On a cool Sunday afternoon in late September, I arrived at Covered Wagon Ranch in the Gallatin Valley. Big Sky country was beginning to experience the fall color change in western Montana. Nelly, the teacup pig, worked the grounds of the ranch like a Hoover vacuum cleaner, eating the grass around her. Cowgirls walked …
With 3.85 million tourists visiting Napa Valley each year, Napa has wine tasting down to a science. There are over 500 wineries in the Napa Valley, however, what you might NOT know is that horses helped build its wine legacy. Dating back to the 1840s, horses were the primary form of transport for Napa residents …
“In riding a horse we borrow freedom,” that quote from Helen Thompson are words that I live by. In my Northern California city, I’m fortunate to live near wine country. Lucky for me, and you, I’ve discovered trail rides in Sonoma and Napa wine country with Sonoma Valley Trail Rides. There’s nothing better than …
Sonoma Horseback Riding: Wine Country Trail Rides Read More »
California dude ranch experience at Greenhorn Ranch Leaving the San Francisco Bay Area traffic behind, I can literally feel the stress disappear from my body as my husband drives our truck into California’s Lost Sierra. The grand conifer trees and pine forests mingle with clear-running streams as we wind our way to Plumas County. The …
California Dude Ranch Experience at Greenhorn Ranch Read More »
One of the highlights of our recent trip to Ireland was not in the form of a horseback riding vacation. Instead, we took a Pony Trap ride through the Gap of Dunloe, near Killarney, Co Kerry, Ireland. The Gap of Dunloe is one of the most scenic places in all of County Kerry (no …
Gap of Dunloe Pony Trap Ride in Co Kerry, Ireland Read More »
What Your Cowboy Hat Says About You It’s been said that cowboys know how to tell where a fellow cowboy hails from by the shape of his hat and the rope on his saddle. I’m no expert on the hard and fast rope vs dally ropers, but I can tell a “flat hatter” …
A horseback riding vacation in County Donegal, along the Wild Atlantic Way, is an experience that will delight the heart of every equestrian. Beach riding in California is dying due to high insurance premiums forced on public riding stables and the closures of many equestrian centers. Thank goodness there are plenty of horse trekking opportunities …
Few horseback rides are as memorable as those along the shores of the ocean’s crashing waves. Assateague Island National Seashore, home of the “wild” ponies, fits this experience exactly. Horseback riding on Maryland’s Atlantic coast, just south of the resort town of Ocean City, Assateague offers an almost endless, wide sandy beach that invites …
Horseback Riding in Maryland on Assateague Island Read More »
With phrases such as “we’re going to jingle” and “out to pasture,” we’re not talking about coins in your pockets or retirement days. Jingle means rounding up horses and “out to pasture” is where the horses go after providing horseback riding vacations to city slickers for a week at The High Lonesome Ranch in …
