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TAKING THE

REINS This vacation property in Frisco caters to guests with two feet as well as those with Photos by Ryan Moser / Story by Steve Hanf four hooves.

Maggie and Dan can create quite a stir when people see them frolicking in the ocean. Sometimes they’re so far out in the surf that waves break over Dan’s head. Other times the water is absolutely frigid, but he still refuses to take no for an answer, and they dive right in.

“He’s a mess,” Maggie says cheerfully.

Dan can’t deny it. Dan’s also a horse, of course – he was seven months old when Maggie got him, and he’s 17 years old now. “He’s like my kid,” she explains fondly.

Maggie Austin was born and raised in Frisco, and she developed a passion for horses thanks to her neighbor and kindergarten teacher, Georgana Johnston. She got on a horse for the first time at 18 months old and rode Johnston’s horses for years before getting her own horse at the age of six. Then came Dan. And Tex, who used to live on a dude ranch where Maggie once worked in California.

Maggie loves riding Dan and Tex, and just about every time she’s out with them on the beach, folks stop her to ask some variation of the same question:

We’ve always wanted to bring our own horses on vacation. Where can they stay when we bring them?

“There aren’t many places down here to have your own horse if you aren’t in the know,” Maggie says. “That’s how the inspiration worked out, but I had no idea it was going to spiral off into this.”

“This” happens to be one of the most unique accommodations around: Frisco’s Sugar Ridge Ranch, which features cottages for people out front, and a barn for horses in the back.

Simple. Quaint. Charming. Thoughtful. The barn is all of these things. The open-air structure offers nice airflow for warmer weather, while sandy floors provide cozy spots for horses to relax after long trailer rides. Paddocks let them stretch their legs, and tack rooms with keyless door codes include water and feed buckets, spots for saddles and a small refrigerator.

The barn’s six stalls were also completely booked ahead of time for the spring of 2022 – not bad, especially considering that the ranch only opened back in September 2021.

“It’s been my dream to do something involving horses since I was a kid, so here I am – I just kind of followed a little voice in my head,” Maggie says. “Once this takes off, I want to build another bigger barn, and then maybe have

Pictured above from left to right: The barn at Sugar Ridge Ranch gives horses the opportunity to get away from it all, too; Three onsite, two-bedroom cabins accommodate visitors with or without horses in tow – though the décor is delightfully equine approved; From the ranch, it’s just a 15-minute ride in the saddle to the shining shores of the Atlantic.

a little house of my own here, too. It’s all going to come together, one step at a time.”

Well before there was even a glimmer of the ranch in her future, however, Maggie’s parents told the 2011 Cape Hatteras Secondary School graduate that she had to go to college first. She obliged, but after earning an associate’s degree, she left to follow her first love. She guided for Equine Adventures in Frisco for a while, and spent time at ranches in Jackson Hole, as well as in California and South Carolina – always knowing she’d find her way home to the beach at some point.

Her mother, Chyrel’s, success as a local restaurateur, was part of the backdrop to Maggie’s upbringing (Maggie even continues to help her mom run the Cockeyed Clam near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse), but Maggie’s parents also had the foresight to buy some property a few years ago when the opportunity arose.

This included the site that Maggie’s parents wound up selling her – a once overgrown jumble of a lot, which they helped her clear to make room for a brand-new barn. The three formerly rundown units at the forefront of the property were also remodeled into two-bedroom, one-bath cabins with screened-in porches, brightly colored bicycles propped out front, and horse pictures on the walls, of course. Guests have brought horses to stay at the ranch from as far away as Ohio, West Virginia and South Carolina – with another potential visitor talking about making the drive from Texas – and word continues to spread rapidly. Though you don’t have to bring a horse (and booking a stay for your filly actually requires a completely separate reservation), Maggie’s found that the prime seasons for equine enthusiasts tend to be the spring and the fall, likely because traveling with a horse during the height of North Carolina’s summerseason heat isn’t necessarily all that fun.

Though Maggie would love to eventually work with the National Park Service to develop a half-mile path from the back of the ranch directly to the beach, it’s currently

only about a 15-minute ride in the saddle from the edge of the property to the sandy shores of the Atlantic – and the unique thrill of strolling through the surf with their own horses is exactly what most of Maggie’s guests ultimately want to experience. As for the horses: Some love the beach. Others are wary after watching the water go in and out. Every horse Guests have brought owner knows that the animals can be “fire-breathing dragons sometimes,” Maggie explains with a laugh, and horses to stay at the every one of these animals has a different personality. But virtually all of Maggie’s guests report that the ranch from as far away experience is worth it no matter what. as Ohio, West Virginia “Nothing compares to the adrenaline you get when you’re riding on the beach,” Maggie explains. “I try to and South Carolina. ride out with most of my guests, too…to help get their horses in the water if that’s what they want to do. Mine will go in over his head any time of the year, so he’s a good influence.” Meeting these various guests and their horses has been a delight for Maggie, and with each new visitor at Sugar Ridge Ranch, her childhood dream canters a little closer to reality. “It’s been kind of crazy to see it all come to life,” Maggie says. “But it’s also been nice. It just feels like confirmation that this was the right thing.”