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Riding ProgramsCircle Z is known for its excellent horses, many of them ranch raised, and
its great variety of trails. We have 165 miles of trails which run along
and through the Sonoita Creek, meander through sand canyons and climb up
through our mountains where the scenery is breathtaking. Riders are
assigned a horse for their stay. The horse (one of over 100 in our
string) is chosen to meet the needs of each guest and their riding
experience. Basic instruction is offered, at no charge, from our experienced wranglers. We are known as the Riding Ranch with great horses for every rider. Our 20,000 acres of rolling high desert hills, afford endless trails to ride or roam, with beautiful scenery in every direction. Our wranglers make every effort to insure guest enjoyment of our wide open spaces, from the back of a horse, comfortably. We offer the beginner scenic ride and suggest this ride for our novice riders and the riders who just want to take things slow and easy. Our intermediate ride offers a walk & trot for the more experienced rider and the looping ride is offered to the more advance rider. Each ride is two hours and you may choose a 9:30 AM ride and/or a 2:00 PM ride. Only one ride on Sunday at 10:00 AM. The best view on earth is from the back of a horse. We hope to see you on our trials. The riding program at Grapevine Canyon Ranch consists of:
The Kay El Bar's riding program offers something for everyone. Wranglers carefully match guests and horses based on the guest's riding experience and expectations. All new guests go through an orientation designed to familiarize riders with horse behavior and the Western style of riding. Then it's onto the trail, with endless miles of varied terrain through the splendid Sonoran desert. Each ride is guided by a wrangler and usually consists of 3-5 guests. The speed and the length of the rides are tailored to guests' interests and abilities, with an emphasis on learning and safety. Youngsters must be at least seven years old in order to ride on the trails. The Kay El Bar offers two trail rides each day, expect Sunday, when there is an extended brunch ride in the morning. Sunday afternoon provides some rest for two and four-legged friends. When conditions allow, guests are given the weekly option to participate in some friendly competition as they race to sort cattle on horseback. Regardless of the activity, stories and smiles are always abundant. The Kay El Bar invites you to come and feel the magic of climbing into a saddle, cantering through a desert canyon, and soaking up some Arizona sunshine. Price Canyon offers a riding experience that is unlike most, because of the location and topography of the ranch. With 500,000 acres of National Forest, the riding is endless… The ranch is headquartered at 5450 feet above sea level, surrounded by grassy meadows (perfect for loping and horseplay!), that lead into oak forest, all the way up to 9000 feet of old growth pine. Being a working cattle ranch, the rides may be inclusive of some unexpected cattle or ranch work. It really depends on what Mother Nature has up her sleeve for the day! There may be a broken fence line or some cattle that need herding back to the proper pasture… We generally have two rides a day, one long ride (where we will pack a lunch and be out for a good portion of the day) or in lieu of a ride, arena games may be offered. There is an opportunity to learn barrel racing, cattle sorting, team penning, roping, etc. Each ride lasts two to three hours long, so we spend anywhere from 4 to 6 or 7 hours in the saddle a day. The cowboys and the horses do need a little time off and so, Sundays are the only day where we just offer the morning ride. We strongly discourage nose to tail riding, unless the terrain dictates it. Our guests are welcome to help bring in their own horses, spend a little time grooming and helping saddle. Just a good way to connect with your mount before mounting… Helping with the chores such as feeding, is always appreciated, of course, but certainly not necessary! Mother Nature again plays the boss in determining our Saturday evening “Sleep out under the stars!”. The afternoon ride ends up at the campsite, where dinner is lovingly prepared by our cowboys, (with the help our chef!) Campfire and camaraderie is the highlight, along with the sounds of the forest… Our guests have the choice of staying out and sleeping under the stars, or for those that choose… in a cowboy teepee, or heading back after the meal, to the comfort of their own room and a clean shower. Bedrolls and wash pans are provided at the campsite. Breakfast is, again prepared by your hosts and then time to break camp and head out for the Sunday morning ride… There are scheduled cattle drives every month, within the first week, give or take a few days. Please call for reservations and scheduled dates. Please note there is a $50 surcharge for these scheduled drives. Situated in the high Sonoran Desert with access to over 135,000 acres of trails, Rancho De La Osa offers a variety of controlled pleasure rides, as well as specialty riding programs. One day you could find yourself riding over rocky uplands and grassland desert to round up Longhorn cattle. The next day you could be out riding a mountain trail, perhaps packing a breakfast or lunch with you. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced rider, we have a horse and ride suited to your ability. Our daily riding program offers two scheduled rides per day, each of approximately two hours in duration. Private riding lessons are available on request. We also schedule two specialty riding programs – our Cowgirl Camp and Couples’ Round Up, several times each year. Both are five day, four night programs, which include more time in the saddle, individual riding instruction, and basic horsemanship skills. Scheduled dates and detailed agendas for these programs are on our website, and we can offer these programs exclusively for groups of 8-12 adults. White Stallion Ranch offers a variety of horseback activities suited for the most inexperienced rider to the advanced. Our six day riding program (no riding on Sundays) includes a gentle, walking scenic ride morning and afternoon, sometimes on the flat desert or up into the foothills. Later in the morning and again in the afternoon, there is a fast ride with some beautiful lopes through the desert. One of the most popular activities is the Cattle Team Penning which we do Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. This horse and cattle game, held in the arena, is an option to the regular afternoon fast ride. For the "die hard" riders we have a 7 hour all day ride on Tuesday and Thursday into the Saguaro National Park. This is a picnic lunch ride. We have a breakfast ride on Tuesday and Saturday to our beautiful desert site. In addition to all of the rides, we are also proud to offer a one hour horse whisperer session with our head wrangler, Carol Bachman for anyone wishing to improve their relationship with horses. There is no charge for this program. We also offer several clinics during our season and you will find these detailed in our Specials section of our website. Daily riding lessons are available in a group or private setting and there are barrel racing lessons by request. There is an extra charge for lessons. It this is your first visit to the ranch, a slow ride is required before testing for the the fast rides. |
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