My youngest loves all things related to animals and really enjoyed his first horseback riding experience at Cedar Creek Stables in Lake Lure, NC. Last summer he had really wanted to ride horses while we were on our annual trip to Hilton Head, but the stables were closed due to the pandemic. So we were thrilled to find that Lawton Stables was open again this summer.
We didn’t have any other takers on this adventure among the siblings and cousins so we made it a mom-son outing. At $75 per person, it was a little pricey so I was happy to limit the activity to the one who was super excited about it. Hoping to beat the heat a little, we chose a 9am departure for a one hour trail ride through Sea Pines Forest Preserve.
Lawton Stables offers trail rides and pony rides, has a small farm/petting zoo, and offers horse boarding. It’s a neat place for little kids to come to even if you don’t ride a horse or pony. I remember bringing the kids many years ago so they could feed carrots to the horses.
When we signed in on our arrival, there was a mandatory weigh-in for everybody. I thought at first that it was just for the kids so that they could match them with the correct sized horse, but they have a strict 240 weight limit so they weigh everybody. A little surprised by this, I stepped on the scale and instinctively looked down. The employee held his piece of paper between me and the scale so I couldn’t see and said “you’re on vacation, you don’t need to worry about that.” I thought that was sweet and appreciated him lightening up a potential awkward situation. And he’s right – no one wants to be weighed (especially publicly) on vacation!
We then chose our helmets (required for kids and optional but recommended for adults) and headed down to the horses. The horses were all in a big fenced in area and we had to wait for the previous group to return and dismount their horses before we got started. When they were ready, we were matched up to horses based on size and experience. (The horses that just returned got a rest and we were paired with the ones that had been waiting.)
They had step stools and sets of stairs to help everyone get on their horse. JB and his horse ended up being the first in line so he got to follow right behind the guide on the trail.
We have explored the Sea Pines Forest Preserve on foot before but never on horseback. We went through many of the same areas that we had walked through on previous visits. Some trails were mixed use and some for horses only but they all shared the beautiful backdrop of the preserve’s protected forests. The large majority of the trails were in the shade so sun and heat wasn’t too much of an issue.
We hung around for a little while afterwards to see the animals in the petting zoo area. They had a machine where you could buy some feed for a quarter but were out of cups so we made do with our hands.
This was a really fun outing for the two of us. The stables were well run, the animals well cared for, and the guides informative and helpful. If you have a kid that loves horses and/or you want a unique way to explore a really pretty part of the island, this is a great tour. It was also a nice change of pace from the typical beach activities that we do each summer. I suspect there will be a request to do this again next summer…
