events, nine were hosted by churches, and three were hosted by facilities for senior citizens.

“We’re used to juggling a hectic schedule,” says Honey Hill Farm owner Sally Powell, “but that day took it to a new level.”

Powell, who started the company in 1998, and is by far the most knowledgeable of the layout of Honey

Honey Hill Farm looks forward to National Nursing Home Week

Honeyhillfarm.net News

By Megan Adams, Honey Hill Farm Staff
Berry, KY
3/27/12

Washington, D.C. — The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today announced its theme for the 2012 National Nursing Home Week (NNHW) observance: Celebrating the Journey. NNHW will be observed in nursing facilities throughout America, beginning Mother’s Day, May 13 and continuing through May 19, 2012.

The staff at Honey Hill Farm is very excited about the upcoming event.

“Birthday parties, festivals, and school events are a lot of fun,” says Honey Hill Farm owner, Sally Powell. “We regularly get to introduce children to our furry friends and we love doing it, but there’s something really neat about getting to remind someone who hasn’t had the opportunity to spend much time with animals lately, how much they love them. There’s a lot of nostalgia and storytelling.”

Honey Hill Farm has been providing petting zoos to senior centers, long-term care facilities and retirement communities in Kentucky and Ohio since the company started in 1999. “It’s really the perfect

Honey Hill Farm Launches New Online Pricing System

Honeyhillfarm.net News

By Megan Adams, Honey Hill Farm Staff

Berry, KY USA

3/18/12

“It has been a long time coming,” says Honey Hill Farm owner Sally Powell, about her company's new online pricing system, which went live just a few days ago.

As a niche service provider, employees of Honey Hill Farm are all in agreement that the question that they get asked the most is “how much does it cost?” While that question will continue to be met with the standard “that really depends” response that staff have been instructed to give for years, the information just became much easier to access.

“The problems with giving on the spot quotes are numerous,” says Powell. “Our prices depend on our costs and availability, which change for each event. With fuel prices constantly climbing, the distance of the event from the farm is more important than ever. And the sheer size of our service area means that we have to pay very careful attention to where we book events, when we schedule them, and what services we offer to them.”

Because of the complicated nature of the pricing system, Powell admits that the

Honey Hill Farm combats rising fuel prices with new program

HoneyHillFarm.net News
By Megan Adams, Honey Hill Farm Staff
3/12/12
Berry, KY USA

Honey Hill Farm is very excited to announce a new program for the 2012 season, designed to enable customers who are working with a smaller budget to include a petting zoo or pony rides at their event. The program, called the “stand-by” system, encourages prospective clients, who are interested in arranging animal services for their event, but who simply cannot fit it into their budget, to request to be placed on a waiting list.

The combination of the very rural location of Honey Hill Farm, the typically suburban location of much of its clientele, and the high costs of operating the trucks and trailers has always meant that fuel prices were a big factor in determining the price of event services.

“With this recent spike in diesel fuel we knew something had to be done so we could continue to meet the needs of a variety of budgets,” says Honey Hill Farm Owner, Sally Powell.

The concept is pretty simple. When the quoted price of a service is higher than the budget of the prospective client, he or she should request be placed on a “stand by” status. The customer will be asked the desired date and time parameters of their event, and if another event is booked in their area, and in that time range, they will be contacted with a lower rate.

“The fuel savings of coming to an event when we are already nearby is pretty significant, and it allows us to pass a lot of those savings on to the customer,” says Honey Hill Farm owner, Sally Powell. “It’s a win-win-win situation, for us, the client, and the environment.”

Powell, who is retired from US Air, says that the stand-by program is inspired and named after the similar system of flying on a commercial airline for discounted rate, based on availability of seats. But much like flying stand-by, booking an event in this manner has risks.

“As wonderfully as the program can work out, it isn’t for everyone,” admits Powell. “It’s important to understand the risks.” Booking through the stand-by system means that

Visit Honey Hill Farm at an upcoming event near you!

Honeyhillfarm.net News
By Megan Powell, Honey Hill Farm Staff
8/13/11

Berry, KY- Cheer up, friends!

While Summer 2011 is winding down, and children all over the tristate shuffled their brand new sneakers back to school this week, Honey Hill farm is excited to announce a fantastic fall line up of public events that the whole family will enjoy!

Saturday, August 20, 2011: Petting zoo at the Farmer's Market in Covington, KY from 11am-5pm and at the Florence Freedom Baseball game from 3-6pm

Petting zoo and pony rides at the Mason Heritage festival in Mason, OH from 1-5pm

Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21, 2011: Petting zoo at the James Ramage Civil War Museum from 1-3pm

Thursday, August 25, 2011: Petting zoo and pony pulled wagon rides at Northgate Mall in Cincinnati, OH

Cont'd....

Honey Hill Farm to Provide Free Petting Zoo at 2011 Beast Bash

For Immediate Release
Honeyhillfarm.net News
By Megan Adams, Honey Hill Farm News Staff
6/25/11

COVINGTON, KY- Honey Hill Farm Mobile Petting Zoo and Pony rides is excited to announce its upcoming participation in the 2011 Beast Bash, to benefit the Kenton County Animal Shelter and the Kenton Paw Park (on the upper level of Covington’s Pioneer Park). Honey Hill Farm will be providing a free petting zoo, to help attract more people to the charity event.

“It’s common sense really,” says Honey Hill Farm owner and Kenton County native, Sally Powell. “Everyone who works for Honey Hill Farm is an animal lover, and we’re all very excited to be able to participate in such a worthy cause.”

The Beast Bash-“A Celebration of Pets and their People,” is in its second year, and will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at Pioneer Park, from 10am-4pm. All of the proceeds will go to the animal shelter and the Paw Park, both of which are non-profit organizations that rely on fundraising to function.

Honey Hill Farm is one of about 50 local organizations that have signed up to participate this year, either through sponsorship, or by setting up an exhibit. The event planning committee is hoping to

Honey Hill Farm celebrates 11th year at Thomas the Tank Engine Festival

For Immediate Release
Honey Hill Farm News
6/14/11

Connersville, IN- On behalf of the Whitewater Valley Railroad, Honey Hill Farm would like to invite you to bring the kids to the Day Out With Thomas: Leader of the Track Tour 2011.

This will mark the eleventh year that Honey Hill Farm has provided the pony rides and large petting zoo for the annual event.

"We know all of the Thomas songs by heart," says Honey Hill Farm owner, Sally Powell. "We love the Thomas the Tank Engine festivals. It's a really exciting, family friendly environment, and it's become a traditional event for us."

The Day out with Thomas in Connersville, IN, is one of

Local Woman Makes Dream a Reality

For Immediate Release
Honeyhillfarm.net
6/12/11
By Megan Adams, honeyhillfarm.net staff

Covington, KY- “I own a mobile pony ride and petting zoo company.”

This has been Sally Powell's response to the age old question, “what do you do for a living?” for the past 13 years. “It's never what anyone is expecting,” laughs Sally, and “it often requires a lengthy explanation.”

In 1996, when Sally began to get serious about her long time dream of starting a pony ride service, many people in the rural Pendleton County, Kentucky, where she lived, were leery. “It's was an odd concept,” explains Sally. “Especially to people who were raised with access to horses and other farm animals.”

But Sally grew up in the very urban Covington, Kentucky, and her fondest memories from childhood were of a family reunion each year, where a local man brought a pony for the children to ride.

“I always rode over and over, and when it was time for lunch, I would bring my plate out, sit in the grass, and eat with the pony,” she remembers fondly.

When she retired from US Airways in 1998, Sally knew it was time to make her dream of providing the same service that she enjoyed so much as a child, a reality.

“I started Honey Hill Farm with just one pony, a run down horse trailer, and word of mouth advertising,” says Sally.

In March of 1998, a northern Kentucky family hired her to bring a pony to their son's birthday party. Sally didn't know it then, but that was the beginning of something really big.

“At the time that I started the business, I was hoping for a post retirement hobby, that would allow me to justify having so many animals, and maybe bring in a little extra income. The result has been pretty amazing.”

Amazing and overwhelming, she goes onto admit. She wasn't quite prepared for the way the business took off, and even with the help of family and friends, she still struggled to keep up.

Fortunately, help was

Honey Hill Farm Now Offering Bunny Parties!

HoneyHillFarm.net News
By Megan Powell, Honey Hill Farm Staff
Lexington, KY USA

Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way! And just in time for the introduction of Honey Hill Farm's newest service: Bunny Parties!

Honey Hill Farm has been contemplating adding Bunny Parties to its list of services for quite some time. With Easter approaching, the upcoming release of the movie Hop, and the unexpected growth of the farm's bunny population (see Facebook for more details), the time just felt right.

"Over the years I've noticed that, while people really love all of our animals, bunnies just cast a spell over children," says Honey Hill Farm owner, Sally Powell. "I've seen crowds of children gathered around a single bunny for hours."

Bunny Parties will be similar to another recently launched service, Indoor Petting Zoos. Bunny Parties can be done indoors or outdoors, and are expected to be most popular in the winter and spring months, when weather is unpredictable. Both the Indoor Zoo and Bunny Parties will focus on the hands on experience of holding, petting, and feeding small animals, while learning a little more about them.

The basic concept is that about 8-10 bunnies, who will arrive in baskets, will be available for children to hold and feed, either in a yard or in a house. Companion animals, such as...

Honey Hill Farm Launches New Website

HoneyHillFarm.net News
By Megan Powell, Honey Hill Farm Staff
Lexington, KY USA

Honey Hill Farm Mobile Petting Zoos and Pony Rides is excited to announce the launch of a brand new website!

"It was time," says Honey Hill Farm owner Sally Powell. "The company has progressed substantially over the past few years, while the website has stayed pretty much the same."

Honey Hill Farm, a family owned company that provides petting zoos and pony rides for special events in Kentucky, Southern Ohio, and parts of Indiana, was founded in 1999.

"We've always tried to take advantage of the internet as a means of reaching our customers. Having a quality website is very important to us," says Sally.

The old sight, created by Webscapes by Fran, featured great photos and information about Honey Hill Farm, and served the company well for years. However, with the company's recent growth, the staff began to see the need for a site that would help them reach their ambitious goals.

"We want the site to be interactive," says Farm Manager Robby Powell. We want present and future customers to really get to know our animals and our services, and to know what to expect...