Spotlight: Equestrian Communities: Saddling Up
Resort living melds with stable surroundings.
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Chad Bedell spent most of his life wrestling steer; now he helps people wrestle their anxiety. "Our owners come from high-stress jobs," says Bedell, who serves as ranch manager at Marabou, a development in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, that will place just 65 homes on its 1,700 acres. "Horseback riding teaches them to calm down and relax." The former world champion steer wrestler and full-fledged cowboy helps owners, many of whom hail from urban and corporate environments, transition from sitting behind a desk to sitting on a horse for such activities as trail riding, barrel racing, and even overnight cattle drives. "The owners here have a genuine interest in horses," says Bedell. "They want to learn about and interact with them."Marabou started selling in 2006, and, although no homes have been completed, the community is already boarding six owners’ horses—along with 12 others that belong to the ranch and are available to the homeowners for guided trail rides, cattle drives, and lessons—in its newly built barn. An outdoor riding arena and 12 miles of riding trails are also in place. While Marabou features fly-fishing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and downhill skiing at the nearby Steamboat Ski Resort, it is the ranch lifestyle paired with the beauty of wide-open spaces, which are free of golf courses, that has captured buyers’ attention at this development.
Glenda Hachenberger, a semiretired real estate executive, left her Florida home of 25 years to move to Steamboat. She purchased a Marabou homesite—which overlooks a horse barn, where a registered quarter horse named Jax resides—and though she has yet to start building a house, she enjoys the community’s amenities. "I like that you can go out and ride the trails, get dirty, and then go inside a beautiful lodge and drink a hot toddy," she says. An avid outdoorswoman, she skis three times a week during the winter and casts her line on the Elk River, which runs through the property. And when entertaining at her home in the town of Steamboat, she sometimes summons Marabou’s chef to cook private dinners. "Marabou and Steamboat are my social centers. I’ve met people from all over the world here," says Hachenberger.
The demand for communities that meld the horse life with luxury resort–style living and amenities is driving developers to venture into the equestrian world. "At last look we were up to 300 and growing so quickly that we can’t keep our database current," says Jennifer Donovan, cofounder of Equestrian Services, a company that plans, designs, and manages equestrian amenities for resorts and communities. "Horses are the new golf," she says.
For Mary Alice Heape, a seasoned dressage rider from Dallas, a community that combines golf and equestrian facilities was the perfect solution for her family. "I have three boys and a husband who play golf," she says. When her friends told her about Cornerstone, a development located outside of Montrose, Colorado, Heape was skeptical. "But then I heard about the dual golf and equestrian offerings, and my ears perked up."
The 6,000-acre Cornerstone community allows owners of ranch homesteads to build their own homes, guesthouses, and five-acre paddock complexes with barns. The Heapes purchased a 22-acre lot and have plans to eventually build a horse barn. "We are surrounded by aspens and have 360-degree views of Mount Sneffels and the Grand Mesa," says Heape. "We can see all the way to Crested Butte, but we don’t see any other homes."
While owning a vacation home on a ranch in the middle of
nowhere appeals to some, others prefer to be near community centers and the
action of horse shows. Griffin
Ranch in La Quinta,
California, is located on 239 acres in the center of one of the most
sought-after vacation home destinations, known primarily for its golf. The
development, which encompasses the land around the estate of the late
entertainer Merv Griffin, offers a mix of nearly 400 homesites and custom and
semi-custom homes available in various styles—Andalusian, Spanish Colonial,
contemporary Mexican, and Italian farmhouse. Horses will be pampered with
automatic misting systems and spacious stalls and runs, while riders receive
private tack lockers and the assistance of a 24-hour staff.
