Garrett County Government - Department of Business Development

Meadow Lake Stables Now Under New Ownership

Last Updated on Aug 25, 2023 at 12:26pm | Garrett County Economic Development

Photo of sign for Meadow Lake Stables with horses and riders in the backgroundSnippet of article courtesy of The Republican Newspaper. Staff Writer: Brenda Ruggiero. Photo submitted by Meadow Lake Stables.
 
 
Rachel and Nick Dudok are the newest owners of Meadow Lake Stables in the Oakland area near Herrington Manor State Park.
 
The venture came about because of Rachel Dudok’s lifelong love of horses.
 
“In the summer of 2021, I decided that it was time to explore the idea of getting back into my passion, horses,” she said. “A very good friend of mine in Harford County was closing one of her horse training farms and had a horse that she loved but could not keep and really did not want to sell. She offered him to me and the ball was rolling.”
 
Dudok visited Meadow Lake, where she fell in love with the facility and the atmosphere.
 
“I felt so welcomed by everyone at the barn,” she said. “Patrick, a big red thoroughbred, arrived at Meadow Lake Stables in September.
 
Seven months later brought the news that the farm would be listed and sold.
 
“I just couldn’t imagine this barn closing and taking Patrick anywhere else,” Dudok said. “So my husband and I took a leap of faith and listed our house for sale. The stars aligned, our house sold, and we were able to purchase the farm.”
 
Dudok was born and raised in Garrett County.
 
“At 8, my mother took me trail riding at Double G Ranch and I was hooked,” she said. “I spent summers there riding ponies and the last year they were open for trail riding my parents bought my first pony and we boarded there for many years.”
 
After high school, Dudok attended Otterbein College (now University) in Ohio, where she majored in Equine Facility Management and received her Bachelor’s degree in 2003.
 
After college she was on a show jumper farm in Florida and then moved to Harford County, where she was resident manager of Saint Omer’s Farm, a thoroughbred farm.
 
“I was there about seven years before my husband and I moved back home and I took a break from horses and farm management,” Dudok said. “It was a dream of ours to be able to live in Garrett County again.”
 
They were able to move back in 2013.
 
Meadow Lake Stables is located at 2332 Herrington Manor Road, Oakland, Maryland and can be contacted at (443) 987-4413.
 
VISIT The Republican Newspaper TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.