When Joanie Lamm and her husband Jim, moved to Chattaroy, Wash., from Las Vegas to settle into semi-retirement, then bought two Belgian horses, she never dreamed she eventually would be feeding 25 pounds of hay a day to each of their 18 draft animals.


The Lamms own and operate Clayton, Wash.-based Mont Lamm Belgians Inc. They started the company in 1991 and in 1998 moved from Chattaroy to their current home, on Enoch Road just off of U.S. 395 about 25 miles north of Spokane, she says. The company has five employees.


Mont Lamm initially offered hay rides on the Lamms property in Clayton, then expanded to include carriage rides for weddings throughout the Spokane area, she says.


The Lamms now send their horses and wedding carriage to weddings throughout the Inland Northwest and also host weddings, reunions, and Christmas parties at their Clayton farm.


Jim has always loved Belgians because theyre big and sweet and they work hard, Joanie says. It was a dream of his for a long time to have these horses.


Visitors can spot the farm easily as they drive past its red barn with three Belgian horses painted on the exterior wall that faces the highway. A two-minute drive from the Spotted Road exit leads into a long gravel driveway where the Lamms dog, Annie, runs up to greet guests.


When the couple came to the property, aside from the residence, they found a hay barn and a bigger barn with three metal sides and a dirt floor, she says.


Since then, they have renovated both the hay barn, in which they store farm equipment, wagons, and 200 tons of hay, and the 3,000-square-foot pine-wood barn, which they use for parties and meetings.


They farm their own hay for the rides and to feed the horses.


Smaller buildings include a guest house where brides and their bridesmaids sometimes stay the night before their weddings, a nonprofit exotic bird sanctuary called The Bird Haven and Boarding Facility, and the Lamms home.


The 2,000-pound Belgian horses graze in fields surrounding the buildings. The Lamms bred the animals for a time and once owned 30 of them, Joanie Lamm says.


Belgians, which she says are similar to the Clydesdales made popular by Budweiser beer ads, can live to be 30 years old.


Jim Lamm says the horses can eat around eight pounds of oats a day, in addition to their normal hay diet. The oats are a treat for them, he says.


Belgians large size can make them look intimidating, but they really are gentle giants of horses, Joanie says.


The centerpiece of the 56-acre Mont Lamm farm is the 3,000-square-foot pine-wood barn, which has two large Belgians painted on the front double doors. The barn has tables, a kitchen, and windows that overlook a 2-acre yard.


A red carpet is rolled out over the concrete floor in preparation for weddings in a nearby garden, Lamm says.


A white tent next to the barn covers a concrete patio. The garden, a waterfall, and a gazebo are located across from the patio.


I went to a home show looking for a gazebo and somehow ended up back home with a waterfall, too, Lamm says.


She says the yard is a handy place for kids to play games while their parents talk on the patio during family reunions. She says the company doesnt do many birthday parties for kids, but the site is popular for adult parties.


Every Friday from July 1 to August 26 this year between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., Jim has two of his Belgians at the corner of Main and Wall streets in downtown Spokane to offer rides for $5 per person in his white surrey, which can hold up to nine people.


Spokane Teachers Credit Union and the Downtown Spokane Partnerships Business Improvement District sponsor the summer carriage rides. A Kids Ride Free Night with activities including clowns, face painting, and ice cream is slated for Aug. 12, says a Downtown Spokane Partnership news release.


Mont Lamm also offers hay wagon rides; has a custom-made, Amish-built oak wagon used primarily for parades; and does full-moon rides, pizza rides, and winter sleigh rides.


The wedding carriage can hold four people and rents for $500 to customers in the Spokane area. Joanie Lamm says weddings, priced at about $2,900 for a 12-hour event, generate the bulk of the companys revenue.


Couples from all over the Inland Northwest come to the farm to hold their ceremonies and receptions on the Mont Lamm property, Lamm says. A bride from Japan is getting married there in September, she says.


Mont Lamm typically does two weddings a week.


Last year, Jim Lamm came up with a plan to offer a Northwoods Cowboy Cookout.


Hes the creative one with all the ideas, and Im the detail person, she says.


The couple leased a 5-acre piece of land northwest of the farm, where Jim built a 40-foot covered pavilion, two large fire pits, and a rustic-looking tower that runs water to the sink and kitchen.


The Lamms stage the cookouts mostly in June, July, and September, although customers can arrange for them from May through October.


A couple of big events are offered to the public every summer for $35 a person, and parties of 40 people or more can purchase a cookout package for the same price, she says.


For cookouts, guests park at the main farm and receive bandanas to wear on a 20-minute wagon ride, pulled by two Belgians, to the cookout site.


Along with eating a buffet-style barbecue meal, guests can listen to a live bluegrass or country western band, play horseshoes, and rope practice steer heads.


At night, groups can gather around the fire and make smores, or sit under the red-lantern-lit pavilion and watch the sun set over the mountains in the distance.


Wagons return them to the farm afterward.


Mont Lamm will host a 70-person family reunion later this month, and families often come back to the site more than once, Lamm says.


City people love how quiet and peaceful it is here, she says as crickets chirp in the background. It feels like the middle of nowhere, even though were less than a mile away from the highway.


The Lamms also offer country-style weddings at the Northwoods site, where couples can ride up to the ceremony on horses.


They dont allow cars in the area because the vehicles disrupt the quiet ambience, Joanie says.


As for the nonprofit Bird Haven for exotic birds, Lamm started it about five years ago, because she noticed that people often purchased birds, such as parrots, which can live 40 years or longer and do damage to such items as furniture, without realizing the commitment involved.


Owning these birds is like having a 2-year-old for the rest of your life, she says.


Lamm started out keeping the birds in a garage next to the couples home, and eventually expanded the building as her bird collection grew.


She currently has 25 birds and occasionally places them in adopted homes.


Jim and Joanie met in Nevada, Jim says. He is originally from Ohio, and she is from California.