A ranch made for doing

Horses were the point from day one, and the equestrian village is where that shows most. It's anchored by a partnership with the Hayes family — led by Rufus Hayes, an 80-year-old cowboy in the Cutting Horse Hall of Fame, who has ranched in Santa Rosa County since the late 1960s.

Today his granddaughter Jill, with her husband Cody, runs most of the family's operation — the next generation carrying the Hayes name forward. Together they're bringing that legacy to River Woods Ranch, on land roughly ten times the size of their home ranch, to build something bigger and better than ever.

Jill and her grandparents' real, in-the-saddle expertise shapes every equestrian detail — a place designed by people who've lived the cowboy life. The result: training arenas across rodeo disciplines, stables, lessons, and trail rides, all woven into the ranch-wide trail system.

Miles of trails wind across the ranch — explore them on foot or on horseback, from hilltop overlooks down to creek crossings where the water never rises past your ankles. The property connects to tens of thousands of adjacent acres, so there's always somewhere new to go.

Canoe or kayak up and down the Escambia, cast for any of its many species of fish, or pull up to a sandbar that feels like a private beach. Down the road, one of the ponds may even become a little inland beach with white quartz sand.

Walk the rows of the young muscadine vineyard, hear the story of the land it grows on, and stay for a tasting of what the ranch is already making — from Muscadine Lemonade to Yaupon Orange sparkling tea.