Equine Adventures: Plan B

Well, it's been a week and officials are JUST NOW beginning to let residents who evacuated back onto the island.  It's going to be a lonnngggg process. 

BUT, we've got some potentially exciting news to share with you!

We are currently working with the National Park Service in Nags Head to get permission to operate Equine Adventures at Coquina Beach (which is South of Nags head...by the Bodie Island lighthouse).  If the request is approved, we would try to be open by Saturday, September 10th.  The rides will be unique because I can only bring 4 horses up north (more private excursions) and the terrain is definitely different.

Since there aren't any woods to trek through, the ride will be predominantly on the beach (most people's favorite part!!).  The rides will last one hour each and we will try to book two in the morning (probably 8 and 9:30 am) and two in the afternoon (probably 5 and 6:30 pm).  Another plus to this situation, I will be the main trail guide!!  Y'all are in for a treat ;) 

We hope to keep this location open through the Thanksgiving weekend in order to serve our customers in the northern beaches. 

Although we are opening a location in Nags Head, our Frisco location will still be up and running once the island opens back up.  Local officials are hoping to open the ferries up to visitors around September 17th and for the roads to be repaired before October, so keep your fingers and toes crossed!!

While our island has sustained such great set-backs, we are ecstatic for this potential opportunity to better serve our customers and get the business back on track.  You never know, this Nags Head venture could turn out to be an amazing business venture for Equine Adventures!! 

There's no calm after this storm...

Irene has come and gone, leaving widespread devastation along the coasts of our little island.  While we here at Equine Adventures made it through the storm with little damage, the rest of the island didn't have such luck... 

Ocracoke, Frisco, and Buxton all sustained moderate damage from the water and winds.  The most severely hit areas were Avon and the tri-villages of Rodanthe, all of which were severely damaged by flooding and high winds.  To see a video of the Rodanthe area after the storm, follow this link.  

Early in the day the water in the sound was washed west....

but later returned with a vengeance, bringing back the incredibly high rushing waters that caused so much damage.

photo courtesy of oregon inlet idiots

A picture from Reel in front of their building in Rodanthe...rescuing people by jet-ski.

As you can see in these pictures from Outer Beaches Realty, many people have lost EVERYTHING. 

 

Homeowners seeing where their home used to be for the first time.

Just north of Mirlo Beach, these new inlets were created, completely wiping out Highway 12 and crippling our tourism economy.

photo courtesy of Steve Helber

photo courtesy of  Scott Leggat

Like most of the businesses down here that thrive on tourism, we are definitely feeling pressure since our summer season has been abruptly shortened.  With that said, I would really like to downsize the herd until next spring.  Feeding 20 fat ponies takes a fat wallet...something i'm lacking at the moment!! 

If you're looking to buy a great horse for a small price or are interested in free leasing one of our ponies until the spring, let us know!  

Be sure to check our Facebook page for information on these horses...and spread the word please!!!

Until we meet again {hopefully sooner rather than later...},

Time to batten down the hatches...

Welp, it's official...

 Dare County evacuations for visitors began this morning and, starting tomorrow, locals are urged to evacuate the island as well!! Honestly, I would LOVE to take my family and go, but what's a girl supposed to do with 20 innocent horses?!

You may be thinking "why not just load them up and take them with you?" Ha. Logistically, I would have to make FIVE trips.  Not only is that incomprehensible, but even if it were possible, where in the world would I take 20 horses?! My sweet little Chippy won't even get on a trailer...now, you know I can’t leave that spotted @$$ here!! Ok, ok...technically he gets in the trailer--thanks to Lisa Rayburn’s patient clicker training-- we just haven't gotten to the point where we can actually shut the trailer door...

2.5 feet.  Almost there, Chippy...almost!!

  My parents solution...they are NOT animal people...is to just leave the horses (and the 2 dogs, the goat, the evil cat, the chickens and the guineas) here with plenty of food and water.  Great idea guys, why oh why didn't I think of that before?! NOT.  Who knows how long the island will be closed?! The road could be washed out, the inlets cut through, or some other major strom related issue could keep the locals away from their homes and their animals for a looonnngggg time. 

SO, long story short, we've begun the process of battening down the hatches. We're cleaning up the yard, putting away tack, tying down lawn furniture, and moving the chickens to higher

ground. We're also keeping our fingers crossed that we have enough hay and grain to ride out the storm....unless anyone wants to make a delivery tomorrow?!  ;)


Please keep our little island in your prayers and be sure to check back for post-Irene updates! 

Hey Y'all!!!

Welcome to first ever Equine Adventures Blog!!  We are so excited to be able to use this outlet to share even more great information with you (insert collective sigh...)!!  You're not only going to get occasional updates on what's going on here at the barn but you'll also get a local's guide to some awesome events and vendors in the surrounding Hatteras area.  Now that is worth checking back daily!

The buzz around here lately is about what the heck we're going to do if this category 3 hurricane hits us directly as it's projected to do...

Mother nature has not been very nice to us this year sending crazy wildfire smoke, earthquakes, hurricanes, and heat advisories our way.  So far we've already had to cancel at least 12 rides because of the scorching heat!!  We definitely want to thank you all for being understanding about these cancellations though...we certainly want to keep our ponies (and riders) healthy!

At this point in time we don't have plans to cancel rides for Irene.  If and when Dare County decides to order evacuations, we will obviously be forced to cancel the rides and we'll begin to get this place hurricane ready. 

Check back on the blog and Facebook page for updates on cancellations.  After the storm has passed, we will also post a behind-the-scenes look at how we were impacted by Irene!!

Talk to you soon!