Horse Riding in Orlando

[Penderbelle]

Can anyone recommend any good places to do horse riding.?
We are giving some of the main parks a miss this year ( only doing Busch,Aquatica and Seaworld) and want to do some "other little things that orlando has to offer".
Ideally we'd like to ride through somewhere more 'natural' and don't mind travelling to get there.
If anyone has any other suggestions of what we can do that would be helpful too.
So far we've got
Silver Springs
Orlando Science Centre
Airboat ride
Gatorland

What else can you suggest?

 

[wildwood]

Horse world riding stables offer gteat trails for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders . They are in kissimmee there web site is www.horseworldstables.com or you can call them on 407 847 4343 , sorry dont know about prices .

 

[Pegasus928]

In February we went to Horse World - which is down the Ponciana Blvd off the 192.
It probably took us about 20 minutes to get there but we were in a villa on Ponciana Blvd to start with.
DW, DS and DD loved it - I however didn't like it as much mainly because I got stuck with a right old stroppy mare who insisted on getting too close to the horse in front and covering me in horse spit every time I tried to get her to pull back a bit.
The trails are around the stables and through the woods so it was nicely shaded most of the time.

 

[tony64]

We went to Forever Florida May 08 the trails were out through the woods that froms part of the nature reserve. we saw deer, racccoon and my mum even pspotted a couple of wild boar as they went crashing off into the undergrowth. It's a fair old drive east on the 192 then south to Hollowpaw. We really enjoyed the trip.

 

[HelenSB]

Another vote for Forever Florida. We went in August 2006...think it took about an hours drive...and really enjoyed it. My brother and two teenage daughters went horse riding whilst we went on the Caoch Safari. We all saw loads of wildlife & had a great time.

Here's the link: -
http://www.foreverflorida.com/

 

[vernon]

Some options are

Disney's at Fort Wilderness. My girls went and they thought it was a little tame. Nice scenery but the horse were so used to the route they could have done it blindfolded. I think it was only about an hour walking trail.

Grand Cypress Resort at LBV,is very close to Disney property but seems a bit pricey. It also seems more geared towards show jumping than a trek into the Florida wetlands. I believe they teach European style riding as opposed to the USA "western style" that most of the other stables seem to do. Might be a plus, might be a minus for you.

Horseworld at Poinciana. My girls really liked their ride here, were able to get up to canter/gallop speed and let their hair down, I think they were out a good couple of hours and saw all sorts of interesting critter. If you were planning to do an airboat ride Horseworld is about 3/4 of the way to Boggy Creek Airboat rides at Southport . It would work very well to do both on the same journey. If you wanted to go really crazy for natural Florida in that area you could add in a visit to The nature conservancy in Poinciana that is on land owned by Disney.

 

[disneyholic family]

editing this - the grand cypress equestrian center no longer exists - so ignore what i wrote here about it

the Grand Cypress Resort has both English saddle riding and Western saddle riding.
The western saddle is only for trail riding.

I highly recommend them. This is an outstanding stable. One of the very best in the US.

The quality of the horses is second to none.

It's worth a visit just to see how a proper stable is run.

We've also done the trail ride at Fort Wilderness (the Tri-Circle D ranch). Yes the horses are basically audioanimatronic, but we had fun both times we did it.

 

[bazzanoid]

the Grand Cypress Resort has both English saddle riding and Western saddle riding.
The western saddle is only for trail riding.

I highly recommend them. This is an outstanding stable. One of the very best in the US.

The quality of the horses is second to none.

It's worth a visit just to see how a proper stable is run.

I second this - Horse World is very good for american riding, you'll need beginner's lessons if you can only ride the 'proper' way like most UK folks hehehe

The stables at the Grand Cypress are amazing, the riding is superb and they often hold rodeos and other events which can make for a nice day or evening out. Just looked for their website which used to be www.grandcypress.com/equestriancenter but it just 404's - maybe they're updating or have franchised it out. I've just emailed them for you to request more information and will post back here once i receive a response......

Not sure if they allow horses but a little further south than Horse World is Disney's Wilderness Preserve...

 

[disneyholic family]

I second this - Horse World is very good for american riding, you'll need beginner's lessons if you can only ride the 'proper' way like most UK folks hehehe

The stables at the Grand Cypress are amazing, the riding is superb and they often hold rodeos and other events which can make for a nice day or evening out. Just looked for their website which used to be www.grandcypress.com/equestriancenter but it just 404's - maybe they're updating or have franchised it out. I've just emailed them for you to request more information and will post back here once i receive a response......

Not sure if they allow horses but a little further south than Horse World is Disney's Wilderness Preserve...

OMG - what happened to the Grand Cypress equestrian center - it's not listed on the villas of grand cypress website anymore....
was it closed? sold?
very very odd...

now i'm really curious what happened....i found it hard to believe they could have closed a facility of that kind...

 

[disneyholic family]

i can't believe it..
the grand cypress equestrian center has been closed!!

i found this on the internet:

http://www.wftv.com/news/17859840/detail.html

Luxury Resort Cutting Jobs Due To Economy
Posted: 4:15 pm EDT October 31, 2008
Updated: 4:17 pm EDT October 31, 2008

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Two dozen more jobs will be lost in Central Florida when the equestrian center at the Grand Cypress Hotel shuts down next month. The Grand Cypress is one of the top luxury hotels in Central Florida but even it is falling victim to the failing economy.

“It's very tragic. I mean, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. No one's going to know where to put all the horses,” said Alina Radyvonyuk.

Resort executives said there simply weren't enough customers coming through the gates. They say the slowdown, along with the rising cost of maintaining the horses, has forced the equestrian center to operate at a loss.

Managers say they hope find other jobs for some of the two dozen employees. They're also now looking to find new homes for about two dozen horses.

It's frustrating news for even young riders like Cassie Parvaz.

“Because of all the horses, I rode so many of them,” she said. “I actually tried to buy one, but my instructor said no.”

The equestrian center will close December 1, according to employees.

The general manager at Grand Cypress insists the resort itself, where rooms start around $200 a night, is still financially sound. He said about three-quarters of the equestrian center's business came from local customers, not tourists.
Copyright 2008 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[bazzanoid]

OMG no way - I loved that place!!!!!

That would explain why it's not on the web site anymore.....

You would have thought they'd just offer it out on a franchise (as is the american way!) rather than just close it full stop...

 

[disneyholic family]

OMG no way - I loved that place!!!!!

That would explain why it's not on the web site anymore.....

You would have thought they'd just offer it out on a franchise (as is the american way!) rather than just close it full stop...

i'm also very surprised....how sad....for the employees and the horses..

i wonder what happened to their horses....they had wonderfully well trained ones there..

 

[bazzanoid]

i'm also very surprised....how sad....for the employees and the horses..

i wonder what happened to their horses....they had wonderfully well trained ones there..

I'd place bets on HorseWorld getting them