One of the great aspects to horseback riding as a sport and a means of travel is that you can do it in so many contrasting parts of the world. Beach riding has a particular appeal for many people and with good reason. A beach with fairly hard packed sand makes a wonderful race track for horses and they love to open up at top speed in a place like that. They can see that there is nothing threatening; sometimes for miles ahead and they don?t have to worry about hidden predators lurking in ambush. There is nothing to make them spook except perhaps a breaking wave and they soon become accustomed to that. A wide open beach like the one on Mozambique is not a good place for anyone suffering from agoraphobia which fortunately is quite rare, but it is a place which generates a wonderful sense of freedom to both horses and most riders. Equitours offers many destinations where beach riding is excellent. Most of the beach riding in the US has become very difficult because the popular beaches have become too developed and sunbathers relaxing on the beach tend to resent having a horse gallop past throwing sand on their tanning backs and shattering their reveries.
Ireland is an ideal place for beach riding as at low tide there are huge stretches of beach left for our galloping pleasure. The only problem is that one has to pay attention to the tide tables because at high tide there is sometimes no passage left and the tides can sweep in from the sea at a fantastic rate. People have been drowned because of it. Many Mediterranean beaches are excellent too though some have become as developed as those in the US. South Africa, Mozambique, New Zealand and Australia are prime place for horseback riding on beaches.
Consider the contrast when you think of horseback riding in Arizona. Instead of a flat track all the way you can have steep mountain trails like those leading down to the Grand Canyon. Instead of a flat beach, you have jagged mountain ranges or the sheer cliffs of the Canyon de Chelly. Of course there can be sheer cliffs beside the ocean, but they are not the same and there is no salt spray flying in your face. Actually these trips in Arizona and Utah have been our most popular rides except for our own ranch in Wyoming.
