I can't speak for the Red Rock Ride as a guide service.  I know nothing about them.

But the country they will ride through is simply stunning.  We make an annual trip to Bryce Canyon. Stay at Ruby's Inn ( they have a horse motel for our horses)

Then we ride in Bryce Canyon, Red Mountain and in the Grand Staircase Escalantee.

In Bryce Canyon

Willis Canyon in Grand Staircase. Riding through the slot canyons.

This is inside the canyon behind us int he above picture. Canyon walls go straight up. Not a good choice if your horses is claustrophobic

Red Mountain. Not a good choice if you are afraid of heights

McCarty Canyon in the San Rafael Swell area

I have no advice about Equitours, but wanted to say...WOW!  Cool pics!  How did you get them on here?

RIDE ON!

Easy

Just click on the little mountain picture on the Reply Tool Bar

insert the internet address of where your picture is hosted.

Wah-Laa

I was in the Zion, Escalante, and Grand Staircase in Sept.  Anyone who can ride this country MUST do it!  Not only will the scenery blow you away, but the immenseness of those colors and vistas are only to be seen to be believed.  Red Rock Ride was booked for 2008 last I heard, but if you can navigate pretty well, give the trails a go.  I for one will return ASAP.

My picture is probably on more coffee tables in Europe than in my scrap book at home. The tourist in the national parks all just have to have pictures of any body that looks like a cowboy. They become a nuisence crowding around to take a picture while we are asaddling our horses. It's kinda nice to get off the beaten path and ride some of the less well known areas where you are by yourself.

Southern Utah in general has so much to see. Whether you limit your ride to Zions & Bryce where you can buy an hour or day horse ride on a guide string. Or if you bring your own horses and explore the multitude of other areas.  The Abajo and Blue mountains in South Eastern Utah. The LaSalles Near Moab, The San Rafael Swell, The Grand Staircase all offer excellent riding.

Although you probably don't want to ride horses in the lower desert areas in the heat of the summer. These are great areas to ride in April/May and September/November. There are higher elevations rides ( in the Abajo and LaSalle) that are 10,000 foot elevation and much cooler.

These two pictures are in Eagle Canyon in the San Rafael Swell.

Looking out over Snow Canyon near St George

Zions National Park

   Pony tammy...

Your gaited horse would probably do fine.  Pre trip tuning up and conditioning would make them perfect.  When we went on our own, there was a paso, and a twh in the group. They all did swell as did my lil Arabian mare. Gotta love these lite horses when it comes to comfort and stamina. geting lots of time in the saddle now and some lessons in seat,legs,and balance will make the trails seem effortless. You will need to have your horse used to being legged away from the edge in the cliff areas, as using their mouth is a no-no, and they will obey better too. I think the real trick is just lots of saddle time, not what kind of horse or who your trainer was. A good comfortable saddle and pad is paramount also!

Palm trees wave, are you listenin'?
In the pool, water's glistenin'
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight
Livin' in a desert wonderland.

Gone away is the blizzard,
Here to stay is the lizard,
A warm sunny day, we like it that way,
Livin' in a desert wonderland.

In the desert we will have a picnic,
Cactus, sand, rattlesnakes and sun.
Christmas dinner is an old tradition,
It's pinto beans and tacos by the ton.

Later on we'll perspire,
Temperatures rise even higher,
A warm sunny day, we like it that way,
Livin' in a desert wonderland.

***************************

****"Have a Blessed CHRISTMAS"****

My MFT was 4 years old when I took most of those pictures. A few of them he was 3. We only put about 20 rides on him as a 3yo. He's just coming 5 this spring.

You didn't say how old your horses where, If they are 3yo, keep the rides short and give them lots of rest. 4 yo should do just fine,

Make sure you ride them before bringing them out.  Once here you can keep the rides short. 3-4 hours. None of the rides are terrible steep to climb up for the horses. More that you will pass by some steep drop offs. So it's more of a matter of contolling the horse rather than his stamina. You just want to be able to control him if something spooky blows by when you are standing on the edge of the world.

Your horses will feel the elevation. Most of these places are 6000 - 7000 foot elevation. Just give them a chance to blow and catch their breath.

If you come to a scary spot, just get off and walk your horse across. Here you see even an very experience rider leading their horse, when the side drop off several hundred feet.

Here we watch as others cross the narrow neck of land between two mesa's. as you can see it drops off pretty steep.

 We ride Southern Utah in the Spring and late fall.  We head North for the summer and fall hunting season. Depending on when you want to come, we can give you lots of suggestions to ride on your own if you bring you horses.

Some of them are even green

I've done quite a few riding trips with Equitour and Fits Equestrian (before Equitour bought them out) as well as a few other companies.  Every ride was great.  I've done rides in Connemara, Ireland, Hungary, Portugal, Canada, Arizona, Missouri, Utah, and 8 in Wyoming as I ended up working some rides there. 

    Of them all, Utah was my favorite as the scenery was fantastic, I rode a really nice Arab, the guides and other people on the ride were all neat personalities that meshed just perfectly.  If I went again, I'd want to see if I could go with Paintedhorse as he knows the places to go for sure. 

    The most important thing about the riding holidays is to be in good shape for the amount of riding you'll do and be prepared for the kind of weather.  When I did Ireland it was in May and I didn't bring enough warm clothes.  Ireland is very wet & cold in May and I had to beg, borrow, and buy wool sweaters, extra pairs of gloves, raingear, etc.

Most of Southern Utah is public land, So there are lots of places to pull off the road and camp.

Most counties have a Fairground. You can rent stalls in the fairgrounds for about $10 a night. Several off the top of my head are: Hurricane Utah , Panguitch Utah, Moab, BlackHawk in Salina Utah, Spanish Fork, Legacy Center in Farmington, Utah and the Golden Spike Center in Ogden.  These are all county run facilities. Some like the Legacy Center in Farmington get really busy during Rodeo season, as that's where all the cowboys stop over as the head to rodeos around the west.

There are a lot of Horse motels, where you can board your horses for night or two.  Ruby's Inn near Bryce Canyon, Steve Hafen's Harmony Horse Motel in Washington Utah (Near Zions) are two that I have used.

Most of your riding in utah will be on public land and hence you need to use Certified Weed Free hay. Most of the local feed stores will have it later in the summer. But it will be hard to find in April-May. So you may want to bring/buy hay pellets.

If you are timid to ride a strange trail by yourself. It's not hard to find a local cowboy to lead you for a small fee.

Remember, A lot of this country is high desert. It can get really hot during July & August. Also you don't want to be in the slot canyons during Thunderstorm season.  A big thunderstorm 20 miles away can send a wall of water crashing down the canyon you are riding in. Check with the forest service or BLM to make sure the area you plan to ride is safe on the day you want to ride.

For those wanting to ride somebody elses horses or have a guide to lead the way. Try these websites.

http://www.ecso.com/trailride/trail1.htm

http://www.horserides.net/grand-staircase-rides.html

http://www.stgeorgeutah.net/activities/horseback.html

we went on our first riding vacation this october....rancho las cascadas in mexico, about an hour north of mexico city.   i highly recommend it...5 star all the way and everything is provided.   awesome food at every meal!   i was amazed and impressed daily.   there were some girls there that had been there times before and had taken riding vacations all over the country and they said this was the best they had been on.

the horses were great, the staff all great, the rooms very nice...it is all new.   the owner is from switzerland and makes sure that everything is perfect for you.   and...very affordable.    Riding Holidays in Mexico

Hey Tammy:

I saw in the latest issue of "Trail Rider" magazine that there is a place in Vermont that offers Icelandic Horses on their trail rides.  There is a weight limit for the riders due to the size of the Icelandics.  It seems like there was one other gaited horse vacation spot, but I don't remember and my magazine is at home.

Okay, I went home and looked at my magazine, the entire article is about gaited horse vacations.  Check it out, there are several in different areas of the country.

Happy Trails!

JacciB

We have used Equitours for the Randonnee' Liberte', a self guided ride through the Southern Pyrenees in France. We were very pleased with Equitours, the horses, the accomodations, and ourselves for completing the ride (you know from the start you are given a horse and map, period. No, cell phones do not work in this area. But, it was a wonderful, memorable adventure! We have used Hidden Trails, another reputable riding vacation outfit, for the Northern Exposure Ride in Iceland. We are looking at one of these riding outfits for our 2008 African Riding Safari in either Botswanna or South Africa. The Canadian Rockies are still my very favorite riding destination to date. Check out Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies for reasonably priced, great riding vacations. We have done those multiple times. Also, in Wyoming, check out the Darwin Ranch. It is a very remote ranch near Cora. We loved our time there.

Good Luck!

Brenda