Stepping Stone Ranch, Baldwin City

The horses at Stepping Stone Ranch may as well be wearing plush bathrobes. At the full-care boarding facility, denizens enjoy such luxurious amenities as heated stalls—where automatic fly-spray systems keep their manes free from airborne pests—and 24-hour access to a 35-acre pasture, where they can gallop freely under the sun or channel the spirit of Secretariat in midnight séances. Stepping Stone Ranch's commitment to compassionate horse care ensures that equines will be in good spirits for riding lessons, during which clients learn from dressage enthusiast Vera Gannaway. Gannaway's lessons teach riders to find their balance in the saddle, develop soft hands on the reins, and calm bucking steeds by letting them get the Batman toy that the big boys have. In addition, Vera covers the basics of equestrian care in group horse-training classes, which prepare pupils to own and squire their own horses.