Jacob’s Ranch

This was my first real horse ride, and it was 6+ hours of hell! I learned a lot about horses in general, even if I’ll never get the hang of posting on a trot. From an educational standpoint, it’s worth every penny. But the racehorse that I chose was a little feisty (but I would still choose Dollar the next time), and he picked up on the fact that I was a total beginner so he messed with me a lot. Gotta say, these horses have personality! Great ranch dog too, wanted to take him home! As I’m writing this a day later, my entire backside is sore, and I have bruises on the sides of my knees. Legs also aching but not too bad. I would recommend this event to any beginner who is in good physical shape. I got really fat and weak this year so I paid the price.

We just finished our experience with CTR. after calling all of the horseback services in Bryce Canyon. The prices are similar, but the ride times vary. As far as I know, this is the only service that goes down to the canyon floor. This alone is worth choosing this company. One side note is that in addition to the $ 60 for the 2 hour ride, you need to pay the park entrance fee of $ 25. We have 6 in our family, so it wasn’t a big deal to us. They take MasterCard/​Visa. Reservations are not needed, but they insure your spot. You check in at the Bryce Lodge. The groups are broken down into groups of about 10. The entire staff is great and the guides make you feel very comfortable. Most of the animals are Mules, but they are stable and preferred for me. My wife had a horse and the rest had Mules and they are all well «trained». Our guide John Henry did a great job. He made everyone comfortable. Our group ranged from 10 year olds to adults.
Cameras — duh. It’s a must, but no backpacks, so you have to shoulder them. You will get dirty so dress accordingly. I wished i had taken a change of clothes Tennis shoes are fine and a good pair of jeans. We paid $ 360 plus $ 48 for photos (optional — but well worth it — 8×10).
We are on a tight budget, but this was money well spent and we will do it again. It beats driving through the park and stopping at every turn off and taking a hike.
On the 2 hour ride you don’t get off the horses, but you make about 10 stops along the way.
Very highly recommended!

I would also like to throw in my two bits with regards to Jacob’s Ranch. I completely disagree with Sophia F’s comment. I feel bad that she did not have a good experience… but I can attest to the well care and love for these horses. My family has visited the ranch several times. Each time we have seen the wranglers care and manage the horses with love and respect. They know each of these horses strengths, weaknesses, and quirks, and their love for them is obvious. They are in no way starving or mishandled.
My family of 10 had the GREATEST experience at Jacob’s ranch, and would not and have not hesitated to recommend it to other friends and family. Go see for yourself! You will leave loving these horses and wranglers as much as we did.

We had a GREAT time at Jacob’s Ranch.
Our family of 6 has a pretty diverse exposure to horses… My wife and kids (10, 12, 14, 16) have done several tail-​to-​nose «rides», my oldest (16) and youngest (10) daughters haven taken riding lessons, and my self, only on a horse once when I was a kid.
We spent the week in the Zion area. Beautiful landscape! We hiked Bryce and Zion, and spent a day on ATVs enjoying the country side. Our week of enjoying the scenery was concluded with a beautiful day with the folks at Jacob’s Ranch.
From the moment my wife inquired about the ride to the time we say good bye and thank you, we enjoyed authentic Cowboy hospitality, a wealth of knowledge, and just sincerely enjoyed spending the day with Jackson, Cheryl, Tyler, and Jarred.
We got to meet and mingle with all the horses, learn from the wranglers about their personalities, tendencies, and backgrounds. All to helps us find the right match for the day. All beautiful horses with nice dispositions made finding the right horse easy.
An important part of the day was bonding with the horses. Know Jackson will introduce this process telling you the horses will end up following you around in circles, forward and backwards (yo-​yo) and basically yielding to the riders. I’ll also say we are skeptical ex-​New Yorkers, particularly my wife. Well, each of us worked with our horses in the pen, got to control their direction, speed, jump barrels, and generally bond with our horses. And, Jackson was right, we were blown away as each of the horses followed us around like puppy dogs.
Cheryl and Jarred took us out for a beautiful long ride. They were helpful in guiding and teaching us, encouraging us to push ourselves, and allowing each of us to take things at our own pace. From walking to trotting to running, steep climbs or not, fast or slow around the corners; We seemed to always have options that made the family comfortable no matter where we rode.
The scenery, the wranglers, the horses, and the leanings my family walked away with at the end of the day made this a great experience. Would do it again in a heartbeat…