Fantasy Farm Thursday: Personal Equestrian Island Compound

I mean, what else do you really need to know? For $120 million, Great Island — a 63-acre island in Long Island Sound including an 18-stall barn, indoor and outdoors arenas — can be your personal bastion of total equestrian awesomeness.

All photos courtesy of Houlihan Lawrence, used with permission.

Come clean, Horse Nation: at some point in your life, you’ve wished you could just live on a private island, far away from annoying people, and spending your entire day hanging out with your horses.

As it turns out, if you can daydream about it, it probably exists. Here to make your favorite fantasy come true is Great Island in Connecticut, the former home of Olympic show jumper Bill Steinkraus and his wife, Grand Prix dressage rider Helen Steinkraus. It’s not property on an island for sale… it’s a whole freaking island.

Originally purchased in the early 1900s by William Ziegler, baking powder tycoon, Great Island has stayed within the Ziegler family for its entire existence — Helen Ziegler-Steinkraus was Ziegler’s granddaughter, and lived here with her husband Bill Steinkraus of American show jumping fame until her passing in 2012. Bill Steinkraus passed away in 2017, and the estate is once again listed for sale.

For the cool price of $120 million, this 63-acre piece of paradise in Long Island Sound boasts over a mile of coastline (including a secluded sandy beach), a 13,000 square foot home called Stone Manor, numerous additional buildings including the original Colonial home, caretaker’s house and seaside cottage, and of course, an 18-stall granite barn with indoor and outdoor arenas. The whole thing is accessible via land bridge, but there’s also docking space for your hundred-foot yacht.

First things first: let’s talk about this barn.

Oh yeah, that’s the barn. If you mistook it for a castle, don’t worry about it, because we’re still trying to wrap our heads around this place.

Boasting 18 stalls in a granite barn that could possibly double as your European hunting lodge if you were so inclined, the stabling at Great Island is bound to include all the amenities you could possibly want (we don’t have a lot of details at our disposal, but, you know, Bill Steinkraus).

What we do have are some gorgeous glimpses at the outdoor riding spaces, perfect for the equestrian who enjoys both the surf and the turf: check out that gorgeous bay view from your lovely track and grass jumping field!

Well-suited in case your trainer wants to yacht in for the weekend to give you a lesson, of course.

Bridle trails also crisscross the property.

Lush paddock turnouts give your horses plenty of room to unwind as well.

And don’t fret, because your new island home features plenty of space for the people to unwind too. Imagine heading down to your own private beach after your ride to soak up some sun, go for a dip or relax in a chair, maybe with a drink in your hand and a book in your lap…

There are plenty of houses on the property to welcome your guests: a caretaker’s house, a guest house, the original 19th-century farmhouse and the delightful seaside cottage. When it’s time to call it a night, you’ll retire to your very own modest little nine-bedroom Stone Manor (extra guest wing included, plus staff wing).

The interior boasts 15-foot ceilings, seven fireplaces, seven sets of French doors and a seaview from nearly every angle. The rooms are tasteful and elegant, yet comfortable: the perfect spot to have all of your barn friends over for a little soiree.

And at the end of the day, the fact remains: you’re on your own personal island, just you and your horses (and your staff, and your selected guests), lulled to sleep by the sound of waves crashing on the rocks of your private elevated coastline. Sweet dreams are made of this, my friends.

Big thanks to Houlihan Lawrence for sharing this property with us! For more details about Great Island, please visit Houlihan Lawrence’s website.

Go riding!