05/23/2026
For Arnold.
Those of you who knew us before Hillpoint Estate Farm was what it is, when it was just a spark in Braden’s mind, knew Arnold.
He was the best kind of person. A curmudgeon in the most wonderful sense of the word. Always a story to tell. Knew the most about pretty much anything you could ask. Salt of the earth, practical, fair, stubborn, honest (whether you liked it or not). Braden and Arnold got on like a house on fire - eye to eye and step in step. The greatest love of dogs, of hunting, of experiences that will give you stories to tell to your friends and family.
Arnold and his family started Hillpoint Farm up in 108 Mile House on a centuries-old homestead down a long dirt road on the shore of Dempsey Lake. In his latter years he raised Pheasants for friends and clients to host pheasant shoots and work dogs in his alfalfa fields. He died heartbreakingly, unexpectedly, and suddenly in 2020, just months before our first son was born. But he had the most incredible life. Never easy, but always fulfilling. He shared it with his friends, in the tiny kitchen of his old log home, with a Stanley mug full of Crown Royal.
His dog, Copper, lives with us now. Living his best life on the farm, running through fields, getting love from little boys, and retrieving ducks through the winter months.
In honour of Arnold and the origins of Hillpoint Estate Farm, this year we are raising ring necked pheasants. Beyond how freakin’ cute they are, they connect us with our why. To honour Arnold and everything he lived for, loved, built, and inspired in us. Cheers to you, Arnold, may you live on in the countless and fantastic stories we tell about you around an old wood dining table, surrounded by good friends, even better dogs, and sipping on Canadian rye whiskey. 🥃
