Can't decide on Horseback riding? Please help

[Tikilyn]

Dh and I will be in Cozumel On 01/20/2007. I really want to go horseback riding. I'm willing to book through carnival but.... What I really want to know is How can we ride. I mean I want to have fun on a horse. Not just saddle up and take a long walk. What fun is that.

 

Don't get me wrong I don't want to trash the horses but a little cantering would be nice. Is there one place that you can recommend that would let us canter the horses? Also I would like to ride a healthy horse too!

 

Thanks

[Grits53]

If you want to "have fun" on a rented horse, you're probably going to have to rent one here in the states. The horses used in these tourist attractions MUST be plod along nags, for the safety of the tourists. I am a 53 year old barrel racer. I've been riding since I was a toddler and barrel racing since I was quite young (and still compete every weekend). On our recent horseback excursion in Jamaica, I knew not to expect horses like my own. I hoped they might asked for my skill level and give me a little more lively horse, but they never asked. They put me on what was probably the oldest, "deadest" horse in the bunch. Oh well. I still had fun riding through the Jamaican countryside on old "Desperado" at a plod along pace.

 

But the MOST fun was when they took the saddles off and put on a "water pad" (just a pad with no stirrups), and we got to swim the horses in the ocean! Now THAT was fun! I highly recommend the Montego Bay Chukka Ride & Swim. I think they also have one in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Their horses were, for the most part, in good flesh. They look nothing like my own horses, but my horses would never be safe for inexperienced riders like they have. So, if you want to have fun on your cruise, do a ride & swim. If you don't go where they have those, rent a horse near your home. It will be cheaper, and you'll get to do more than plod along.

 

Just for kicks, here's a pic of my favorite horse Goose and me at the World Championships a little over a year ago. If it doesn't show up, here's the link. http://img.clubphoto.com/jerboa/130147251/563/null/image.jpg

[tomko2]

Tikilyn, Grits is quite right.

My DH has been horse-riding in Belize, Cozumel, Fiji, St. Maarten and Jamaica and they have all been roughly the same (except for the water riding in Jamaica) - slow paced walks with the odd bit of cantering if the whole group is up to par. There were some better stables in Antigua but we think they may have stopped taking bookings from people on cruises. If you go, don't forget the bug spray. Although my DH recognizes this is not "riding" he says he enjoys the exposure to something a little different on each island; e.g. Mayan ruins ride in Cozumel.

(P.S. One good thing is on-board laundry service because it had rained alot in Belize before we arrived and my DH came back covered in mud.)

 

 

Grits, nice picture -- very cool.

[Grits53]

Tikilyn, Grits is quite right.

 

Grits, nice picture -- very cool.

 

Be careful not to encourage me too much. I have stacks of pics like that one that I could post! ;) This is my favorite, though, due to the colors, the point of my horse's action when the pic was snapped, and of course since it was at the World Championship. Thanks for the compliment! :)

[Grits53]

tomko, I'm having trouble with this site not showing that I have posted, so I'm trying again so you'll know I replied.

[magic10628]

I'm actually going to disagree... I had the best rented-horse ride ever at Rancho Loma Bonita, halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. I'm not sure if this ride is offered from cruise ships, but I've been there twice during stays in Playa (most recent visit was in June 2005). I also rode/owned horses for 14 years, so it takes a lot to impress me, but this was pretty fun. We started with the usual "nose to tail" ride through the jungle and along the beach in a large group. Then the guides had all the riders who wanted to gallop get into a separate group and we galloped up the beach and through the water at full speed! I would have enjoyed it more if my husband, a beginner, had been in FRONT of me instead of behind me - I was envisioning all kinds of horrible accidents, but he clung to the saddle horn and did great. The horses loved the gallop - they clearly knew what was coming when we separated into a smaller group and they were ready to run. Afterward, we took turns riding into the water bareback, which was a new experience for me and very neat.

[magic10628]

 

Here's me (second from left) and the rest of the group on our horse-swimming adventure. I wanna go back!

[Grits53]

Then the guides had all the riders who wanted to gallop get into a separate group and we galloped up the beach and through the water at full speed!

 

Oh, I would have loved to have been able to gallop on the beach! But that is very unusual for a tourist ride. As I said before, we did the swim in Montego Bay, and that was way cool. (Got the cool pics like yours, too.) But we were never allowed to get out of a walk. Actually, I feel pretty sure that old Desperado, the one I rode, was incapable of going faster than a walk. :rolleyes: Thanks for sharing your pic! (I refuse to post a pic of me in a swimsuit on a public forum. :p )

[magic10628]

(I refuse to post a pic of me in a swimsuit on a public forum. :p )

 

Ha, you'll notice that in this particular pic, 3/4 of my body is under water! :D

[Tikilyn]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the responses. I'm still undecided if we are going to do this excursion or not. We'll be on the Ecstacy for a 4 day and cozumel is our only stop. If we do this I'll post a report about it.

 

Thanks all

 

P.S great pictures

[zantedeschia]

I've been on 2 horsebackriding excursions and I'd have to say it depends on the tour. First one was a jungle ride and they did let those who wanted to 'gallop" near the end of the tour.

 

Second was a beach/swim ride and they refused to let us. I kicked my mount up to a trot but they stopped me and we got into a talk why. Said they used to but had a woman claim she was an experienced rider but when they let her "gallop", she fell off the horse and then claimed the horse threw her. The guy seemed to be really insulted that she disrepected the horse and since then wouldn't let people go fast anymore.