Glens Falls, NY Outdoor Activities

At The Lazy Horse Equine Center & Hannanna Stables, steeds trot around the sandy footing of an indoor arena, two 60-foot round pens, and a sprawling outdoor space. During private and group lessons, instructors tailor the curriculum to individuals' experience levels, zeroing in on the basics of Western or English riding styles or expounding on advanced skills such as barrel racing or jumping. The center's staff also pioneers expeditions on nearby trails and boards horses in stalls spacious enough to accommodate their antique armoires filled with oats.:m]]

Owned by local horse lovers, Kimberly Farms is a thriving equitation facility that treats visitors to scenic trail rides and instruction from certified trainers. Its 60 acres of lush farmland include Vermont’s oldest marble quarry, a nature preserve, and Lookout Mountain, which treats eyes to majestic views of three states and the Berkshire, Green, and Taconic mountain ranges. Trail rides offer visitors a comprehensive tour of the compound as well as chances to spy wildlife such as deer, foxes, and wild cowboys performing mating dances with lassos. During riding lessons, instructors teach pupils various styles of riding including English, Western, trail riding, and bareback. Kimberly Farms also hosts groups for day camps, overnight camp, and special events.

Even after dusk in the summertime, visitors to Engelke Farm are riding ziplines, whizzing through the air at 20 miles per hour. Suspended 60 feet in air, the cables allow exquisite views of golden cornfields and rolling, tree-dotted hills. Those content to remain earthbound can peruse the greenhouse, pluck strawberries and blackberries from the pick-your-own produce patches, or wander the cornfields, challenging scarecrows to staring contests.

Classic wooden rail fences surround the knolls and trees at Placid Hills Stables' 110-acre ranch, where trainers lead riding lessons and weekly clinics on several well-trained mounts, including resident school horses Yosie, Knuckle Puck, and Hermes. Tailored to accommodate riders of all experience levels, classes blend a survey of skills in a variety of disciplines—such as eventing, dressage, and the traditional western riding style—with proper care techniques. The facility can accommodate sessions in any sort of weather, thanks to the large indoor arena and the outdoor stone track, designed to be rideable after heavy rains or matches of the exciting hybrid of water polo and polo known as "wet horse ball."