The Most Appropriate Riding Vacation for You
Many factors are important in deciding which riding vacation will give you the best experience. Time and money are certainly considerations, but don’t try to save a few dollars and end up with a vastly inferior vacation. For most of us the quality of the horses, the comfort of the tack, safety, richness of the culture and history of the area, opportunities for contacts with locals, knowledge and personality of the guide, the food and lodging, pacing of the ride and other members of the group are all considerations. If the riders in a group do not have somewhat similar skills, the experienced riders will be bored or the less experienced frightened. Claims made by outfits selling the rides are easy to make and hard to verify. I have heard many horrifying tales of accidents, last minute cancellations with no refunds and other nasty experiences on misrepresented rides.
So how do you go about making a choice? Books and directories are mainly compilations of paid advertisements. Brochures and websites are often not reliable. If you can get references, they may be helpful. In the UK the British Horse Society makes thorough examinations of riding establishments from any points of view before approving them (www.bhs.org), but unfortunately they have only approved a few establishments outside of the UK and Ireland. Probably the best thing is to go with a group of friends whose abilities you know and take a ride which someone you know has done before. Another good way to make the best choice is to get help from an experienced ride consultant who is thoroughly familiar with a broad spectrum of choices and can guide you objectively to the most suitable alternative at no extra cost. They have no reason to push one ride over another and will give honest replies because their main aim is to gain a happy client who will come back again and again for other trips. No trip is perfect and you should understand the pros and cons.