Your best riding vacation experieince

Hi all,
One of these days I want to take a riding vacation. Might be in Spain, might be in Monatan or Argentina. I have seen those brochures for companies like Cross Country or others. I would love to hear from anyone who wants to recommend or warn of a riding vacation .

Ok?

Stay away from Cross Country International. I've heard some really bad things about them.

Equitours has a good reputation.

I recommend the Spotted Horse Ranch in Jackson Hole, WY. One of the most beautiful places on earth, and it's definitely not a nose-to-tail trail riding place.

The price of the package includes 3 gourmet meals a day, beer and wine if you drink alcoholic beverages, and rides that last anywhere from 3 hours to all day.

There's nothing like riding in the Grand Tetons and seeing coyote, moose, elk (we saw a herd of about 200), and antelopes. We didn't see any bear, but we saw their tracks and scat.

Your guides will tailor the ride to your personal expertise. We did a lot of trotting, cantering, and some hand galloping. Helmets use is at your own discretion, and you'll have to take your own as they don't provide any.

I'd love to go back. One of these days, I will.

Spotted Horse Ranch :: Guest Ranch Jackson Hole, Wyoming

www.sweetgrassranch.com





It is heaven on earth!

Well I only had one riding vacation experience but it was great... Riding Icelandic horses in the Rockies of BC. This is the place I went.

Icelandic Horse World - Horseback Riding Vacations

The accommodations were pretty rustic but the food was fantastic. The horses were well trained - not your typical rental trail horses. The only thing I didn't like was that none of the saddles fit the horses properly (which is a problem with traditional Icelandic saddles).

So far, so good. I looked at the websites for the first two vacations offered up by readers. Only thing is they are not cheap. I realize that's food, horses, lodging, but it runs (for a couple) around 4,500$ for a 5 day vacation! That is really steep for me. We spent that much to fly the whole family to Hawaii and stay for 10 days (4 persons). I can't talk a non-horsey husband into such a large expenditure.
There's another thread topic.; How to handle non-horsey husbands!

Liny (who's drinking a cool beer as we speak. YUUUUMY!)

Tiny, there are plenty of nonhorse activities offered by the Spotted Horse Ranch for your hubby that are also included in the price.

So you can go out riding all day, and he can do something else. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

The only holiday I have been on and ridden was 10 years ago. I went to Canada with my family to stay with friends for a month. My mum brought my riding gear and booked lessons for me as a surprise. I was 8 years old and never ridden a horse before! (only ponies). The horse I rode, Sissy was a 15.1hh Quarter Horse and she was really sweet.

I would love to go on a trekking holiday to South America or Mongolia, maybe ill get the opportunity to go with guides in the future as I was too young to go last year (I was 17, needed to be 18 grrr), I still couldn't go even with my riding experience :(