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Last Update: 06 Aug 2010

Riding Holidays | Arkansas

Arkansas is frequently called ‘The Natural State’ and is renowned for its magnificent wilderness. It shares the Ozark Mountains in the northwest with Missouri and has the Ouachita Mountains further south. Arkansas’ highlands are characterised by high plateaux, thickly forested canyons, deep river gorges, granite and limestone outcrops and hidden caverns. The Ozarks and Ouachita mountain ranges are divided by the Arkansas River valley. In the east of the State is the huge Arkansas Delta alongside the great Mississippi River, and the southern Grand Prairie region.

Arkansas is a fantastic destination for a western ranch vacation. The forests and high pasturelands of the Ozark Mountains are home to many Guest ranches. Stay for a week at a ranch enjoying beautiful scenic trail rides through the mountains, riding well schooled ranch horses and being guided by experienced wranglers. Explore meadows, hardwood forests, ride past high rocky outcrops and windswept bluffs. Combine horseback riding with rock climbing, canoeing, hiking, fishing or mountain biking. Experience a horse drawn wagon ride and a traditional evening cook out around a campfire, listening to cowboy stories and music.

A few ranches offer traditional working ranch vacations in the Arkansas Ozarks, giving you a real insight into western cattle ranching. As well as trail riding these ranches have cattle drives and roping sessions available. Maybe have an Arkansas horse riding holiday based at a horse stud farm. There are tuition and trail riding holidays available at both a Lippizzaner stud in the Ozarks and a ranch breeding Peruvian Pasos, Kentucky Mountain horses and Tennessee Walkers in the Ouachita mountains.

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 Arkansas please do contact us.

Visit Arkansas in October and see the Arkansas State Fair Rodeo. This is a huge event with the main rodeo attraction, plus livestock shows, horse riding and horse breed displays, food fair and carnival. The Rodeo of the Ozarks in early July is very popular drawing big crowds to see professional rodeo champions compete in many western games. See bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and team roping. Other prominent Arkansas annual horse events are the Old Fort Days Rodeo and Cantral Arkansas Horse Show.

Getting to Arkansas is easy with many flights into the main city, Little Rock. Arkansas has a mild climate although the weather can be changeable in the mountains. Spring and Autumn are particularly nice, late summer can be hot and humid.