Horseback riding and more: New equine experience opens at Roaring Brook Ranch

Sharon Capraun says she has been riding horses since she was 3 years old — that’s nearly 70 years in the saddle. She’s worked at all the old dude ranches on the Dude Ranch Trail that winds along the Upper Hudson. “I did jumpers. I’ve been to the racetrack” where she learned about what thoroughbred racing does to a horse’s legs. She can also add dressage to her resume. This spring finds her and her horses at Roaring Brook Ranch with her unique equine business Dancing Horses.

In her experience, many stables that offer trail rides to the public put the bottom line ahead of the customers’ experience and the horses’ well-being. They may pack more than two dozen riders on one ride, not an optimal experience for a group with varied levels of skill. The seasonal nature of the business means horses are often “dumped” at the end of the season to reduce costs over the winter. This is not the Dancing Horses model.

“We do everything individually here,” says Capraun. “You’re not going to be out there with 30 people. I just take ten people out. If that’s too much for you, talk to me. You just want to come up by yourself, you’re self-conscious or something, we can do it. We have enough people; we have enough horses. Sometimes you may have to ride one horse and then you have to find another horse. Just like you don’t get along with everybody, you’re not going to get along with every horse. You have an individual horse that clicks with you.”

“These horses, they’re not expensive and they’re not fancy,” Capraun says, “but they all have a good head on their shoulders, and they’re ready to meet you.” Her horses are all rescues, many she purchased at auctions, often bidding against slaughterhouses.

In addition to trail rides, Dancing Horses offers pony rides, riding lessons, and children’s horse camps where they will learn how to saddle their mounts. Other experiences for children include birthday parties and field trips. Capraun plans to string lights along trails for twilight rides, and that is just the beginning of Capraun’s plans.

Roaring Brook Ranch has a long history in the Lake George area as a dude ranch and then a resort attracting tourists seeking a total resort experience. In recent decades, it has been a popular conference center and wedding venue. The property is now in the hands of Hardeep Anand, who seeks to further develop the property. The lodges that house guest rooms, the stables, and the dining and recreation facilities occupy 35 acres of wooded lands boasting mountain vistas. An additional 245 acres surround the resort, which Anand would like to develop while maintaining the rustic Adirondack charm of the ranch. He envisions Roaring Brook as an event destination with offerings such as barn weddings and pickleball. Part of the development plans includes horses.

The large conference center building, which is currently being used for storage, has all the qualities needed to be an indoor riding arena. If the plan to convert the building to this use materializes, Capraun says it will change the horse ranch into an equine center, one with the only indoor arena in the area that is open to the public. She could begin offering equine therapy for veterans and accessible riding experiences for people with disabilities. It would allow for winter programs and people could come with their own horses to use the facility.

In partnership with the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB, Dancing Horses held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Open Ranch event on Sunday to launch their arrival at Roaring Brook. Several dozen people, many families with children, attended the event and enjoyed pony rides, tractor-pulled hayrides and the opportunity to meet the herd as well as Pork Chop the pig and Thelma and Lousie, a pair of gray rabbits. “We’re here every day,” says Capraun, “so if you guys want to come up and just visit, bring one of your family members, whatever, it’s always going to be an open house up here.”

Roaring Brook Ranch Resort is on State Route 9N, also known as the Luzerne Road, about a mile from I-87 Exit 21. Trail rides are $75 an hour and pony rides are $20. For more information, contact Dancing Horses at (518)522-8001.