compact tractorsHidden Acres Farm ownerKaren Bischoff purchaseda <strong>Bobcat</strong> CT445 to get workdone faster and give her moretime to enjoy her family andher horses.The area is filled with residents likeBischoff who appreciate everything ruralliving has to offer, with the amenities ofa big city less than an hour away. Maturetrees, flower gardens and stables are quitecommon. Small farms dot the country roadsthroughout central New Jersey.Karen Bischoff was previously a nurse atMount Sinai Hospital in New York, N.Y.She longed to return to the country, whichshe did five years ago, resuming a lifestyleshe first knew as a small child growing up ona horse farm. “My mother put me on a horsewhen I was 4,” Bischoff says. “I’ve beenriding horses off and on for my entire life.”Room to roamPrior to moving to Hidden Acres Farm,Bischoff boarded her horses, but now sheenjoys their company and rides them asmuch as she desires. The horses’ names areChili, Winston and Alabama. Chili is theyoungest at 12, followed by Winston at 16,and the senior is Alabama, age 29. Bischoffrides Winston five or six days a week in thering, conveniently located on her property.Hidden Acres includes Bischoff’s residence, ashed, two paddocks and the riding ring, whichwas built in 2008. She says it took nearly fiveyears to get the property to the shape it’s intoday. All new fences were built and grass wasplanted around the residence and shed. “It’s alot of work, but I love it,” she says.Helping her with the property improvementswas her longtime partner and friend,Christopher Shinn, who has years ofexperience operating an assortment ofconstruction equipment and maintainingproperties like Bischoff’s. The two met eachother eight years ago when Bischoff boardedher horses at a farm where Shinn worked.New tractor purchaseToday the couple share responsibilitieson the acreage, including the routinemaintenance with the horses and preppingthe riding ring. In 2009 they started lookingfor a new compact tractor to completethe chores more efficiently, especially forBischoff, who enjoys spending time withher 8-year-old daughter, Anna. Not longafter they began looking for a new tractor,they noticed a nearby <strong>Bobcat</strong> dealership hadcompact tractors on display in front of thedealership. They stopped at Garden State<strong>Bobcat</strong> in Freehold, N.J., to get a better lookat the new line of <strong>Bobcat</strong> compact tractorsand implements.They had a good feeling about the <strong>Bobcat</strong>tractors from the start, and they got theirfirst driving experience when a <strong>Bobcat</strong> salesspecialist brought a CT445 compact tractorto Hidden Acres for a demonstration. “Heleft the machine with us for a day to seehow we liked it,” Bischoff says. “It gaveus an opportunity to test it and feel morecomfortable about selecting the tractor.”“Our major concern was being able toprepare the riding ring with it,” Shinn says.The maneuverable CT445 is 69 inches wideand 134 inches long, ideal for working inconfined spaces like the ring. “The <strong>Bobcat</strong>model was a better tractor than some othermodels we looked at,” he says. “For whatwe got for the money, I thought it wasa better deal, and I like the metal on the<strong>Bobcat</strong> tractors versus plastic on the otherbrands. Other tractors had less horsepowerfor the same price, so after we consideredeverything, we decided the <strong>Bobcat</strong> modelwas the one we wanted.”After a day of test driving the new compacttractor and some careful consideration, theydecided to purchase the 45-horsepowertractor with a box blade implement, frontendloader and a pallet fork attachment.The front-end loader is helpful in the winter14 WorkSaver Homeowner with Acreage Early Spring 2010
“My mother put me on a horse when I was 4. I’ve been riding horses off and onfor my entire life.” – Karen Bischoffto remove snow from the driveway, whilethe pallet forks make it simple to movevarious items on the property.Exceptional serviceBoth Shinn and Bischoff have been verypleased with the sales staff at the <strong>Bobcat</strong>dealership and their prompt response to anyneeds they have with their compact tractor.“We were also interested in another brand,but the service in this area isn’t very good,and if you can’t get something serviced in afriendly environment, then there’s no reasonto buy it,” Shinn says.The box blade implement has beenextremely helpful to level the riding ring,the outer areas, and do some light gradingon the property, according to Shinn. “It’s anincredibly comfortable tractor, and I like thehydrostatic transmission with the forwardand reverse directions,” he says. “The fourwheeldrive does a good job in the ring whenI’m leveling it.”Changing rear implements is easy on <strong>Bobcat</strong>compact tractors with telescoping lowerlinks and telescoping sway bars. “I thinkthe <strong>Bobcat</strong> implement system is superior toany that I’ve found on other tractors,” Shinnsays. “Being able to raise and lower thethree-point hitch in the back without havingto go around to the back of the machine; thearms move in and out so you can adjust it towhere it needs to be.”Features like a suspension seat, cruise controland a spark arrestor muffler are standardequipment on the CT445, as well as sevenother models from <strong>Bobcat</strong>. An optionalBob-Tach quick attachment mountingsystem is available for the loader, to easilyswitch between front-mounted attachments.The combination of these standard features,superb support from the local <strong>Bobcat</strong>dealership and salesman, and the versatilityof a CT445 led Karen Bischoff to purchaseher first <strong>Bobcat</strong> compact tractor. Nowchores get done faster, there’s more timefor mother-daughter activities and moreopportunities to ride her horses.Go online at www.MyWorkSaver.com/tractorfor more information about the <strong>Bobcat</strong>CT445 compact tractor, implements and theadvantages of <strong>Bobcat</strong> compact tractors.Christopher Shinn(background) prepares theriding ring at Karen Bischoff’shobby farm in rural NewJersey. The couple finished thering last year with help fromthe <strong>Bobcat</strong> compact tractor.Early Spring 2010 WorkSaver Homeowner with Acreage 15
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