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Show us how it's done.
Here, Ivy LeDonne and Earth Angel are competing in the cross country phase
at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Soon, LeDonne will manage and
train at The Palisades Equestrian Center, a private training facility for
eventing at The Palisades community near Charlotte. But don't worry if
you're into more low-key trail riding. The Center will provide tack rooms
for riding equipment, wash racks for bathing horses, and a rider's lounge.
Of course, to improve your skills, consider the galloping trail, which
features cross country jumps for schooling and conditioning.
Photo courtesy of The Palisades |
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Can you spell love?
For many, the bond between horse and rider is unbreakable.
Here's proof from Mount Vintage Plantation, near Aiken
and Augusta.
Photo courtesy of Mount Vintage |
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At home in the hills:
Horses and their humans revel at the McLendon Hills Equestrian
Center near Pinehurst. Amenities include lessons, rings, pens and a lighted arena.
Photo courtesy of Alan Van Vliet Photography |
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the pastures
are greener
in the carolinas!
Equestrian Living Resources
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rom Western sports like barrel racing to English disciplines like dressage and jumping, to polo, racing or riding down a forest trail, the Carolinas have it all. Better yet, you can enjoy your horses year round.
South Carolina, a relatively small state with a population of some four million, has more than 84,000 horses according to a recent survey. Most equestrian activity is clustered in Aiken, Lexington and Anderson counties in the western and west central part of the state, with another large contingent in Camden and Blythewood.
The North Carolina Horse Council estimates there are more than 225,000 horses in the state, which is home to nearly nine million people. Both Carolinas employ an “equine specialist” as part of their Departments of Agriculture,
two of only nine such positions in the United States.
Lifestyle
Horses always have been an important part of the Carolina lifestyle and economy. Starting with the wealthy family dynasties such as the Whitneys, Vanderbilts and DuPonts of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, areas like Southern Pines and Asheville, N.C., and Camden and Aiken, S.C., became annual winter destinations. Entire households, including horses and grooms, would come by rail to enjoy their favorite equestrian sports in the mild climate of the Carolina sandhills. That tradition has continued today, except that it’s not just the super-rich who are coming. It’s ordinary people who want to enjoy a wonderful lifestyle as year-round residents. Today’s transplants are reaping the rewards of yesterday’s forward-thinking philanthropists who left a legacy of protected open spaces, along with gracious homes and estates.
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oan McNair Petty specializes in selling horse properties through Allen Tate Realtors near Raleigh, N.C. Mrs. Petty is also president of the North Carolina Hunter/Jumper Association and her husband, Glenn, serves on the executive board and is a past president of the North Carolina Horse Council. Together, they own Triangle Farms, a hunter/jumper barn in Wake Forest.
“People are buying a lifestyle when they come to the Carolinas,” Mrs. Petty said. “People from all different parts of the country have researched where they want to live and where they can be with their horses. By the time they come to me to buy property, they already know they want to be somewhere in the Carolinas.”
When the community of McLendon Hills was created by North Carolina entrepreneurs in 1998, it was a harbinger for things to come. The 600-acre community, located west of Pinehurst in Seven Lakes, offers one-acre lakefront homesites up to five acre mini-farms, giving residents the choice of keeping their horses at home or boarding them at the 24-stall community barn.
McLendon Hills sales executive Cristy Hunt says many planners call them for advice on how to organize an equestrian-oriented community. “This is an upscale community with lots of amenities and elbow room, but geared to the more casual rider,” she explained. “The young retirees look at their horses as their hobby.”
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The concept of an equestrian residential community with a common barn and small homesites or two- to 10-acre mini-farms has taken off in the last five years or so, and new planned communities are springing up like –
well, mushrooms in manure.
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Leslie Biddinger found living in Mount Vintage Plantation, a 5,000-acre golf and horse community in Edgefield, S.C., much to her liking. She and her husband, both in their 50s, moved from Cincinnati to Mount Vintage about a year and
a half ago when he took a medical job in Augusta, Georgia.
“As a horse person I had heard of Aiken in South Carolina – every horse person has heard of Aiken,” Mrs. Biddinger smiled. “I wanted to live there even though I had never seen the area. I just about ‘Aiken’d’ my husband to death, but the commute to Augusta was too far for him, so we compromised halfway in between.”
She continued, “Living in an equestrian community is so convenient. We travel a lot and at the community barn I know Alice is taken care of. I instantly had horse friends, the location is great and we have about 30 miles of good trails here.”
Alice (registered name Wonderland) is Mrs. Biddinger’s 14 year-old thoroughbred mare and the two of them did the show hunter circuit in Ohio. However, after coming to South Carolina, Mrs. Biddinger, a lifelong rider, found there were so many opportunities to do different activities.
“We are branching out,” she explained. “We do the jumpers, a little eventing, some trail riding – she and I love it. She’s as happy as I am. I’m pretty serious about showing and competition. Plus, the service people here are friendly and truly nice. You don’t find that in other areas. I feel very welcome and comfortable. People are from so many locations and everybody wants to make friends.”
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Kris Yon keeps her horses in historic Pendleton, S.C., near Clemson University. Mrs. Yon first moved to Anderson County, as a teenager. After college, she returned with her husband to raise a family. She rode a bit growing up in New Jersey and Scotland, but it wasn’t until six years ago that she and her sister both got back into horses. They took lessons at a local stable where she bought her first lesson horse, Snickers, a 23 year-old quarter horse.
“Then I found out people actually trail ride,” Mrs. Yon laughed. “Wow! They don’t just go around in a circle. I learned how to hook up a trailer and load the horses, and that’s what I do. When you succeed getting on a horse and maybe even cantering or hooking up your trailer early in the morning to go somewhere, it gives you such confidence. It has helped me as a person. I’ve made great friendships with the people I’ve met with horses.”
Now, she keeps Snickers and two other horses at the Century Farm she and her husband inherited from his family.
“I just love coming out in the morning to see my horses,” Mrs. Yon grinned.
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Willis Williams’ concept of The Preserve at Wolf Laurel, about 40 minutes from Asheville, N.C., is a little different. This new, 1,300-acre gated, mountain top community is adjacent to Wolf Laurel Resort, a community of about 700 homes, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. At an elevation of 4,800 feet, the master planned community offers endless views and an ideal mountain climate
While Wolf Laurel will not be an equestrian community in the sense of individuals boarding their own horses at a community barn or having horse property, there is an established stable already on The Preserve land. Owner David Payne leases the stable from Mr. Williams and offers trail rides to the public along the streams and up the mountains. In addition to horseback riding, there is direct access from The Preserve at Wolf Laurel to the 2,500 mile Appalachian Trail as well as to fishing, swimming, golf, tennis and winter skiing.
Another equestrian-oriented community on the drawing boards is Legacy Farms, near McCormick, S.C. Two brothers from Jacksonville, Florida, are creating a hiking/equestrian community in a manner that best preserves the land.
“This is perfect for us,” Richard Cross said from his Jacksonville office. “It is a peninsula jutting out into Strom Thurmond Lake and surrounded by Sumter National Forest. We wanted to build a community with large homesites so people could enjoy the land and horses, but it isn’t exclusively horses. McCormick is kind of a hidden secret, a really cute destination town that gives you a rural feel. Hickory Knob Resort State Park is only three miles from our property, with a hotel, a golf course, boating and swimming.”
The Cross brothers really stumbled onto the property, which was not on the market. The rolling land, lake and existing boat ramp, along with shopping in nearby Evans or Greenwood, low taxes and the variety of outdoor activities in the area, sold them on South Carolina.
“Our mission is to conserve the land, not overburden it,” Mr. Cross explained, “and adding the equestrian element was a tool to enjoy nature. We also have walking trails as a way to enjoy the woods and the national forest.”
Whether you choose to own your farm or to settle into a planned community, there always is a built-in camaraderie among horse owners. With all the equestrian activities, you will have ample opportunity to make many new friends in your Carolina home. /CL
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South Carolina Department of Agriculture
www.nass.usda.gov/sc
North Carolina Department of Agriculture
www.ncagr.com
South Carolina Horse Council
www.schorsecouncil.org
North Carolina Horse Council
www.nchorsecouncil.com
Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE) Tryon, N.C.
www.fence.org
Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina
Equestrian Center
400 Flemington Drive
Lake Waccamaw, N.C., 28450
901.646.3083
Polo in Aiken, S.C.
www.aikenpolo.net
Blowing Rock Equestrian Preserve
www.blowingrockequestrian.com
Pinehurst Harness Track
www.pinehurstharness.com
These towns are among those which have embraced the horse culture.
Take a picnic to the races, invite friends over to watch and enjoy the human-horse connection.
North Carolina
Blowing Rock
www.blowingrockequestrian.com
Pinehurst
www.sandhillsonline.com
Whiteville
www.whitevillechamber.org
Tryon
www.nc-mountains.org
Lake Lure Area
www.rutherfordtourism.com
South Carolina
Aiken
http://visit.aiken.net
Camden
www.camden-sc.org
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Diana Hunt "Horse" was one of the first words Diana Hunt spoke as a child and it is still a big part of her vocabulary. After editing and travel writing stints in New York City and public relations jobs in Colorado, she moved to Aiken, South Carolina three years ago where she and her registered Paint have been enjoying the good life. She is a freelance photojournalist specializing in equestrian, outdoor and travel subjects.
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