Photo by: Rachel Swick Mavity Construction is under way on a private horse stable on Route 24.


A Rehoboth Beach couple is building a private stable to house their eight horses next to Beacon Middle School on Route 24.
"We got involved in the horse community here about eight years ago when I bought my first horse," said Mary Ann Ronald, who with her husband, Mark, purchased the property. "Then I started jumping and went on to buy other horses. I found it wasn't paying off to house my horses at other stables, so we decided to buy our own farm."
For now, the Ronalds do not plan to open their stable to the public.
The couple looked around for months before finding the Route 24 location. The 40-acre property includes 30 acres of fields and 10 acres of woods. The couple hired Sussex Tree Inc. to help build wooded trails, using the trees they removed for bedding on the trails.
"We have never done anything like this before," said Ronald. "I looked at nearly 100 barns before I decided what I wanted and what would suit me."
Ronald will use the barns for her show horses and invite friends over to the property, but she said the barn will not increase traffic at the location.
The Ronalds will not live at the property, instead choosing to keep their Rehoboth Beach house. A live-in caretaker will stay in the house on the Route 24 property to take care of the horses 24/7.
"When we decided to look for our own farm, we decided we wanted to live here because it is a magnificent place to own horses," Ronald said. "The horses get great footing in the sand, and it is a very scenic area to enjoy riding."