Pantano Riding Stables, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Visited: November 2014
I took a two hour ride led by guy called Dwayne, who was very friendly and personable, on a horse name Opal, a 16hh draught-cross with the biggest ears I've seen outside of a mule. She had a gorgeous temperament, and was very tolerant of my exaggerated newbie attempt at Western style neck-reining. Although you can choose not to ride with a hard hat I wussed out because, well, it's the USA with it's love of insurance. Of course, that did not diminish the enjoyability of the trail which traverses beautiful and thick desert. If you're lucky enough to come when the cactus are blooming you'll be in for a beautiful show. The Saguaro cactus are as iconic as you imagine them to be. We came across one with at least fifteen arms, and they don't start growing arms till they are at least 70 years old. They are the grandfathers of the desert.
At this time of year the sandy washes of the desert riverbeds were dry, with deep sand but plenty of space to lope, which Opal took full advantage, often poking her nose out in front of my guide's horse. The trails vary throughout the year as the monsoon rains change the paths, we even took a couple of wrong turns a couple of times and had to double back or scoot up the bank.
Make sure you ride early in the day or late in the evening to avoid the heat. Keep an eye out for roadrunners scuttling across the path and in the spring, rattlesnakes, luckily for me there were none this time of year because they were hibernating, phew! But, every tree, bush and flower is spiky so watch your knees as you pass by. Especially for the Choya Cactus, with hooked barbs even Dwayne said were evil.
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