On Wed May 5th my wife and I took the 4 hr Thunder Mtn horseback trail ride. It was fantastic, thanks to our wrangler, Mariah, and Ruby's and her management of our group, and the horses we rode.
We own our own horses, that we used to trail ride throughout Oregon. But we have not ridden since I had my knee replaced two years ago, and ran into complications. We really looked forward to this trip, and were so satisfied at the care that Ruby's took to make this successful for all of us.
Mariah did a great job matching us up with our horses. I drew 'Shorty" ( over 16 hands?), I am about 6'3" so he was judged to be perfect for me. He was! And I really don't like tall horses. Our group was composed of seasoned riders, and one person who had limited experienced; but who had mountain biked the trail a few days prior. Each horse in our group was sure footed…..someone did a great job picking out these horses. The saddles were deep, and seemed to fit all of us quite well. The saddle bags were perfect for our water and excess clothing. We liked the fact that the group was purposely small, and the pace that Mariah kept us on was perfect.
I really enjoyed the route that was picked; and sought it out since it was a trail that did not require a lot of riding down hills; which could have placed an unwelcome demand on my 74 year old knees and legs, that had not been in a saddle for quite a while.
I don't like heights, but our horses knew the route, and I felt safe. And Mariah did a great job taking pics and sharing them with us afterwards; we had our hands on those reins making sure we had control of our horses on those ridge tops!
Please thank Mariah, her husband Chance, and the people that direct the riding program. This ride was the hi-lite of our two week trip to the Utah parks, and all because of the wonderful people at Ruby's!