Dressage in Maine

Maine riding runs from salt air to spruce shade. The carriage roads of Acadia National Park were built for horse-drawn travel and still reward a rider today; the Western Mountains fold trail after trail into hardwood forest; and the lake country in between strings its routes along water. That range supports a real working mix of operations: guest ranches deep in the woods, trail-riding stables running guided hours, and riding academies teaching the fundamentals.

The farther inland you go, the wilder it gets. Around Moosehead Lake and the Rangeley Lakes, pack-trip outfitters take riders and horses into backcountry that stays quiet for days at a stretch, multi-day trips that trade cell service for loon calls. Closer to Portland and Augusta, boarding and training barns do the year-round work of caring for local horses and teaching local riders, rural in feel but an easy drive from town.