Blue Bell Lodge Horseback riding

Hi everyone:

We have a trip planned to SD in July. We are staying at Legion Lake Lodge for 4 days and one of the things we would like to do is a trail ride at the Blue Bell lodge. Is this trail ride truly okay for beginners? One of my boys is a little apprehensive about riding a horse, but I assured him that the 1 hr trail ride (or whatever the shortest one available is, I can%26#39;t remember!) would be fine. He is not scared out of his wits...just a little apprehensive. My thought process is that he should try it once and if he doesn%26#39;t like it, next time a horse back riding opportunity comes up, he can then decline.

So my questions are

1) How ';low-key'; is the 1 hr ride? It says it is okay for all ages (as long as they can sit on a horse alone) and all experience levels.

2)Any suggestions as to the best time of day to do this? I already called the stables and they told me to call 2 weeks prior to arrival.

Thanks, I would love any feedback on this!

kelly

Blue Bell Lodge Horseback riding

we have done the trail ride at Blue Bell for the last seveal years and when we started, we had much the same situation with one of our participants. The 1 hour trail ride is very do-able for a beginning rider. We found the employees very helpful and nice to the kids (of course, the staff changes yearly, but they have been consistently pleasant each year.) We like to do the morning ride, just because of the heat factor of the day. Typically, we stop at the stable the day before, make reservations, fill out whatever paperwork we can and that streamlines the process for the next day.

My daughter and my niece could tell you the name of each horse they have ridden and bonded with, the wildlife they saw on the ride and about the cowboys and girls. The highlight was the year they saw a fawn. This is a ';must-do'; activity for the girls now.

Good luck!

Blue Bell Lodge Horseback riding

Thanks for thatt, Mary. My son and %26amp; will be there this time next week (can%26#39;t believe it%26#39;s FINALLY here.) I don%26#39;t like to make reservations for stuff on vacation, so now I know that we may be able to do something like this next week.

Thanks!!

Thanks Mary. I am glad to hear that someone else had a reluctant rider and it turned out good! Thanks for your reply.

Kelly

You cannot take a bag or a waterbottle with you on the horse, so be sure to hydrate prior to the ride. A hat is also a good idea. The July temps can be brutal midday.

We did this last year (actually on the 4th of July). I called 2 days in advance and booked the 1st ride of the day (I think we had to be there at 8 a.m?) which was great because it wasn%26#39;t too hot and the horses and ';wranglers'; were all fresh.

They divide their horses into A, B %26amp; C horses (I saw them writing this down). ';A'; horses are for rank beginners and the very young. ';B'; horses are what most people would want, ';C'; -- if you%26#39;re a cowboy yourself??!?!? My husband had never so much as sat on a horse, but lied and said he had ';some'; experience and had a jolly old time with a ';B'; horse (Named of all things ';Spaz';). My 11 year old son (ridden exactly once, somewhat nervous) also had a ';B'; and LOVED it. My 8 year old had never been on a horse and had an ';A'; but we requested an ';A moving toward a B'; and he did great.

I would have to say that my husband and boys would have skipped the ride if I hadn%26#39;t made them go, and all of them ended up saying it was a highlight of their trip. I was completely amazed with my kids. They both cantered their horses, posted to the trot just like the wranglers showed them, rode up and down hills and through the creek......they had such a major sense of accomplishment by the time they were done.

Here is my suggestion for you: DO THE 2 HOUR TRIP!!!!! Like you, we were a bit nervous and very inexperienced, but we all loved the 2 hour. You get to go up and down hills and cross through a creek at least twice (this is fun!). The wranglers were absolutely fantastic with the kids. Just great. By the end of the 2 hour ride (which seemed to go so fast) I was shocked to see my 11 year old cantering with the reins held in one hand.....and this is a rather timid boy with basically no riding experience. I think the one hour would be just too short.

The youngest kid in our group was 3......and she was on a pony (that interestingly enough was blindfolded.....not blindered, blindfolded) that was being led by a wrangler. The youngest child riding independently (and doing just fine) was 5 years old.

Thank you so much DrDebi! I was just thinking about a previous post on this thread talking about the wildlife, etc and was wondering if 1 hour would be too short (but not wanting to go longer if that would be too much!) to really see anything. Based on your explanation, I think we will try the 2 hour ride, early in the AM...unless my one son is a complete basket case (which I don%26#39;t think will happen) when we actually get there. If he is entirely too nervous, maybe we can split up, and at least dh or I can take the other 2 boys on the 2 hr.

Thanks again,

Kelly

Glad to be of help!

I think your son will do better than you think. I really thought there was a good possibility at least one of my boys might freak out to some extent, but as soon as they were actually ON the horses, the wranglers did a great job of making sure everyone was comfortable, and my boys were galloping like pros by the time we were 30 minutes into the ride.

I think the wranglers are very astute at scoping out the riders and they can see a potentially fearful rider a mile away.

Kelly, Blue Bell is under NEW MANAGEMENT this year. I have not ridden with the new staff, so don%26#39;t know how experienced they may be. Under the old owner, the 1-hour ride did cross French Creek a couple times and there were a couple pretty good inclines to go up and down. The terrain in the park is pretty rugged on the longer rides. There is the possibility of encountering a buffalo in Custer State Park, and July is the rutting season. If you want to introduce your son to the joys of horseback riding, I can endorse the 1- and 2-hour rides (and staff) at Rockin%26#39; R, behind Heritage Village just down the road from the Crazy Horse monument. PH, McFarland, WI

In the interest of SAFETY, I just have to add a couple more comments: Never, ever, ever exaggerate your experience with horses! As Clinton Anderson says, ';A horse is a reaction on 4 legs.'; There is a huge difference between RIDING a horse and BEING CONVEYED by one. Matching the right horse with the right rider is truly a matter of safety! If you don%26#39;t know how to RIDE, say so. If your experience is limited, say so. ALSO, they may look a bit dorky, but WEAR A HELMET. Until you%26#39;ve gone off and landed on your head, or seen someone else do it, you%26#39;ll never know how important this is. FYI: Helmets are also great when you go under a low-hanging tree branch! PH

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