Skyland Resort Stables

We did the 1 hour ride. The staff was friendly and the horses were nice too. The scene was not scenic at all, except we did see black bears nearby. The pace was kind of slow and unexciting. Minimal interaction with the guide unless your in the front. OK, for first time riders like me, and even though I did enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it again.

A friend and I went on the 1 hour ride. They have you arrive thirty minutes early but we just waited around until the time of departure before getting any info or doing anything with the horses. My disappointment was with the trail, not the staff though. Like another reviewer said, the trail is mostly single file and we were told basically to let the horses go and they would follow the one ahead. So at the back of the pack we couldn’t hear the guide and there was nothing of note to look at along the way. Several times I broke the rules and nudged my horse alongside my girlfriend so we could exchange a few words. And the pace is below a walking pace… so slow that I wondered if they were trying to complete the hour’s time without putting too many ‘miles’ on their horses. People were great and horses were obviously used to the routine so I would recommend this to those unfamiliar with horses or even first time riders. If you have any competency whatsoever take the longer ride. It must be more enjoyable.

This review applies to the 1-​hour ride. We did not go on the 2.5-hour ride.
I think I’d prefer to give this 2.5 stars, but that’s not available, so I’ll err on the high side (3 stars) and assume that my expectations were perhaps a little higher than they should have been.
THE SHORT VERSION:
Great people, horses, and equipment. Safe. Unreliable reservations. Slow pace, many riders, minimal interaction with the guides, limited points of interest (no views, no waterfalls, 1 creek). Probably best for people who want to ride a horse for the first time. If you’re looking for a neat or fast way to access points of interest in the park, you’re better off hiking.
GOOD STUFF:
The people at the stables and the horses are great. The staff members took substantial interest in matching the experience and build of the riders with the temperaments of the horses. The staff also seemed very knowledgeable, polite, and skilled. The horses were well cared for and pretty well groomed. All of the horses were well tempered and seemed sufficiently gaited for the ride. The equipment (tack and saddles) were nice, serviceable, and seemed well maintained. The whole ride experience seemed safe and well managed (including 2 road crossings, for which the staff members blocked the light car traffic on Skyline Dr).
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
Booking — Unless you’re reserving a same-​day ride, you make the reservation through the front desk (rather than with the people at the stables). I booked our 2.5-hour (reportedly more scenic) mid-​day ride with the front desk staff according to the information they gave me. However, when we arrived at the stables, we were told that we were going on the less scenic 1-​hour ride, because the 2.5-hour ride is only available at 8:30 a.m. The people at the stable had no idea why the front desk would have said otherwise. (Oh well, although our route was less scenic, it was cheaper – $ 40 ea. vs. $ 75 ea. – and maybe we saved some soreness.)
Interaction — We were in a group of about 15 riders, who all rode nose-​to-​tail down the trail, so there’s really no interaction with the guides unless you’re at the very front or very back. I think we would have enjoyed the ride more if we had been in a smaller group (maybe 5 riders and 1 guide instead of 15 and 2), such that the guide could provide information either along the way or at certain stops. The decreased ratio of riders per guide could be off-​set with more frequent departures.
The Route — I was told that the 2.5-hour ride is more scenic, given that it passes a waterfall. As mentioned above, I don’t know about that because of the reservation snafu. The 1-​hour ride is fairly flat (1 or 2 slight hills) and slow (a saunter, with 2 – 3 short trots). Also, although the park is known for its expansive vistas, you won’t see any of those on this ride. We mostly followed a gravel vehicle path through a mature stand of trees. It was beautiful, but we covered much more ground and saw much more diverse sights (e.g., waterfalls and incredible views) when we just hiked. (Most people hike noticeably faster than our horses sauntered.) At a bare minimum, I think the route would be improved if it were a loop instead of a down-​and-​back trail. That way, you would at least see twice as much, even if there weren’t any real points of interest.