General Info

Ranch holidays at an upscale family owned Mexican hacienda in the colonial town of Valle de Bravo

This riding vacation is center based at a beautiful, family owned Mexican hacienda in Valle de Bravo, located on the shores of a blue lake surrounded by verdant evergreen forests. Valle de Bravo is one of Mexico's "magical villages," a special series of villages that are known for their well preserved history and culture. It's 2.5 hours west of Mexico City. Explore fragrant rolling meadows, woodland, valleys and streams with panoramic vistas of the Sierra Madre Mountains.

A beautiful, colorful variety of flowers line the ancient horse trails that lead riders through woods, lakes, rivers, meadows, and villages offering diversity and breathtaking views. This special vacation also allows riders to experience the spectacular natural phenomena of the Monarch Butterfly migration. There's a Monarch Butterfly sanctuary near the haciendas and riders may visit on horseback.

Riders stay at Finca Enyhe for these riding holidays. Your Mexican hosts will share first hand knowledge of Mexican history, culture, and traditions. They speak fluent English. Guides are well known locally, guaranteeing an interactive experience with neighbors and friends. A team of wranglers saddles the horses each day as the groups prepares to discover a perfect mixture of Mediterranean weather and Alpine landscapes. 

Accommodations at Finca Enyhe are in a magnificent hacienda with luxurious and spacious bedrooms, beautifully furnished and decorated in traditional Mexican style. Finca Enyhe is located just five blocks away from the plaza so guests can easily walk and enjoy typical Mexican village life if they please. Others may enjoying tasting a good margarita or strong tequila while enjoying a colorful sunset from the outdoor heated swimming pool with Jacuzzi of Finca Enyhe.

Special programs are offered for riders who would prefer fewer hours in the saddle. These guests can have more spare time in order to visit the town or to relax and enjoy the ambience and facilities in Finca Enyhe. 

The Mexican kitchen at the hacienda provides guests with delicious homemade Mexican food and gives the guests the opportunity to taste different dishes every day. If you're out riding, lunch may be a picnic on the trail served with typical Mexican "botanas", "tortas", and "tacos" that are warmed on a fire. Sometimes guests laugh as cold refreshments and sodas are carried by "Don Sabino", the charismatic pack mule that also brings whatever might be needed by the riders. 

Awards & Accolades

Federación Mexicana de Cabalgatas A.C.

Packing

Packing for Mexico Riding Holidays

• Laundry service is available on site with an additional cost and also in town.
• Bring your own helmet. The ranch has a couple of helmets to lend, but there are not a variety of sizes, so it is best to bring your own.
• A good hat or a big cap can keep the shade on your face and protect it from the sun.
• Sun-block cream may be needed also to protect lips, face, neck, arms, and hands.
• Short riding boots and half chaps can be lighter than long English or Western boots.
• Wide boots that can get caught in the stirrup are very dangerous!
• The boots should be comfortable for walking, especially during the visit to the butterflies.
• Riders can bring inside the saddlebags a pair of comfortable walking shoes or sneackers.
• An extra pair of boots if for any reason you may have problems with the first ones.
• English riding pants, jodhpurs, or Western riding jeans, whatever you usually wear.
• A light jacket, easy to tie to the saddle in case some cold wind blows during the day.
• Another thick jacket or a sweater to be used early in the mornings or late at night.
• Long sleeves in your shirt or blouse can help against the sun and the spines.
• A bandana or big handkerchief is very useful as towel, cleaner, and against the dust.
• A pocket knife is always a practical company hanging from your belt.
• Visit a weather channel to check the local weather and know the type of clothes to bring.
• Bathing suit for the jacuzzi and swimming pool.

Please see Equitrekking Travel’s General Packing List

About the Horses

Various breeds of horses, including Trakehner, Thoroughbred/Quarterhorse crosses and Mexican Criollo are trained and conditioned to work in the different types of terrain found in Mexico. The horses are between 15-17 hands in height and have temperaments from very calm and quiet to quite spirited.

Activities/Events

From November to March, the Monarch butterfly migration takes place and is an experience not to be missed.

Area Attractions

Cultural activities are available in town. The local museum has modern painting exhibitions and several places offer lessons for dancing, music, painting and language studies. These activities are not included in the price. 

There are multiple activities that are available in town such as:

• golf, tennis, water skiing, sailing, delta flying, mountain biking, trekking, and bird watching. 

Accommodations/Food

Accommodations for the week are at Finca Enyhe, are in a colonial style house built around a patio with a central fountain, and surrounded by impressive verandas and multicolor hammocks which hang from the columns. This traditional Mexican architecture continues in the bedrooms that are decorated with a collection of furniture from different parts of Mexico. Private bathrooms accompany all rooms. A beautiful garden with an amazing variety of plants, flowers, and fruit trees separates the house from the old fashioned stalls, with a large and very well set tack room, and a riding arena surrounded by bamboo fences.

The House: Finca Enyhe

Six beautiful standard rooms are decorated in traditional Mexican style, each with its own and exquisite particular feature. Most of the bedrooms have their own brick or iron fireplace. Each bedroom has a spacious bathroom, decorated with hand-painted tiles. Some of the bathrooms have a Jacuzzi. The common rooms consist of a library, a TV room, a billiard table and a small gym. Several patios, verandas, terraces, and gardens surround the house.

There is an outside heated swimming pool (45 Ft. long) with an integrated Jacuzzi (7X7 Ft.).

Food:

Days and nights at the Finca Enyhe include a wide variety of flavors from a traditional Mexican kitchen, and are offered to the guests during the week, giving the guests the opportunity to taste different dishes each day. A continental or Mexican breakfast is served with fruit, a main dish, coffee, cereal, milk, and more. Lunch is some days served on the terraces of the finca and others as a picnic offered on the trail during the ride with typical Mexican "botanas", "tortas", and "tacos" that are warmed on a fire. Lunch is served with cold beers and sodas that are carried by a charismatic pack mule. Dinners include delicious Mexican-style cuisine.

All meals are served with purified water, soda, beer or wine. Excellent red and white wines as well as beer are available and up to three drinks per person per day are included in the price. Vegetarians and other special diet considerations are available upon request in advance.

The Ideal Traveler

Any traveler who wishes to experience an upscale horseback riding vacation and discover Mexico on horseback.

This is a great trip for those wishing to escape the winter cold of North America and Europe. There are different riding holidays available to accommodate riders of all levels and many opportunities for non-riding companions on this trip to join their riding partners.

The Relaxed Riding Vacation

A four night holiday with riding on five days. The initial assessment ride takes place on Monday afternoon. But following this, you ride each morning for approximately three hours, returning to Finca Enyhe for lunch. In the afternoons visit the butterfly sanctuary (November to late March only), relax by the pool, visit Valle de Bravo town or enjoy other activities. The pace is slower and more relaxed than on the other rides, but still with some trots and canters.

Dates & Rates 2013 (4 nights)
$1,920 USD* (except $1,725 USD* between 25 March and 14 June)

No single supplement if willing to share, otherwise $444 USD* to guarantee a single room.

* Prices shown are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations. Prices are indicative only; the price of your chosen holiday will be reconfirmed by your travel consultant, prior to your making a booking.

Included: Full board accommodation; drinks (three alcoholic drinks per day plus wine or beer with lunch and dinner); return transfers from Mexico City at a pre-set time and place.

Not included: International flights to Mexico City, accommodation in Mexico City before or after the ride and transfers between the airport and your hotel. Meals in Mexico City; taxi transfers in Mexico City and tips.
 

Mexico Riding Vacation Sample Itinerary

Sunday

Riders should arrive to Mexico City any time today in order to be ready for an early pick up on Monday morning.

On arrival in Mexico City, you should collect your luggage and make your own way to your hotel. The ride transfer collection point is from either Hotel NH Santa Fe or Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe, so we recommend staying at one of these two hotels since they are the collection points for your transfer to the ride. You could stay at various other hotels in Mexico City, although we recommend a hotel in the Santa Fe area, so as to be close to the collection point. The cost of this night is not included in the ride price.

Monday

Collection from Hotel NH Santa Fe is scheduled for 08:30 and from the Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe at 08:45. The transfer by car to Valle de Bravo will take approximately one and a half hours. After registering and being shown to your room there will be a short briefing and the chance to get to know the facilities. A delicious lunch will be served in the swimming pool terrace. Later, meet your mount and try the tack inside the arena before going out for a two hours ride to “Mesa del Capulin” to give you the opportunity to get acquainted with the horse you are going to ride for the next few days. Return to Finca Enyhe and perhaps enjoy the sunset with a margarita made with fresh oranges from the orchard. Dinner will be served at 19:30 accompanied with delicious red or white wines. The traditional home made dishes are often made to old family recipes handed down through several generations.

Tuesday

After breakfast riders will mount on their horses and ride through trails that lead up the nearby mountains to “Torre de Papalotes” where incredible vistas of town, lake and surrounding mountains will take your breath away! Return to Finca Enyhe for lunch and refresh the body in the infinity swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

Between November and the end of March there will be the chance to visit the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary this afternoon. Have the opportunity to spend some time in the presence of the mysterious and wonderful Monarch butterflies in the forest. Dinner is back at Finca Enyhe.

Wednesday

Today’s ride takes you through pine and oak forests, valleys and streams in the way to "Acatitlan". Lunch is back at the Finca. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool or perhaps find a shady spot in the garden to relax with a book.

Thursday

Ride to the biggest ranch in the area today. At "Rancho Santa Rosa" you find well-kept forests, evergreen horse paddocks, and magnificent contemporary Mexican style homes. If you are lucky you will be able to see how the horses that are bred in this ranch are trained for show jumping. Back at Finca Enyhe, lunch will be waiting for you. Perhaps this afternoon, set off to explore something of Valle de Bravo, which is within easy walking distance. Dinner will be a four course meal based on a delicious mix of Mexican and international recipes.

Friday

A final morning ride takes you to the State Reserve of Monte Alto. Fun wiggling trails will invite for long trots or canters. Arrive back at Finca Enyhe in time for lunch. Today is your last chance to visit town, enjoy the pool or have a restoring massage session in the comfort and privacy of your bedroom (to own account). At 18:00 depart from Finca Enyhe and transfer to Mexico City. Depending on traffic, you should be back at Hotel NH Santa FE for around 19:30 or at Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe for approximately 19:45.

You may wish to stay at either the Hotel NH Santa Fe or the Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe, since these are the drop off points at the end of the ride. Your hotel accommodation in Mexico City is not included in the ride price.

Saturday

Depart from your hotel and make your own way by taxi to the airport in time for your flight home, or continue your stay in Mexico.
 

* This itinerary is subject to changes based on the weather or the trip leaders discretion. 

Bejeweled Routes Riding Vacation

A four night horse riding vacation with five days of riding. Spend between three and five hours in the saddle each day, with a mixture of full and half-day rides. Also included in the itinerary is a trip to the butterfly sanctuary (November to late March only), a boat trip on the lake and a picnic lunch at ‘Rancho Santa Rosa’ (a large ranch who breed and train show jumpers).

2013 Dates & Rates (4 nights)

$2,000 USD* (except $1,800 USD* between 25 March and 14 June)

No single supplement if willing to share, otherwise $444 USD* to guarantee a single room.

* Prices shown are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations. Prices are indicative only; the price of your chosen holiday will be reconfirmed by your travel consultant, prior to your making a booking.

Included: Full board accommodation; drinks (three alcoholic drinks per day plus wine or beer with lunch and dinner); return transfers from Mexico City at a pre-set time and place.

Not included: International flights to Mexico City, accommodation in Mexico City before or after the ride and transfers between the airport and your hotel. Meals in Mexico City; taxi transfers in Mexico City and tips.

Mexico Riding Vacation Sample Itinerary

Sunday

Riders should arrive to Mexico City any time today in order to be ready for an early pick up on Monday morning.

On arrival in Mexico City, you should collect your luggage and make your own way to your hotel. The ride transfer collection point is from either Hotel NH Santa Fe or Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe, so we recommend staying at one of these two hotels since they are the collection points for your transfer to the ride. You could stay at various other hotels in Mexico City, although we recommend a hotel in the Santa Fe area, so as to be close to the collection point. The cost of this night is not included in the ride price.

Monday

Collection from Hotel NH Santa Fe is scheduled for 08:30 and from the Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe at 08:45. The transfer by car to Valle de Bravo will take approximately one and a half hours. After registering and being shown to your room there will be a short briefing and the chance to get to know the facilities. A delicious lunch will be served in the swimming pool terrace.

Later, meet your mount and try the tack inside the arena before going out for a two hours ride to “Mesa del Capulin” to give you the opportunity to get acquainted with the horse you are going to ride for the next few days. Return to Finca Enyhe and perhaps enjoy the sunset with a margarita made with fresh oranges from the orchard.

Dinner will be served at 19:30 accompanied with delicious red or white wines. The traditional home made dishes are often made to old family recipes handed down through several generations.

Tuesday

After breakfast riders will mount on their horses and ride through bejeweled trails that lead up the nearby mountains to “Torre de Papalotes” where incredible vistas of town, lake and surrounding mountains will take your breath away! Return to Finca Enyhe for lunch and refresh the body in the infinity swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

Between November and the end of March there will be the chance to visit the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary this afternoon. Have the opportunity to spend some time in the presence of the mysterious and wonderful Monarch butterflies in the forest.

To end the day, a boat trip around the lake will be the summit for a relaxing and romantic sunset. During dinner guests will be able to taste the excellent Mexican and international cuisine that comes out from the kitchen of Finca Enyhe.

Wednesday

By this day riders will be ready and fit to enjoy a longer day ride with a picnic lunch served on the trail! Ride through pine and oak forests, valleys and streams up to one of the oldest ranches of the area, “Rancho La Compañia”. After approximately three hours of riding a picnic lunch will be prepared over a fireplace.

After lunch continue riding for around two more hours through evergreen meadows and agricultural valleys. Back at the Finca a refreshing margarita will be waiting for you by the side of the swimming pool!

Thursday

Another longer day ride today, with a picnic lunch out on the trail. Today’s ride takes you to the biggest ranch of the area, "Rancho Santa Rosa" where well-kept forests, evergreen horse paddocks, and magnificent contemporary Mexican style homes are all set in harmony. If you are lucky you will be able to see how the horses that are bred in this ranch are trained for show jumping.

During the lunch break enjoy bird watching, down in the low brush, look for warblers or have a restoring siesta over a carpet of flowers and under the sound of singing birds.

Back at the Finca, dinner will be a four course meal based on a delicious mix of Mexican and international recipes.

Friday

A final ride this morning takes you to the State Reserve of Monte Alto (c. 3 hours of riding). Fun wiggling trails will invite the rider for some trots or canters. Arrive back at Finca Enyhe in time for lunch.

Today is your last chance to visit town or enjoy the facilities in the property and have a good and restoring massage session in the comfort and privacy of your bedroom (to own account).

At 18:00 depart from Finca Enyhe and transfer to Mexico City. Depending on traffic, you should be back at Hotel NH Santa Fe for around 19:30 or at Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe for approximately 19:45.

You may wish to stay at either the Hotel NH Santa Fe or the Hotel JW Marriott Santa Fe, since these are the drop off points at the end of the ride. Your hotel accommodation in Mexico City is not included in the ride price.

Saturday

Depart from your hotel and make your own way to the airport in time for your flight home, or continue your stay in Mexico.

* This itinerary is a sample itinerary. Itineraries are subject to changes due to the weather, the trip guide's discretion and other factors.

Majestic Peaks

A progressive trail riding vacation from Finca Enyhe to Rancho Jaguarundi. Each night the horses stay out on the trail while you return to the comfort of Finca Enyhe by vehicle (or by boat on one day!). Expect to be in the saddle to approximately five hours a day. Ride up into the mountains and pause for wonderful views of Valle de Bravo, the lake and far-reaching mountain ranges. Explore some of the local ranches on horseback and ride through cool pine forests. 

2013 Dates & Rates (4 nights)

$2,125 USD* (except $1,925 USD*  between 25 March and 14 June)

No single supplement if willing to share, otherwise $444 USD* to guarantee a single room.

* Prices shown are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations. Prices are indicative only; the price of your chosen holiday will be reconfirmed by your travel consultant, prior to your making a booking.

Included: Full board accommodation; drinks (three alcoholic drinks per day plus wine or beer with lunch and dinner); return transfers from Mexico City at a pre-set time and place.

Not included: International flights to Mexico City, accommodation in Mexico City before or after the ride and transfers between the airport and your hotel. Meals in Mexico City; taxi transfers in Mexico City and tips.


Mexico Riding Vacation Sample Itinerary

Sunday:

Riders should arrive to Mexico City any time on Sunday in order to be ready for an early pick up on Monday morning.

Monday:

Riders will be picked up in any of the two meeting points stablished and according to the schedules detailed for each one. The transfer by car to Valle de Bravo will take approximately one and a half hours. After registering and getting set in one of the magnificent bedrooms in Finca Enyhe, a short briefing. You will then get to know your mount and try your tack inside the arena before going out on your first five hours ride to “Rancho Santa Rosa”. Here well-kept forests, evergreen horse paddocks, and magnificent contemporary Mexican style homes are all set in harmony. If you are lucky you will be able to see how the horses that are bred in this ranch are trained for show jumping.

During the lunch break enjoy bird watching, down in the low brush, look for warblers or have a restoring siesta over a carpet of flowers and under the sound of singing birds. Back in the Finca, dinner will be a four course meal based on a delicious mix of Mexican and international recipes. You will begin riding some mountains that will get you fit and acquainted with the type of trails you will be riding during the week over the majestic peaks of Valle de Bravo!

Come back to Finca Enyhe and enjoy the sunset with a margarita made with fresh oranges from the orchard. Dinner will be served at 7:30 accompanied with delicious red or white wines. The traditional home made dishes are cooked following old ancestors´ recipes that have been kept as a family secret during several generations. This way a big variety of flavors from the Mexican cuisine are offered to the guests with sanitized procedures.

Tuesday:

A delicious Mexican breakfast will be served early in the morning. Afterwards riders will mount on their horses to begin the progressive route. Ride for three hours across agricultural valleys and forests with orchids and bromeliads until lunch time, which will be a picnic served on the trail and cooked over a fireplace. During the week, lunch will be carried by one of our pack mules. After lunch riders can enjoy a short "siesta" and be ready to ride for one and a half more hours until you reach the 9,000 feet. The village of "Los Saucos" will appear behind the trees. Here the horses will overnight and riders will be taken by car back to Finca Enyhe.

The afternoon is free to relax in the swimming pool or take a walk to town. During dinner guests will be able to taste the excellent Mexican and international cuisine that comes out from the kitchen of Finca Enyhe. While enjoying dinner listen to a talk about the Monarch Butterflies and prepare yourself for a wonderful experience that will be waiting for you next morning in the butterfly sanctuary.

Wednesday:

After breakfast riders are transferred by car to Los Saucos. Ride for approximately one hour and a half in order to reach the Monarch Butterflies; get ready to do some walking before reaching the sanctuary. Spend some time experiencing the presence of these mysterious and wonderful insects in the fir tree forest. Get ready to walk back to your horses and continue the ride until lunch time.

Today, lunch will also be a picnic on the trail cooked on a fireplace. After lunch continue riding for two hours through evergreen meadows and valleys, and along rivers that hold trout farms and beautiful ferns until you reach "Rancho La Compañia". This ranch is one of the oldest ranches in the area and where quarter horses are bred for the traditional Mexican match racing. Guests can walk around its beautiful patios and gardens. Transfer back to Finca Enyhe by car where a refreshing margarita will be waiting for you by the side of the swimming pool!

This night horses will not overnight in Rancho La Compañia, they will be transferred in a trailer to Cerro Gordo so that on Thursday they will ready and tacked for your next day´s ride from Cerro Gordo to Rancho Calderones.

Thursday:

After the car transfer to "Cerro Gordo" be ready to ride through incredible mountains and vistas until you reach Rancho Calderones. Your mount will be ready and eager to start today's ride. On this day, ride through magnificent "vistas" and rock formations. You will be riding thousands of feet above the town of "Zacazonapan" located in the "tierra caliente". Riders will experience breathtaking views from the edge of the mountain chain. Today’s lunch is served in another magnificent spot called "El Divisadero", name that means “a place from where you can see far away”. Feel like the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes must have felt while riding through the Mexican country-side with its high mountains, never ceasing to be amazed by what this land offers to its visitors.

After lunch riders will have the opportunity to see from another incredible spot all what they have covered by horse in the past days and the route that is awaiting them for the following days! It is an incredible opportunity to really see all what a horse and rider can do in a progressive ride! A breath taking descent to where the horses will be left on this day will always be remembered by our guests including outstanding vistas of the lake and of "Atezcapan", the beautiful white village that lies next to the ranch where the horses will overnight. Many peacocks will salute you on your way out on a “hay ride” by truck from "Rancho Calderones" to the lake shore. Here a local boat will be waiting for the group to be transferred across the lake to the main deck in the lake located two blocks away from downtown. This is a perfect moment for a picture! Riders have time to relax and enjoy the trip across the lake. From the boat you will be able to see "La Peña" another rock formation where the Aztecs came to make human sacrifices for their god of the sun. The sun will be dropping behind the mountains, a magnificent sunset is about to start….what a perfect way to end the day´s ride!

Friday:

Before meeting your mount you will cross the lake by boat again. This is a good time to meditate or enjoy this peaceful and quiet boat trip. On the other side of the lake the same truck will be waiting for you to make a five-minute transfer to where the horses slept. Today you will ride along the lake shore, up and to the other side of a mountain full of a different variety of oaks. These are oaks that grow near the low lands, where it is warmer. You will begin descending to the land by which Mexico is better known, “la tierrra caliente”; no forest, no shade, just vast open valleys with shrubs. Different birds can be observed here such as the “chachalacas”.

After three hours of riding end today´s ride in Rancho Jaguarundi, a good example of a ranch located in the beginning of the low lands. Riders will transfer by car to Finca Enyhe and arrive in time for lunch. Today is your last chance to visit town or enjoy the facilities of the property and have a good and restoring massage session in the comfort and privacy of your bedroom.

At 6:00 pm guests will depart and transfer to Mexico City. Estimated time of arrival to drop off point “Centro Comercial Santa Fe taxi Station” is at 7:30 PM. From this point and with our help guests will hire their personal transfer to their next stop.

* This itinerary is a sample itinerary. Itineraries are subject to changes due to the weather, the trip guide's discretion and other factors.

Related Travel Articles

Meet Your Host of the Mexico Horse Vacation

Get to know your host of the Mexico Horse Vacation, Lucia Guiterrez de Schravesande, and try her tasty guacamole recipe!  I hear that food is a big part of any trip to Mexico, especially for travelers who take your Cooking Fiesta Ride. Do you have a favorite recipe that you’d like… Read more »

Traveler Reviews

This is one of the best rides I have done with your company. The scenery was spectacular, the accommodation very comfortable, the horses superb and the wranglers always there to help mount and dismount.
-- Dinah

Thank you very much for such a wonderful time, and letting us discover the real Mexico by sharing the wonderful home and getting us right into the heart of the real people and countryside.  The horses are a great credit, so polite and easy to ride and always turned out so beautifully each day. Hard work made our stay run so smoothly and everyone was always very helpful. 

-- Kim Simkins and R. Atkins 

We had a wonderful time.  The horses are beautiful and the rides were great and felt very safe.  The house is beautiful and our room was very comfortable. We enjoyed the punctuality of the meal times; everything felt extremely well organized.

-- Zoe Hart 

Seems like ages ago that we were enjoying your warm company, beautiful horses, comfortable hacienda and delicious food. What a special place the home and stables are; so much more than anticipated.  I had a wonderful time our ride. Thank you for  making our trip so enjoyable.

-- Bill Otto

Reading List

Frommer's Mexico 2010 (Frommers's Complete) by David Baird

Exact prices, directions, opening hours,and other practical information, candid reviews of hotels and restaurants,plus sights, shopping, and nightlife, itineraries, walking tours, and trip-planning ideas, insider tips from local expert authors.

 

One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Mexico (101 Beautiful Towns) by Guillermo García Oropeza

This is the armchair traveler’s escape and the serious tourist’s companion, featuring exceptional photography referencing a rich cultural background steeped in ancient Mayan folklore and religious tradition. This book ventures through the countryside providing in-depth histories of the smaller, less trodden towns that speckle Mexico’s varied terrain, and introduces readers to the sights, sounds, and scents that are all a part of Mexico’s powerful allure. Towns are organized by region and are accompanied by information on local delicacies, nightlife, and must-see hot spots. A complete appendix with addresses and phone numbers of recommended hotels, villas, bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants, and more can be found at the back of the book, as well as a suggested reading list to round out your trip.

 

Chasing Monarchs, A MIgration with the Butterflies of Passage by Robert Michael Pyle

A memoir of Lepidoptery, combing the entomologist-author's considerable knowledge of butterflies and their biology with a rambling road trip from British Columbia through the Southwest to Mexico.

 

Equitrekking Coffee Table Companion Book & DVD

Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback by Darley Newman with Photographs by Chip Ward available at Amazon.com
This companion to the PBS TV series, Equitrekking, proves that the world's most beautiful views are often best seen from atop a horse. This gorgeous book features dozens of scenic rides in the U.S. and around the globe. Denver Post review: For horse folk and dreamers, as well as fans of the show, it's a beautiful trip through stunning equestrian-friendly possibilities.



Equitrekking DVD's featuring Emmy winning PBS episodes, available in the Shop section of Equitrekking.com 

Get off the beaten path to see some of the world's most beautiful horses and classic riding destinations with host and equestrian travel expert Darley Newman with Emmy Award-winning Equitrekking, the horseback riding travel series on PBS. 

Season One: Vermont, the Carolinas, Georgia Coast, Wyoming, Colorado and Spain.

Season Two: Iceland, Coastal Ireland, Hawaii's Big Island, Irish Countryside, Maui, Virginia Hunt Country and California Wine Country.

Season Three: Arizona, Belize, Costa Rica, Kentucky, Quebec, Texas and Utah.

Season Four: Southern Spain, Alaska, Central Turkey, Quebec City and Beyond, Scotland and Wales.

    

Good Books for Horse Lovers and Equestrians

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior (Paperback) by Temple Grandin
Philosophers and scientists have long wondered what goes on in the minds of animals, and this fascinating study gives a wealth of illuminating insights into that mystery. ---Publishers Weekly

The Horse: A Miscellany of Equine Knowledge (Hardcover) by Julie Whitaker with Ian Whitelaw
The Horse is an informative gallop through everything to do with the horse:  evolution, history, biology, breeds, behavior, training, competition, health, and care—all gathered into an accessible gallery of solid information, essential facts, and fascinating trivia.                                                           

Hunter Seat Equitation (Hardcover) by George H. Morris
A classic by a world-renowned teacher and master equestrian--the definitive work on the art of teaching and riding the hunter seat, now updated to include refinements in Morris's insightful program of riding instruction.

The New Encyclopedia of the Horse (Hardcover) by Elwyn Hartley Edwards
Chronicling the history of the horse, this guide encompasses the early domestication of the horse, classical riding styles, as well as a survey of the great stud farms and current international sporting events.