Grande pines- great for horses

​Grande Pines is horse heaven.  Only 7 miles from Pinehurst, Grande Pines is located in an area commonly known as the Sandhills.  This strip of ancient beach dunes is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower.  Amazingly, it is claimed that the beach deposits were formed principally during the Miocene Epoch, circa 20 million years before the present.

The result is that Grande Pines is basically a pine forest on a beach!  The footing for the horses is excellent, making long trail rides a real pleasure.  The Grande Pines trails wind through 750 acres of peaceful rolling hills.  Pete Mace's vision in establishing 15 foot easements throughout the development will ensure that the trails will always be there.  Every lot of 8 acres or more has a trail along at least one side, making for easy access.

Our property is a good example.  We have 11 acres and trails on three sides of the lot.  Saddle up at the barn and ride straight onto a trail!  No traffic, no streets to cross, just miles of quiet, peaceful riding with the dogs following.  This weekend we are kicking off a project to name the trails and signpost them.  A great opportunity for the residents to get together and to name the trails that run by their properties.

In these photographs are our horses Apollo, a 20 year-old Arabian Thoroughbred, Lola a 8 year-old Tabiano Paint and Guinness, their faithful pony companion (and troublemaker!).  We are hoping that Lola is pregnant after spending a few days earlier this month with a very handsome Palomino sire.

The weather is perfect at this time of the year.  The golf courses are busy, with many of them fully booked.  Amazing that you can have 43 golf courses in a small area and they are all busy -- but that's the attraction of Pinehurst!  Golf, horses, great people, pleasant weather, laid back attitudes -- what more can I say...

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Posted by Darroll Buytenhuys