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Last Update: 06 Aug 2010

Riding Holidays | Texas

Imagine the endless open grassy plains of central Texas, home to huge cattle ranches. Cowboys in Stetson hats riding Quarter horses and herding cattle. Picture scenic horseback trails through rugged hills, along river valleys and across grasslands with dinners by the chuck wagon and traditional Texan campfire music. Texas has a huge wealth of horseback riding, culture and history to enjoy.

Texas has over 70 cattle and guest ranches. There are different types of ranches to choose from. Working Ranches offer guests a traditional ranch experience of riding and helping the wranglers check and sort cattle each day. Often these have fairly basic, but comfy accommodation. Dude Ranches give an all round western experience, from horseback rides, visits to nearby rodeos or line dancing, plus a number of outdoor activities. These are normally medium sized ranches with purpose built accommodation. Guest Ranches are geared more for general riding, often as trail rides, but sometimes with cattle work mixed in. These are normally smaller ranches using accommodation on the family ranch, traditional home cooked food and give a personal friendly holiday experience. Resort Ranches are the biggest and have a multitude of activities available, often with high quality accommodation and restaurant style cuisine.

Texan rodeos are big attractions bringing people from all over the State.  The world’s first rodeo was held in Pecos, Texas and the tradition has been continued to the present day. The Houston Rodeo is one of the biggest in the world, similar to the Cody Rodeo of Wyoming.

Texas is the second largest States in the USA. It is known as the Lone Star State to symbolize its independence from Mexico back in 1836. The Lone Star is shown on the Texas State flag. The State has an magnificent diversity of landscapes from the open grassland prairies, arid desert regions to forest and lakes. Visit Big Bend National Park to see mountains and canyons, high mesas and the Rio Grande river, or the Texas beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Try a breakfast burrito or a Texan barbeque.

We are always looking for new riding destinations and regularly update the information on this site. If you have information about horse riding or trail rides in Texas please do contact us.