The White Stallion Ranch - Wild horse's wouldn't have dragged me away (White Stallion Ranch (Tucson, USA))

Member Name: beckyreed82

Product:	White Stallion Ranch (Tucson, USA)
Date:	23/01/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic value for money, great riding

Disadvantages: You dont want to leave

*Location
This ranch is based in Tucson, Arizona, about a half an hour from the airport. It is in a rural location surrounded by gorgeous mountains and Saguaro National Park. Everywhere you look there is cactus and desert terrain.

* The ranch
I travelled to the White Stallion ranch on my own after having emails from the owner saying how many people visit on there and also speaking to other people who had visited. My first impressions of the ranch were fantastic. I was picked up from a hotel where I stayed over night in an air conditioned minibus and driven to the ranch. As it was in the mid 30s the air conditioning was more than welcome and driver was happy to answer questions about the ranch.

The ranch itself is like a piece of paradise (if you like horses), as you drive down the main driveway everywhere you look there are horses. We were greeted by a lady at reception and taken straight to the restaurant where we were given a lovely lunch.

*Accomodation
The accomodation was great, I had a lovely room which were set in small blocks scattered around the ranch's land. I felt as if I was quite secluded and right outside my door was a paddock full of horses.

*Riding
For someone visiting a ranch the main attraction is probably the riding. The White Stallion ranch was fantastic for this and on the first morning matched everyone with a horse which stayed with them for the duration of there stay. Each day there was a different riding programe which included fast or slow rides, mountain rides and cattle penning (with real cows!!). There was also the option for a little cost to have lessons which were really valuable. I had never ridden western style, although I have ridden a lot in England. The ranch make sure that everyone is able to Lope (or Canter) safely before allowing them on fast rides. Each person is asked to take a small test to enable them to assess there ability. It was encouraging to see people who had never ridden before being able to canter like a pro within days!

Half way through the week there was a chance to do an all day ride which was approximately 25 miles. This was probably one of the hardest things I have done as the heat was intense, however the scenery was truly breath taking and it was well worth doing.

*Other activitys
Apart from the riding there was a chance to go hiking, have BBQs, go on hayrides and also see a rodeo. The ranch was also in a great position to go on day trips to places nearby. I only left the ranch once to visit Tombstone which is about an hour away, but it was well worth the visit.

*Food
Food was great and was served outside most nights. The breakfast and lunch was self service, with the main meal having lots of choice.Each evening after dinner there was entertainment which was anything from a man visiting to talk about local wildlife, so a man doing rope tricks.

*Overall
I will never forget my stay at the ranch, it truly was amazing. A standard double room per person is from $137 per night. The price you pay per night includes all the riding and three meals so in my opinion it is well worth the money.

I made some great friends over my two weeks staying there and would definatly recommend it to anyone who fancys a ranch holiday. Don't worry if you go on you're own, you'll have a time you'll never forget.

Summary: A great ranch which I'll be taking my children to one day!