About Hunter Lane and Margaret Winterkorn
Hunter Lane boarding and training facility is established in the heart of beautiful Sonoma County, California.
Now owned by Margaret Winterkorn, Hunter Lane was originally established as Double Bar M in 1974 by Peter and Benita Mattioli as a breeding farm for champion cutting horses. Over nearly forty-five years, Double Bar M evolved into Hunter Lane, one of Sonoma County’s premier full service boarding and training facilities.
Located at the base of Taylor Mountain, we provide a safe, affordable and friendly ranch for you to enjoy. We offer excellent training and riding instruction in both English and Western disciplines, and have an Equitherapy program providing accessibility to equestrian activities for people with disabilities.
Margaret Winterkorn
Owner & Manager of Hunter Lane Equestrian Center / Executive Director of Centaur Equitherapy
Margaret grew up on an Arabian breeding farm in Albuquerque during the heyday of Arabian breeding and competition. Already comfortable on horses as a toddler, she started competing at age 6 and reached the national stage at age 14. She won the National Championship in 2006 and was in the top ten at the Arabian Youth Nationals every year until she aged out.
Desiring a change of location she moved to Sonoma County in 2013, with the understanding that she would eventually like to return to working with horses. In 2017 Margaret chose to purchase Hunter Lane because she felt that the layout of the property allowed horses to feel like they were part of a herd without being crowded.
Margaret felt that Hunter Lane would be the perfect place to have a therapy program where she could share her horses, and what they have meant to her, with others.
In 2017 Margaret established Centaur Equitherapy, a 501c3, with the help of Shirley Johnson, a long-time advocate for therapeutic horsemanship and para dressage. She loves seeing her clients smile as they accomplish goals, however big or small, and creating the plan and atmosphere to facilitate those goals.
“I love facilitating the love of the horse, working towards a goal with a client, and making space for people to do that for themselves. The horses are a joy to be around. It makes me happy to see people having fun with their horses, whether its casual riding, training for an event, or just hanging out with them around the barn.”
