Vicki Roussel loves the Harvard landscape and is putting it to work to enhance the fitness and well-being of equine and human clients. Roussel is the owner and operator of Over the Moon Farm on Bolton Road, which offers brand new boarding facilities for ten horses. As a certified personal trainer, she also works with human clients who are tired of the gym routine, and are looking for a personalized workout and more encouragement.

Roussel and her family moved to Harvard from Groton last summer after a seven-year search for the perfect horse property. Roussel said she was fortunate that the long-time owners appreciated her intent to maintain the Bolton Road property as a family home, and accepted their offer over that of a developer.

“Harvard is a great horse town,” Roussel said, noting her very positive interactions with town officials as she planned for construction of Over the Moon Farm’s facilities. Roussel’s barn offers ten stalls, each with a connected outdoor paddock, so the horses can wander indoors and out as they please. In addition, Roussel has cleared ground for construction of a permanent outdoor arena in the spring. Her property’s 12 acres are linked to approved trails through orchards and conservation land, so there are ”lots of places where you can hack out and ride.”

Roussel said she’s a believer in “individualized care,” and emphasized that she’s a resident stable owner who doesn’t leave the care and management of her equine residents to someone else.

Roussel has also moved her business as a personal trainer to Harvard. She meets with clients in their homes or gyms, as they prefer. Roussel is starting a “fitness boot camp” for women in mid-February. The program will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. It will begin at an indoor location in town, but will move outdoors as soon as weather permits. Roussel emphasized that she doesn’t intend to run participants until they drop, but that the sessions will involve a variety of fitness activities to build cardiovascular well-being, balance and agility, muscle strength, and flexibility. The intensity of activities will be tailored to participants’ energy levels and fitness objectives.

Contact Roussel for more information on her boarding facilities or fitness programs at (978) 456-7890, or visit her website at: www.vickiroussel.com.