Dressage in Nebraska

Nebraska rides bigger than its reputation. The Sandhills, the Pine Ridge, and the Platte River Valley each offer different footing and a different kind of day in the saddle: long trail rides across open grassland, guest ranch stays, guided outings, and full-service boarding and training barns. Horsemanship here grew out of the state's agricultural roots, and it shows in how the operations run.

Start with the Sandhills, one of the largest grass-stabilized dune regions in the world. Guest ranches and trail outfitters here put riders onto miles of open range across a landscape that intensive agriculture never claimed, riding measured in distance and quiet rather than obstacles. Then head north to the Pine Ridge near Chadron and Crawford, where the ground changes completely: buttes, canyons, ponderosa pine, and trails with real teeth for riders who want the challenge.