What DOESN'T come to mind is trail riding! And Tuscan Trails is hoping to change that. Thanks to Michele and Nicola Dolcetti, the owners of Tuscan Trails, it is now possible to ride through some of the world's most beautiful countryside while enjoying the world-renowned Italian hospitality of Umbria and Tuscany. The Siena Wine Trail ride, a one-of-a-kind adventure which began in spring 2006, is unlike most horse holiday rides - it is a true destination journey following winding country roads andsheep ... ...

We were quiet. Aside from the plop of the pole every so often in the water, the only sound we could hear was the call of a bird above. “Fish Eagle" Matthew said, matter-of-factly.

Soon the plops were followed by tap taps of the pole on the side of the makoro. I looked back at my mother and then up at Matthew. “For the hippos," he said calmly, scanning the water with dark eyes. Around us, as far as I could tell, there was no sign of hippos. The water lay still as glass. “They don'tlike ... ...

We had obtained our permits and had stuffed them in our pockets. We were armed with a map produced by the Battlefield Equestrian Society. So what if it was a couple years old-how much could it have changed? The over 5000 acres of the park are located at Sudley Road and Route 29 in Virginia and preserve a part of Civil War history. Horseback riding is only allowed in a portion of the park, but the loops were well marked on the map. Unfortunately the trails did not agree with the map totally, so ... ...

When I visited Sea Island last summer, I took a tour of their new equestrian facilities, which were almost complete. By the end, I was picking up real estate guides and ready to move on down. That was before the riding! Guests of The Cloister, The Lodge at Sea Island and members of the Sea Island Club can take nature tours on horseback through the island's varied ecosystems, including salt marshes and dunes. Beach riding on Sea Island is fantastic, because the beaches are not normally cluttered ... ...

Our group passes through this enchanted countryside, the muted "clop, clop, clop" of our horses' hooves beating time to the birds singing overhead. Through the trees we catch glimpses of the massive enclosing walls of Sorano. Passing through ancient gates and clattering up cobblestone streets, we're entranced by the elegant Renaissance architecture of this medieval jewel. I feel like I've been transported back in time. A traditional pranzo (lunch) eaten under an ancient oak beneath the sapphire blue ... ...

For five days on the Sugarbush Tolt Trek we rode Icelandic horses over country roads, through fields and forests. Many trails were steep, overgrown and rain-slicked where walking on two feet would've been a challenge. These pony-size horses took us up, down and through them easily.

The Vermont Icelandic Horse Farm near Waitsfield, Vermont, breeds, trains, boards and sells Icelandic horses. It's run by Karen, with lots of help from her mother and experienced staff. We stayed at the nearby Mad River ... ...

Photography by Elliot Framan

The riders stopped at the Golden Waterfall, Gullfoss, to rest the horses. They told me that they had been on the road for six days, riding from Skagafjordas in the north over the Rjolur mountain track to the Geyser Hot Spring area.

"We travel as much as eight hours a day to cover the distance," said Ishester trekking guide, Hauhur Hanksson. "We take hand horses along, and change our mounts a couple of times a day, which allows us to travel at a comfortable speed. The ... ...