Monday, March 25, 2013

My Favorite Place For Horseback Riding In Phoenix


Riding a horse in Arizona is as close to "iconic" as you can get.  The term cowboy was coined in the late 1800's and the era was short lived; but it's a defining trait of the West . . .riding a trusty horse through rough terrain, sleeping on the earth and looking up at vast starry skies.  But what about today?  The horse was replaced by cars and ATV's, by PlayStations & Wii consoles.  Is there anything worth doing on a horse anymore?  And if so - where could one go to live the dream?

Horseback riding in Phoenix

Well, the answers are short & sweet, but require a bit of disclosure.  I lived on a farm in the 80's and we did a lot of work off the back of a horse; we drove cattle, we hunted and basically considered our horses a main source of entertainment.  Then I became a mountain biker - almost the antithesis of horseback riding.  Seeing the Arizona landscape from the back of a horse immediately conjures images of being a cowboy.  It's almost natural to look out over the horizon and wonder if there is an Apache raiding party out there. . . but when you ride a mountain bike you're more concerned with breathing & not crashing.  At least that's one of my concerns.

With that said, my opinion comes from someone who has a lot of experience in both saddles and I know firsthand how nice it is to ride a horse without mountain bikers zooming by . . .

If you were to ask me where I'd ride a horse my answer would always be "outside town somewhere".  What this means to someone that doesn't live here is that while there are some great mountain parks within our city limits, I'd prefer to ride where the masses don't frequent.  Places like the Cave Creek area, or even further out.  The desert just north of the metropolis is a bit higher elevation than in or south of the city; this leads to more biodiversity.  My absolute favorite place to ride is in the Tonto National Forest just north of Anthem, near Black Canyon City.

When you finally get out into the middle of nowhere the true impression of riding a horse is magnified.  You won't have to compete for trails with other users as the further out you go the fewer people there are out there.

If you're visiting Arizona then there are a few things on the MUST SEE/DO list.  The Grand Canyon is certainly on the list, but horseback riding should be too.  Riding in the American West today is as dramatic & awe inspiring as it was when the cowboys ruled the ranges.



About the Author: Bruce Leadbetter is the consummate adventurer and owner of 360 Adventures.  When not horseback riding in Phoenix, he can be found scaling canyons or riding the beautiful Arizona trails on his mountain bike.

Photo credit: David

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