You don’t have to be a horse lover to be able to appreciate the unique experiences offered by an equestrian vacation.
Horse nuts and beginners alike can find joy and excitement by taking a vacation on the back of a horse. Anyone with a zest for adventure will enjoy the opportunity to really go native by exploring the countryside at a more leisurely pace than you can on a freeway. Riding a horse allows you to get up close and personal with nature, from the back of a surefooted steed.
HorseBack Tours
Some of the most exciting horseback tours available are offered by HorseBack Tours, which focuses solely on Peru. The native Peruvian Paso Fino horse was bred from the steeds of Spanish conquistadors, and has a gentle disposition and easy gait that makes it an ideal animal to carry you through your vacation. The world’s smoothest riding horse, the Peruvian is the only mode of transportation for tours offered by HorseBack Tours.
Based in Texas, these tours are operated and led by Cheryl Aldrich, a Peruvian horse breeder with more than 30 years of travel experience in Peru. Riders are taken on tours with different themes, such as a tour of prominent Peruvian ranches, village street festivals, and exploring ancient Inca ruins and art. Cheryl is right at home in the areas the tours visit, because she speaks Spanish fluently and is friends with many Peruvian breeders. Her tour agency developed as a result of many of her friends wanting to visit Peru. HorseBack Tours has hosted travelers from around the world, with new people coming along every year.
The staff that rides along with the tours work hard to make the trip as carefree and enjoyable as possible for all travelers. Rides last for 2 to 4 hours each day, and riders are treated to the finest hotels available, as well as memorable meals and upscale amenities, such as swimming pools, spas, and even massages. In the morning the horses are brought saddled up and ready to go, and at the end of the day the riders trade the horses in for a cool drink. Every moment of the trip is planned in advance and riders are assisted at all times by bilingual guides.
HorseBack Tours offers everyone the opportunity to travel worry free in a unique way, see sites not available to people who tour by bus, car, or train, and lets you experience Peru as though you were a native, on the back of a proud native steed.
Bitterroot Ranch
Other popular horseback tours are offered by Bayard Fox, the owner and host at Bitterroot Ranch in Wyoming. Located in a remote valley bordering the Shoshone National Forest, 50 miles of unspoiled, mountainous wilderness separate the ranch from Yellowstone Park. Perpetually snow-capped mountains are always in view.
The Bitterroot is a family-run working ranch, so during your vacation you can help drive cattle that graze in the adjacent national forest during the summer. You can hone your skills during the weekly team sorting competition, and take lessons from expert ride consultants and trainers. For a ride to be truly enjoyed, the rider must have the skills to do it safely at the pace intended. The staff make every effort to ensure that all riders are well matched to the ride and the difficulties are explained as clearly as possible.
Equitours
Bitterroot’s sister company, Equitours takes the riding experience one step beyond the ordinary by offering horseback riding vacations on six continents. Over the last 30 years the Fox family has developed a broad range of riding vacations for your enjoyment and fulfillment as a traveler, and they constantly monitor the quality of the tours they sponsor. Your safety is always a priority, and the vacations are affordable and well orchestrated. There is a wide choice in price, geographical location, and riding ability required.
The ride consultants for each vacation are thoroughly acquainted with the trips they handle and can advise you wisely in choosing the best options to meet your personal vacation goals. Equitours has a unique advantage in organizing and understanding these tours because the Bitterroot ranch raises and trains their horses, which gives the tour organizers important insights into all aspects of a riding vacation. Staff members ride personally with guests nearly every day during the season, and stay in close touch with their preferences and equestrian goals.
Equitours believes in equestrian travel as a way to practice a fascinating sport and at the same time to interact with a different culture and other people. You will find that a common love of the horse is very effective in forming bonds of friendship quickly with people all over the world. Equitours participants travel in small groups to visit places that are often well off the beaten track and sometimes so far off that tourists are a curiosity to locals. You can sip tea with the headman of a remote village in Rajasthan, or drink ouzo with a Greek fisherman in an isolated Aegean village.
Whichever tour service and vacation program you choose, you will find well qualified guides and instructors, well-trained and gentle equestrian mounts, and like-minded companions looking for the vacation of a lifetime.
