It started in 2019 during a wet fall.
“One of the low spots in our yard flooded with water and we’ve been doing it ever since,” he told Farms.com.
That was then.
And like any farmer or member of the ag community, Kippen has learned from prior seasons about how to make improvements for the next.
“First of all, you need lots of patience because if you try to rush the whole process you won’t end up with smooth ice,” he said. “So, we wait for the first snowfall and when temperatures are cold enough to freeze. We pack the snow down and let it set up for a day or two before we add the water.”
Andrew Kippen photo
A tarp may be necessary to avoid winterkill spots on the grass, he added.
But strong winds could rip up the tarp. And using a tarp could make the ice susceptible to air pockets.
When adding the water, Kippen starts slow.
He uses a “garden hose sprinkler effect,” letting the water soak in until there’s an icy crust he can walk on.
“If you put too much water on at once it just runs off and doesn’t make a great surface,” Teresa added.
Like anyone working in ag knows, some jobs require specific tools.
Enter the Kippen ice resurfacing machine.
The manual tool is a wagon with a 45-gallon drum attached that gets filled with hot water after every skate.
The water from the barrel feeds into a PVC pipe boom that spreads the water along the ice.
Behind the boom is a bar with piece of carpet attached to get the ice as smooth as possible.
The Kippens have also moved the rink and made upgrades to it.
It’s now closer to the house.
A warming shack sits between the house and the rink where skaters can sit comfortably.
Andrew Kippen photo
“We borrowed a fishing shack with a little wood stove in it for the first year,” Teresa said. “But since we moved the rink closer to the house, we built our own shack with a heater in there and where the kids can store their skates and sticks. It always seems like we’re doing something to upgrade it.”
A skateable path leads from the warming shack to the rink.
Pallets act as boards around the perimeter of the ice. Lights installed above make the rink available to skaters at night. Tin lines the bottom of the pallet boards to protect them from pucks.
Veteran goaltender Johnny Plywood waits eagerly in the net.
And netting going up this year will try to keep pucks within the confines of the rink.
It’s the place to be for the Kippen family.
“All of it,” Kynsley said when asked how much time she’d spend on the ice if she could.
“We usually get home from school and we’re out there until mom is calling us in for supper time,” Owen added.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s really satisfying to watch the kids have their first skate of the season,” Teresa said, adding that she skates too.
“I probably get my skates on a lot more than I would if I knew I had to drive to the rink,” Andrew said.
The Kippens are waiting for a few more flurries to fall before they can get started on the 2026 rink.