Cabins Attract Equestrians
Situated in the middle of the Huckleberry Ridge State Forest, Huckleberry Stables and Cabins is a camping retreat, especially for equestrians.
Owner Rick Bousfield became well-known in the horse world before deciding to retire to this area in Pineville.
“I’ve had horses and mules all my life,” he said.
He was raised in Southwest Missouri and grew up raising cattle. He was out on his own at age 16 and later, at age 18, met his wife Mary while working at a gas station. He said they knew each other about three months before they were married and they have been together ever since.
In the early 1970s, Bousfield worked as a cowboy for a very large cattle outfit called Longview Cattle Company in Greenwood, Mo., near Kansas City. Later in the late 1980s to mid-1990s, he worked for Ortho-Flex Saddle Company and traveled all over the United States selling saddles and going to saddle-fit clinics. From there he was hired by a man named A.P. Leonards to troubleshoot on all his ranches in the U.S. Leonards also had a ranch in Belize called Rancho
Luna Belize where Bousfield was over all the cowboys and would meet guests and take them on trail rides in the rain forests.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Bousfield began thinking about doing something different.
“After the twin towers got hit, our whole world changed when it came to travel,” he said. Noting the change in security, he commented, “I took a chainsaw to Belize in my suitcase one time.”
He and Mary had talked about starting a little place with cabins for years, he said. They got the
idea because Bousfield was so well-known in the horse world that they could not go anywhere on vacation without him ending up working. So they sought out the smallest sites for their vacations. A place with just a few cabins seemed like the perfect place to retire. They had the property for retirement already, and after a bulldozer leveled the land, they were ready to build the cabins.
In April 2002, they opened Huckleberry Stables and Cabins. Now they have regular visitors and people who come for family reunions. They even have some hikers who rent cabins from them. Equestrians must bring their own horses, and there are many trails in the Huckleberry Ridge State Forest that borders the property. Horse owners may rent a stall in the barn or an outdoor pen. Huckleberry Stables and Cabins does not have rental horses. For more information, visit huckleberrystables.com.
There are six cabins of varying sizes. In order to keep them affordable, they were built without bathrooms. There is a communal bath near the cabins with men’s and women’s sides, and there are shower stalls and toilet stalls and sinks. Bousfield noted they provide all the bedding and have it professionally cleaned. The cabins are all air-conditioned and have outdoor grills, ceiling fans, coffee makers and seating. The largest cabin is $60 per night.
“We wanted to keep it where the common, everyday working people could afford them,” Bousfield said.
In the middle of the cabins is a common area with picnic tables, a grill and a campfire. There are also limited RV hookups near the cabins.
“We have had all walks of life come here,” Bousfield said.
“NASA Space Center never did call me to come to work, and this is all I knew is horses and mules and cows,” he said, “but I also enjoyed people … they’re like family to us, our regular people. That’s why we keep doing it. We like what we’re doing.”