Jak, Sheryl, Josh & Bailee provided the best “trail ride” that I have ever experienced. My son Greg and I were looking for something different while visiting the St. George and Zion National Park area when the idea of a horseback ride came up. While I ride a lot on my own horse, Greg had only one pasture ride as his horseback riding experience. The information, training, and experience gained while at Jacobs Ranch is more than I could have ever taught my son. Not only is the amount of time spent with the horses more than any commercial trail ride operation I have ever heard of, the knowledge and experience conveyed to riders is top notch.
The horses are not the normal tired horses that follow the same trail nose-to-tail like everywhere else. Once the character of each horse is explained to you, you have the opportunity to choose the horse that best fits you. Once you choose the horse and spend some time with it, you then find out if the horse is going to choose you in return. This is an outstanding way to determine the best horse for someone versus the “here is your horse, get on” approach everywhere else does. The activities while riding are more than anyone expects: trotting, loping, galloping, and running…there’s even a chance to do some jumping if you are comfortable.
By the time we finished the roughly 12 mile “ride”, we saw and experienced so much of the Zion Canyon. Greg’s riding abilities grew beyond expectations in just one day after the time we spent with Jak and Sheryl, they really know how to make anyone comfortable with riding. Greg is now looking forward to the difficult mountain rides I do in the wilderness areas of Colorado…and he is now more than ready for it!
Anyone signing up for the “trail ride” at Jacobs Ranch is in for the experience of a lifetime! The only way to have a better experience is to go back knowing fully what you are getting into…which we will do in the future. Thanks for the memories that can never be forgotten…
Joel H. – 07-22-2012