Miami Living Magazine features the best Miami has to offer. Click on any magazine below and enjoy. You can download our free app on iTunes. Ideal for iPad and iPhone users.
Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/1295431
NORTHWEST FLORIDA'S HORSES Tallahassee If the pageantry and grace of old-world style eventing (one of the fastest-growing equestrian pursuits in the U.S.) tickles your fancy, check out the Red Hills International Horse Trials. Held every March on the gentle slopes of Tallahassee's Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park, the Trials attract about 20,000 spectators and some of the world's most accomplished riders and horses in Florida. Bring your blankets and chairs and settle in to view a day of increasingly difficult challenges, including cross-country and stadium jumping and dressage, a series of precise movements executed by horse and rider. Pensacola For some down-home fun, the Escambia County Equestrian Center in the Pensacola Bay area has a lineup of family-friendly events nearly every weekend. The 151- acre site has a covered arena for horse shows and English and Western-riding style events, but this center is no one-trick pony. There are also dog shows, rodeos, music festivals, and cross-country races to add to the fun. Most horse shows are free to see and dog shows are typically just a few bucks per person. Levy County Get back to nature and meander unpaved rustic horseback riding trails through cypress swamps pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks in Levy County's state and national wildlife areas. Enjoy a tranquil oasis of nature preserves natural springs and bountiful wildlife habitats. Explore Inglis Island Trails (advance notice required), Devil's Hammock Wildlife Management Area and the Nature Coast State Trail, which retraces the historic route of the Atlantic Coastline Railroad and is a National Recreation Trail. Goethe State Forest has three trailheads and is known for its rare bird and animal species. See horse-friendly sites in Dixie, Gilchrist and Levy counties at Florida's Pure Water Wilderness. Jasper Harken to the days of Florida's pioneers and explore an 1870s log cabin and old settlers' cemetery at family- owned McCulley Farms. Wander along 20 miles of secluded trails and enjoy horse camping in a rustic fully-equipped cabin. Every March and October, the Withlacoochee Trail Ride offers a weekend of group camping and rides along crystal clear natural springs, cavernous sinkholes, pristine river banks, and 5,000 acres of state and private canopied lanes. ML