Featured in the 2010 Conde Nast Traveler Magazine! You will ride from the majestic Redwood forests to the wild coastal Pacific Ocean beach. Along the way, your horse will carry you across working cattle ranches and old Indian trails to charming shopping towns. Your lodging accommodation includes the inn where the TV episodes for “Murder, She Wrote” was filmed. Your evenings’ entertainment are filled with music and special events.

ITINERARY
Day 1 Monday
Transfer from airport to your inn. After you meet your guide, horse and fellow riders, you will enjoy a ride on the beach.

Day 2 Tuesday
The ride will journey through Jackson State Forest and along the headwaters of the Noyo River under the towering redwoods canopy. After a picnic lunch in the forest, you will enjoy long trots and canters along the old Indian Springs Trail. Dinner will be at a Noyo Harbor Wharf restaurant.

Day 3 Wednesday
Your horse will carry you to ridge tops with scenic views and through redwood forests. Lunch will be at a local café overlooking the Mendocino Bay. Your afternoon is free for you to explore the charming town of Mendocino with its many craft shops, galleries and beaches. After dinner, you will enjoy a private concert.

Day 4 Thursday
You will thrill to invigorating canters along the bluffs and sand of Ten Mile Beach. By the river, the ride will climb into the redwoods. Lunch is high on a ridge top with a inspiring view of the ocean to the west and the forests to the east. After lunch, there are more opportunities for long trots and canters before returning to your inn.

Day 5 Friday
An adventurous ride will take you along ridge tops with scenic mountain views and then descend into the river valley. Lunch is along the Ten Mile River, or among a grove of giant redwoods. You have the option to learn more about the conditioning of the sport horse on an optional long distance trek with mock endurance ride vet checks. Riders not wishing to participate can relax at the lunch spot and then return to the inn. Dinner is at a lovely café overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Day 6 Saturday
The ride will journey through ranch lands with a canter ascent on a long gradual trail to the peak of the mountain. You will descend to the ocean following different forest trails until you stop for a picnic lunch in the sand dunes along the Ten Mile River estuary. After lunch, you will canter in the ocean spray as you ride on the beach for eight miles. A restful walk brings the opportunity to look for whales and seals offshore. Your evening’s entertainment features well-known Mendocino musicians.

Day 7 Sunday
Transfer to the airport after breakfast

ITINERARY MAY VARY DUE TO WEATHER OR OTHER UNFORSEEABLE CIRCUMSTANCES *

DETAILS:
Dates: Monday – Sunday: May 14-20, June 18 -24, July 16-22 (includes Mendocino Music Festival), August 20 – 26, September 10-16, October 1-7
Meeting Place: Mendocino
Airport: San Francisco, Oakland or Arcata
Riding Days: 6
Saddle: Western Endurance, Western, English, Endurance
Horses: Arabians, Russian Orlov, Quarter, Tennessee Walking, Throughbred and Percheron crosses
Riding Ability: Novice to advanced
Group Size: 1 – 6
Accommodations: 3***and 4**** hotel and inns.
Price: $2,441 per person, double occupancy; $2,866 per person, double occupancy, Mendocino Music Festival; $375 – single supplement, $475 s.s. Music Festival  

Included: 6 nights accommodations, horse, tack, guide, all meals
Not Included: airfare, transfer to and from airport