About George
In the backwoods of Bodden Town, nestled between farms, plant nurseries and coral rock is a peaceful quiet place. Ten acres with no traffic, no cement structures and few humans. Lookout Ranch is home to some 20 horses, a mix of stallions, mares, ponies, paints and imported dressage beauties. Roosters have the responsibility of waking up the ranch at the crack of dawn each morning before they start their pursuit of the hens. Parrots and iguanas are perched in the mango trees enjoying the sunrise and breeze.
By midday there is a touch of activity, a few tourists saddle up for a beach ride, a white Holsteiner mare gracefully canters in the round pen and a palomino is being affectionately brushed by her owner. And in the distance, clad in clay dusted jeans and straw hat is Steve Hawley, owner of Lookout Ranch. Today Steve is repairing fences and stalls, tomorrow he may be building stone ‘slave walls’ and the day before my visit he had just finished a new country-style covered porch for guests and spectators. Steve, retired partner in the Phoenix Group, is an old hand at refurbishing and building, so in the last two years Steve, and a hand full of his horse-loving local residents, has transformed a tattered looking homestead into a tidy, patched up ranch that would marvel most equestrian devotees.
At Lookout Ranch there are horses for sale, horses to ride and horses to just observe. With their flowing manes, grace and strength a horse is a beautiful creature, while their owners are a strange species. There are animal lovers, and animal advocates, but horse lovers are more in the category of animal fanatics. They are infatuated with their hoofed companions. They bathe them, brush them, feed them and love them …and if they can find the time after cleaning the stable and hauling hay… they just might go for a ride.
Steve encourages anyone who is interested in hiring a horse for a trail ride or purchasing a horse to stop by the ranch and see Noland Stewart. Lookout Ranch is a happy place, isolated from the stress and hassle of George Town. If you would like to come just to visit, you are welcome. But remember, horses are sensitive to the moods of others and the Lookout horses make one request: that you leave your stress and frown at the gate. WH