A horse of a different color

In the 12 years it has stood prominently on State Route 92 on the way to Half Moon Bay, the horse at Lemos Farm earned itself landmark status for its colorful coats that change each month.

Last February, the horse donned candy hearts with messages like "call me” and "kiss me.” For March, it was green with clovers and leprechauns. December is usually reserved for a Santa costume, although owner Bob Lemos is considering giving the horse a stint as Rudolph.

"I’ll meet people on the street and they’ll say do this or that to the horse,” which earned the name "Old Paint” for its changing look, Lemos said.

Lemos, 51, is the third generation to run the show at Lemos Farm. It was started in 1942 by his grandfather as a dairy farm. By the 1980s, Lemos and his father decided to make it an amusement park of sorts to draw more people. Today it has pony rides, train rides, a haunted house and hosts birthday parties on the weekends. The 100-acre farm also grows Christmas trees and flowers, Lemos said.

His sons Frank, 10, and Joe, 8, are already helping around the farm and their father hopes one day they will take over the family business.

For years, "Old Paint” stood nameless and seldom painted within the confines of the farm. About 12 years ago, Lemos got the idea to move the horse and paint it every month after watching the movie "Holiday Inn” with Bing Crosby. In the 1942 romantic comedy, Crosby’s character owns a hotel that changes its decor for each holiday.

"It just kinda caught on,” Lemos said. "People are now volunteering to paint it on their own.”

A Lemos Farm employee and Phil Davis, a local artist, often paint the horse. However, it occasionally gets guest painters. The farm encourages ideas from visitors. Last year, the candy corn clad design came from a class of first graders. Children can have their parents download an outline of the horse at the farm’s Web site and mail it with design ideas.

"Old Paint” is getting ready for its August coat, the only month of the year with no holiday to celebrate. Last August, a volunteer and three girlfriends painted the horse to look like a tablecloth, placed a picnic basket on its back and added larger-than-life ants crawling up the leg toward the leg.

The same group will be back this week to paint another summer theme, Lemos said.

Until then, the horse stands primed and ready to go.

Meanwhile, Lemos is gearing up for the busy season. He expects at least 400 people a day to visit the farm on the weekends leading up to Halloween. Half Moon Bay considers itself the pumpkin capital of the world and October is its busiest month.

Lemos will have the farm open seven days a week beginning in mid-September. He is also considering a Haunted Friday night event for kids older than 10 years old.

For more information visit www.lemosfarm.com

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.