Is there anywhere to horseback ride on St. John (or St. Thomas)?
 

We're spending a week on St. John and was wondering if there was anywhere to horseback ride (like on the shore of the beaches or something). My kids LOVE to ride, so I thought I'd see if there was anything like that available in the USVI. Thanks!

Yes there is a riding stable on St John it is out towards the Coral Bay area. <BR><BR>I don't know about St Thomas.<BR><BR>L

Hi There,<BR><BR>You have been told of Carolina Corrals on STJ. There is no stable on St. Thomas any longer. Half Moon closed a couple of years ago.<BR><BR>Just remember, if you haven't ridden in the tropics before.....it is very, very hot and humid.....makes for a very odiferous ride. Be sure if you do this you aren't going anywhere except back to your resort to change once you are finished.<BR><BR>

I'm an avid horsewoman, and I do not recommend riding horses in third world countries, including the Caribbean. It has been my experience that the equipment is unsafe, and the horses were underfed and poorly trained, and the operators are not required to have any liability insurance.

Christie,<BR>FYI the US Virgin Island are not a "third world country". They are part of the United States. Clearly you've never been to St John and would prefer to issue a sweeping condemnation than let someone who knows something answer the question.<BR>Kathy,<BR>Carolina Corrals on St John takes great pains to see that there animals are well fed, well cared for and very well trained.The equipment is in excellent condition.<BR>You can't ride on the beaches on St John but you can schedule a lovely hour or so ride through the hills of St John with Carolina. See the wonderful ladies at Connections St John in Cruz Bay or Coral Bay to schedule.

Christie,<BR>I'm an avid rider too. Please don't make sweeping generalizations about riding in 'third world countries'. When we were in Mazatlan in December, we rode on some of the most well cared for and responsive horses I've ever ridden. I've also seen poorly trained, overworked trail horses in the US too.

I stand corrected on the stables in St. John, but I still hold my opinion of horseback riding in the Caribbean. FYI: I've been riding horses for over 25 years, and we own several here in the US.<BR><BR>We rode in Antigua in 1998, and it was horrible. When I saw the condition of the horses and the equipment, I tried to get our money back, but the vendors wouldn't give a refund, so we went anyway. My horse had one shoe, the girth on my husband's saddle broke during the ride which caused him to fall, and one lady's horse took off at a gallop towards the barn at the end of the ride. If I wasn't a good rider, my horse would have taken off, too! <BR><BR>I also rode in Cancun, Mexico, and the horse was in extremely poor condition! I ended up walking the three miles back because my horse was so physically stressed that he couldn't carry me any more.<BR><BR>I've ridden all over the United States, and I even did a horse trek in Ireland, and I have never had a problem with poor condition of horses or equipment. But as for riding in "paradise" again, no thanks!

I try to get recommendations from others before booking. This way I don't run into the situations as you did in Antigua and Cancun.

The vendor in Antigua was booked through the tours desk of our hotel. Antigua was not an easy island to find information about, so we trusted our hotel. Boy was that a bad choice...<BR><BR>Several of my friends had been on the same ride in Cancun and said it was fine. I guess their horses weren't as skinny as mine.

Christie,I cant believe as concerned as you were for the horses, you would still ride them?

I never ride on any Carribiean or Mexican trip. The horses usually are not in the best of shape and I feel like instead of riding them I should groom them, clip them up and try to get them correctly shod and bitted. It seems like a waste also when I have a wonderful, beatiful show horse at home as well.

I have had a life long passions for horses, and have enjoyed ownership both show and pleasure for 40 (yikes) years. Mine are kept at home. I mention this only because proper care is of paramount importance to me.<BR><BR>I enjoyed a wonderful ride at Carolina Stables St. John. The horses were well groomed and in good pysical condition. I was given the choice of equiptment, western or English, and a choice of locations, beach or mountainous. I chose the later, and the vistas were sensational. I recommend being in shape for this ride. Even though, prior to my trip, I was riding 45 minutes, 5 days a week to build my endurance, I was still tired, but it was a most worth while venture.<BR><BR>Riders should have some experience, since the area does have wide open spaces, and not the narrow trails which are conducive to head to tail, pony ride behavior. <BR><BR> While talking to a resident of the island,I expressed sympathy for the horses being kept in a small coral as opposed to the customary lush pastures normally seen at home. I was told that she had often seen the owner of the stable take her horses into the ocean to frolic, and that most residents work very hard, were willing to make sacrifices as the price of being able to live there.<BR><BR>The lesson that I learned, was not to be so judgemental in evaluating other cultures.