The stables are part of Smoke Tree Ranch, which has been an established destination in the desert for over sixty years, and welcomes both beginning and advanced riders, who want to observe the desert flora and fauna on horseback.

With an average of 350 sunny days each year and a variety of activities, Palm Springs is a top vacation destination. While on vacation with a friend's family, I was eager to ride.

As I headed down the desolate road toward the ranch, I initially drove right past the handwritten ... ...

Once I leave the city, it is instantaneously apparent how wild and wide open this country is. Namibia is the size of France and Germany put together, but only has 1.2 million residents. I have heard it is even possible to ride for days without seeing another human being apart from those in your party.

Here we ride in western saddles. Even those who ride English at home soon find that western is the way to go on these long treks through the desert. I am carrying my personal water supply, lunch, ... ...

All that has changed since I discovered foxhunting, and joined the Juan Tomas Hounds hunt club. The exhilaration of opening hunt is unsurpassed by any horseback experience that I can remember. On a crisp damp fall morning in October we gather at the fixture (hunt field) for opening hunt. The weather bodes well for good scenting conditions, and the air is laced with anticipation as hunters, horses and hounds prepare for the chase. The hounds, tails wagging, mill around waiting for the sound of the ... ...

As Lead Cowboy for almost seven years, I sat atop some of the finest bred American Quarter Horses that ever breathed air, and interpreted the history of Texas, and the George Ranch to thousands every year. As the crowds looked on, we also demonstrated life as the cowboy does it - in full partnership with his horses. They began to realize the prize that the combination of a great cowboy with a great cowhorse made for the rancher, and how much work could get done in a day’s time with such. The equation ... ...

It was not my first time on a horse, but it was my first time riding. I had been on a horse once before when I was young. They are such beautiful animals, and from a distance they looked gentle to me; safe. Once on one, I was so scared, overwhelmed by the power and size of such an animal. I didn't feel that I belonged on one. I felt as if some kind of permission should have been granted. And I didn't know how to begin to get a horse's permission.

I imagine that for some people riding a horse comes ... ...

Having made the decision to spoil ourselves, we checked in to the Princeville Hotel on Kauai's north shore. The hotel is the epitome of luxury and decadence and sits on the coastal hillside facing clear aqua blue waters and the majestic Nepali cliffs. Though many of the hotels guests found bliss without ever abandoning the hotel's private beach or its five star amenities, I was determined to see and experience as much as possible.

After a short ten-minute drive, we arrived at the stables and were ... ...

One place like that is Marriott Ranch in Hume, Virginia. Hume is about an hour's drive out I-66 from my home in the nation's capital. Marriott is a working cattle ranch, but today it is also a venue for family vacations and corporate meetings. As the name implies, J.W. Marriott bought the property when he made his home in the District of Columbia. He was originally from Utah and wanted a weekend retreat where he could enjoy the sights and activities of his youth. Marriott often hosted PresidentReagan ... ...

We spent a night at Hacienda Pinsaqui, one of three centuries old Haciendas in Ecuador's northern Highlands for riding, fabulous food and a day at the famous Otavalo market. The drive from Quito was impressive in itself, winding through magnificent mountain farmlands. Pulling up to the whitewashed Spanish colonial Hacienda with its exquisite 200 year old gardens transforms you from the 21st century to the 18th, where a romantic bygone lifestyle awaits. Everywhere at Pinsaqui, the horse prevails. ... ...

The coast becomes more rocky and breathtaking the further you go along the inside passage. After stops in Ketchikan, Alaska's capital Juneau and Skagway, the Gateway to the Yukon, we cruised the Prince William Sound for two days. The scenery was gorgeous with glaciers and mountains, which come right down to the water's edge. The week's cruise ended in Whittier, where we got off of the cruise ship and headed inland and northward to the wonders of Denali National Park.

We took a nine hour trainride ... ...

The Pantanal is the world's largest wetland. It stretches 140,000 square miles throughout southern Brazil and into its bordering countries of Bolivia and Paraguay. Teeming with wildlife, it is home to 95 species of mammals, 165 species of reptiles, 263 fish species and 665 species of birds. During the rainy season, flooding is rampant and a significant portion of the land mass is underwater. Cattle ranching is the number one industry in the Pantanal and the Pantaneiro cowboy the backbone ofthat ... ...

contact with the outside world. Of course, our main reason for

visiting Brazil is the horses. The National Horse of Brazil is the Mangalarga Marchador. It is a breed that we fell in love with long ago.

We visit Brazil almost every year and continue to enjoy the wonderful, warm people, who are polite and gracious. This trip we travel to Ouro Preto before we get to the breeding farms that are our final destination. Ouro Preto means “black gold". The city is located in the mountains where many ... ...

Yes ma'am, mounting up to ride in the land of the bible, and the view from the back of a horse is mighty fine.

Horses have been part of the Holy Land's history since ancient times. Yet recreational riding in modern-day Israel is a relatively new industry, and by all reports, it's a sport that is booming. Riding clubs are popping up all over the country. Cowboy competitions are drawing crowds and people are paying attention to the importance of breeding for major competitive disciplines. Reining, ... ...

We headed up the wide grazing area along the rim of Meadow Creek toward the remains of an ancient Anasazi settlement where weathered pit houses, gentle mounds of earth and rock still lie, testament to a village that once made this place sacred ground. Hoping not to cause a stir or a stampede, I only exhaled once we found ourselves safely beyond the animal's reach. As I looked back, I wondered how the Plains Indians dared get so close when they were on the chase. These animals are big!

You too can ... ...

by: Ann Terry Hill

Photo courtesy of Pendleton Round-Up

It started out as a small bronc riding contest and roping exhibition held amid fields of wheat and barley, to celebrate the end of harvest. Today, almost 100 years later, it lives on as the most famous rodeo in the Northwest, rivaling Cheyenne and Calgary in magnitude. The Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon, kicks into high gear the second full week of September. Just the thought of it summons images of the rugged Northwest, in the best romantic ... ...

Riding at the ranch is diverse. We headed through fields of tall grass and mesquite trees, towards hills of oaks and up to a point where you had great views of the Brazos and Cooper Rivers. There's a lot of history in the area relating to Native Americans, 1920's wildcatters looking for oil and the early frontiersmen who lived and worked here in Texas. You still ride by old oil tanks that are sprinkled throughout this part of Texas.

I am enjoying the fact that everything is bigger in Texas here,by ... ...