After 5: Escape on Horseback

“It is pretty amazing,” said Dan Langhofer, owner of digital document imaging company PaperWise. “Going from sitting behind a desk all day long and dealing with the high-tech world and then being outdoors with a 1,000-pound animal, it’s great therapy.”

Langhofer and wife Shelley own 20 horses on 130 acres near Rogersville. They’ve only been riding for about three years after moving from a suburban lifestyle. They use the horses for leisure riding, and farmhands use the horses for managing 70 head of cattle.

Zipper and Red, both quarter horses, are the Langhofers’ primary leisure riding horses.

“There is a relationship,” Dan Langhofer said. “When I go out in the field, those horses know I’m there, (and) they’ll come to the fence. They’re more like dogs, and they respond to (us).”

Lindsay O’Reilly knows what it’s like to share a special bond with a horse. The owner of Dynamic Body yoga and Pilates studio has owned Banshie, an Arabian horse, for about 20 years.

O’Reilly says Banshie is still spry, despite the horse’s old age of 24, which equates to about 70 in human years, according to research by University of Nevada-Reno.

Banshie and O’Reilly’s other three horses, which are show horses, reside at ChriShan Park, a facility north of Springfield by Fellows Lake that has stables and provides training.

Lee Beaman also started riding horses as a youngster. Beaman, owner of electrical contractor Beaman Electric, grew up with horses on 20 acres in eastern Greene County. His first horse was a Shetland pony named Buckeye, which he recalls being smart but “a bit ornery.”

Lee and Vanessa Beaman now have five horses – Dillon, Duke, Apache, Dakota and Holley – on seven acres in western Greene County.

The couple built a custom 25-foot living quarters horse trailer for traveling with their four-legged friends. The trailer has a separate area for the Beamans, equipped with a flat-screen TV. They’ve taken the horses to Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota in the trailer.

The Beamans also go on weekend trail-riding trips with friends, including Lonnie Elwood, owner of A-1 Windshield Repair. One of their favorite local spots is Bar-K Wrangler Camp, which is part of Mark Twain National Forest south of Chadwick.

“It is such a relaxing steal away from the busy business world that we work in,” said Elwood, who has been riding for about 15 years. “To be out there in all of creation without the phone, without all of the urban interruptions, really helps balance out the lives that we live. It’s a therapy. It really is.”[[In-content Ad]]