Horse country and the hunt

Metamora is Michigan’s horse country. The rolling hills and open pastures around this little village are dotted with horse farms and grand estates, and at its center is the Metamora Hunt — a mounted fox-hunting club founded in 1928, when sportsmen from the Detroit suburbs moved the tradition out to Metamora as their old hunting grounds filled up with houses. Riders in formal coats still follow the hounds across the countryside here (American hunts chase the fox rather than catch it), and the club hosts horse shows and equestrian events through the year.

The village itself is tiny but full of character, with a historic main street and the White Horse Inn, which dates to 1850 and is one of the oldest restaurants in Michigan. Just to the west, in neighboring Hadley Township, the Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area wraps around an 80-acre lake, with a beach, campground, and trails.

It’s a distinctly upscale, rural corner of the county — quiet, green, and horse-friendly — and people who settle here tend to do it for exactly that.