The Farm Family ...meet the Colletts

     Hello, I’m Julie, and this is part of my family in the pic, we just can't seem to all get together at one time to take an updated one, hopefully soon. 

     I have been married to my amazing husband Richard for 38 yrs., and because of his hard work ethic, and being an impeccable provider, we are blessed with this 50 acre retreat that God has allowed us to enjoy for over 28 yrs. He and I together, as a team, have built what we have today.  Our handprints are all over our farm, and we are so excited to now share it with others. We raised our three adult children here, whom we are so proud of, and we have three precious granddaughters Mila, Emerson, & Sylvia, and one grandson Crew, who have captured our hearts. The Lord has been our leader since the very beginning of our marriage, and having Him to lean on, has been the key to a long lasting marriage. I have a new motto now that I often quote, it's a lyric from one of my son's songs he wrote ….. "This capsule that were traveling in, goes far and wide but don't come back again” ….. We like to live everyday by this motto, making every moment count, because we can't ever live in that moment again!  

     We purchased this property for the total seclusion it has provided us for all these years. When we say we have no neighbors, we have NO neighbors, so the phrase, "It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop", can truly be stated here on the farm! It certainly has been an adventure raising our children here at Sunset Ridge, and the farm has served us well.

     Our daughter Madison began showing Rocky & Ky Mountain horses at age 8, so the property was a great place to breed, raise, and train horses. Winning grand championships on some of those horses, certainly was a lot of fun for her. After graduating from college with a business degree, she has worked with several companies in that field.  Madison now lives in Atlanta with her husband Ian and daughter Mila, where she is an accounting manager. At a young age, my oldest son Elliot, turned the lodge great room into a recording studio, where he began his music career as a singer/songwriter, lead singer in his band, music producer, and audio engineer. He used the studio to record his own albums, as well as other artist, and the tranquil setting here made the perfect place for penning songs. Him and his wife Izzy, who is a chef, and new momma of our granddaughter Sylvia, recently started a catering business which is located in Mt. Sterling, Ky, very close to the venue. We are excited to now have them catering some weddings here at the venue.  Dalton, my youngest son, was a dynamic baseball pitcher since the age of 8, and the barn was the perfect place to set up the batting cage, where he practiced long hours on his sinking slider ball. He went on to college to pitch, and majored in engineering. He now lives in Bowling Green, Ky with his wife Olivia and their daughter Emerson & son Crew, where he helps manage a crane business. 

     I am owner of Interiors On A Budget, an Interior Design and Decorating business. Photography has been an important part of my career, and the surroundings on the farm have allowed me to capture some amazing nature and landscape pictures over the past 28 years, which I have shared with you on the Gallery page. Outdoors is my favorite oasis, where I get to work on landscape, flowers, or just any project that keeps me there, but if you ask my nephew Quinton, he would say I love rocks the most! Before going into the military as an engineer, he came and stayed with us on the farm, and played a big role in helping us to create some of the spaces we get to share with you. Moving and placing so many rocks for our landscape, was an incredible feat, but with his strong back and pleasing personality, he made an incredible mark on our farm. I think he was elated when he arrived at bootcamp, because the first thing he said to me, when he got there was, “there are no rocks here”!  He now lives in Mt. Sterling with his son Eli and is finishing up an Engineering at MSU. We are so proud of what he is accomplishing.            

     My husband, who has been the rock for our family, and the most incredible father, owned his coal mining business for 35 years, then retired, and operated cranes for 5 years. After retiring again, he and I now work closely together managing Sunset Ridge Farm Events & Wilderness Lodge. There is nothing he can't create or build! Together we really enjoy repurposing old wood, furniture, junk etc., and we are so excited to share some of those projects with you. Our historic barn has been transformed into a unique space, by his impeccable craftsmanship.

     We decided after becoming empty nesters, we should create a way for others to enjoy the nature and tranquility that we have found here. So we now offer Sunset Ridge Farm as a Wedding/Event Venue & Wilderness Lodge! We welcome you to come and be a part of the Farm, if you can dream it, we can host it! We cannot wait to read the story in the next chapter of "Down on Sunset Ridge”.

See you at the Farm!