Boulder Bluff Clydesdales
Charity Martin Thevenot grew up near Strathclair, Manitoba, helping her parents, Blaine and Trinda Martin, on their third-generation farm, Boulder Bluff Clydesdales. She and her sister Britney Martin started showing orphaned foals, flipping bales, caring for miniature horses and bringing their parent’s field meals as young girls. Charity has always dreamt of taking over the farm and is now making that a reality.
Charity and her husband, Eric Thevenot, took the reins and moved onto the original homestead in 2022. They will be the fourth generation of Martins to have the honour of operating Boulder Bluff Clydesdales, and they hope to see their children, Tucker (4) and Sawyer (1), become the fifth. “I hope [my kids continue this], I don’t want them to feel they have to, but I hope they feel like they want to stay in some part of it. I really hope somebody wants to keep the horses going,” says Charity.
Britney and her husband, Tyler Thevenot, currently live in Minnedosa, Manitoba, and have a small farm
with horses, goats, and chickens. Britney still shows horses with Boulder Bluff Farms, and Charity enjoys having her sister part of the farm in some capacity.
Charity works full-time running the family farm alongside her parents. Although Eric works off the farm as a mechanic at a local farm equipment dealership, he is very involved with the farm’s operation. He has integrated 100 beef cows and grain land for feed into the farm.
Carrying on the farm traditions and the Boulder Bluff Clydesdales breeding program are the most important things to Charity. “It was definitely the horses that inspired me to want to take over and be more involved with the farm and the breeding program that my dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather worked on,” she states. Each year, Boulder Bluff Clydesdales breed around 40-50 mares, selling their bloodline all over North America: even as far as Scotland and England.
At Boulder Bluff Clydesdales, it is all horses all the time. In addition to their prestigious breeding program, they also break, show, and sell horses. Showing horses has been a large part of Charity and Britney’s lives since they were young girls, and they
have attended many Clydesdales shows over the years. Blaine and Trinda are incredibly proud of their daughters and their showroom accomplishments.
Tucker, Charity and Eric’s oldest child, already helps on the farm. He has miniature horses that he looks after and leads around their farm. Tucker and his younger sister, Sawyer, are true farm kids. They both enjoy going on wagon rides and riding around in the farm equipment.
Charity and Eric plan to purchase more shares and assume the day-to-day operations, allowing Blaine and Trinda to take a step back but never fully retire. For the Martin family, everything they do is fueled by their love of the lifestyle and community that come along with Clydesdales. Blaine and Trinda want to stay involved purely for their love of their work, but they do recognize that it is time for the next generation to step up.
Charity is proud of the life she and her family live and the farm they have built, “I always said I want to create a life that I don’t want to have to be away from, don’t have to take a holiday from all the time. I like my home. I like my farm.”