The Catalina island, which has a lot of horses in its history but has stopped offering walks to visitors in 2008, brings back paths in paths.
The beginner and based on Avalon Catalina's on horseback adventures Offered his first guided walks on February 22. Most rides last 45 to 90 minutes and include hills, valleys, cliffs with views of the ocean and occasional meetings with deer and islands foxes.
This decision is based on the island tradition that dates back to the 1930s, when the owners of Catalina, the Wrigley family, set up a random known as El Rancho Escondido, which has become an Arab breeding operation. The continuous work ranch, 12 miles outside Avalon, and is often open to Saturday visits.
Catalina HorseBack Adventures offers walks on the island.
(Ryan Longnecker / Catalina Adventures on horseback)
But the new guided rides are a separate company, owned by Jeff Skelton, with the Catalina Island Co. as a owner. Until now, the operation includes 12 horses, “but we have a few days more,” said Skelton on Friday. The stables also have a mini horse (not available for horse riding), nicknamed Peanut in a community name competition.
All the rides are directed by guides and open to the riders of the beginner to advances, at the age of 9 years and more. The weight limit for cyclists is 240 pounds.
The launch prices for a group trip of 45 minutes are in the range from $ 125 to $ 175, said Skelton, and can be adjusted as the operation sets up.
Public rides were a characteristic of island tourism for about 60 years until 2008, when the Catalina Island Co. (which has most of the developers of the island) close The stables near the golf course on the island of Catalina. At the time, the company cited security problems concerning possible floods after fires that had stripped the vegetation of the hills above.
The new stables are in the same place, but with a different provision, said Skelton. The driving trails cross the golf course, which means that golfers occasionally stop to leave the riding groups “play”. Once they reach a more rugged territory, the runners sometimes meet deer or foxes of the island, but not the bison which is known to wander in other parts of the island.
Skelton said the idea of bringing public journeys on trails has come in recent years when he has been on the way to a group called The knightswhich has organized private rides on the island since the 1940s.
“I kept saying that someone should do it,” said Skelton, and it turns out that “it's me.”
