community ^ sunset trails
TRAILS SUNSET
Story Adrianne DeWeese Photos Patti Klinge
A s a young child, Maggie Everson’s father often told her that horses make great listeners. Today, at age 27, Everson said that lesson is one that she continues to take to heart – and she is hopeful that she, too, will instill the belief in others. “It’s awesome because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a bad day or something hasn’t gone right, and you can just go cry on your horse’s shoulder,” Everson said from the office of her family’s longtime business, Sunset Trails Stables. “It can just make you feel so much better, and it’s just awesome to have that and to really embrace that.” At 2100 S.E. Ranson Road in Lee’s Summit, the 39-acre Sunset Trails Stables is just one mile from James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area, or a mere eight-minute drive from downtown Lee’s Summit. Everson’s family has owned Sunset Trails for 17 years, and she described the property as “a unique little oasis, being close within the city limits of Lee’s Summit, but we have our own little farm here without being
a hundred miles out.” Born and raised in Lee’s Summit, Everson’s home sits adjacent to Sunset Trails Stables. She started riding horses at age 3, and Everson later advanced into competitive rodeo, barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, and breakaway roping, in addition to participating in 4-H from ages 8 through 18. One of the horses at Sunset Trails, 25-year- old Cash, is among the last horses still alive from Everson’s competitive riding days in high school. While Cash is now retired from competition, he is still used at Sunset Trails in riding lessons. “It’s definitely in my blood,” she said. “It’s something I’ve done my entire life and is something that I really enjoy. “When most kiddos were watching TV during the summertime or something like that, I’d wake up and my friends and I would pack a lunch, and go across the street and ride horses all day, and then come back and trade out horses.”
28 VINTAGEKC SPRING 2018
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