Holidays

Yukon horse packing trip

Out the plane window the sun casts a golden glow on the mountains below as the clouds of pink and purple fade to black. My dream of experiencing the wilderness of Canada’s Yukon on horseback is finally coming true. Landing in Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon since 1953, I drag my bags across the street to the hotel to settle in for the night.

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It’s a beautiful day to head out to the mountains for some playtime. You grab your horse and tack and head out in the afternoon for a quick ride to your favourite spot. It’s 28 degrees Celcius and you don’t see a cloud in the sky. You grab a light windbreaker for “just in case,” get on your horse, and soon you’re enjoying the peaceful sights, sounds, and smells of the forest.

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Rider Down! It’s a trail rider’s worst nightmare: getting hurt and requiring evacuation from a remote area. Whether out on the trails for a few hours or on an overnight trip, the reality that every recreational rider must face is that emergencies can occur. Preparation is key and the success of emergency evacuations has a lot to do with planning for their possibility. It can also determine whether a rider survives.

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Spending all day with your horse, visiting with friends, and riding a variety of trails pretty much describes horse camping, so it’s no surprise that many riders consider horse camping to be the ultimate adventure. Although performance riders often haul to a different facility for a clinic or competition, put their horse in a stall, and camp out in their rig, trail rider-style horse camping is a bit different.

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Autumn in Ontario is my favourite time of year, when Mother Nature paints the trees spectacular arrays of reds, yellows, and oranges, and rural roadsides are bordered with the brightly coloured seasonal decor. Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario’s southeastern region, is a popular spot to take it all in.

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What is the chance of a bear or cougar attack while riding your horse? What is the chance of being injured or killed in an attack? And are there preventative measures that make sense?

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On a perfect blue-sky day in the Kananaskis region of the Canadian Rockies, the views are nothing short of breathtaking in every direction. But my attention is fixed on the path ahead as I work to stay balanced in the saddle while my horse carefully navigates the rocky ridge along the mountainside. Reaching into my bag, I cautiously pull out my camera to capture a few shots. In that moment, I notice our guide, Dewy, fully immersed in the adventure, wearing an unmistakable grin beneath his ten-gallon hat and bushy mustache. Each day, he pushes his clients just beyond their comfort zones, creating memorable, thrilling experiences.

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Despite an infected foot and a tightening budget, I wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of this dream adventure. Horse trekking across the vast Rajasthani desert and hills on majestic Marwari horses had been a lifelong aspiration, and nothing would stop me from making it a reality. I took another dose of antibiotics, wrapped my foot, and set off with excitement for three unforgettable days of riding in India.

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As we made our way up a searing gully of black boulders, I focused on pushing past the dryness in my throat and the sweat soaking my back. It was a late afternoon in February 2020, and I was leading Farouk, a spirited 18-year-old 14.1HH chestnut Arabian stallion, who was more inclined to gallop across the open desert than navigate the rocky ravines we now faced.

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“Let’s take a break here,” Rob LaFrance called from behind me. It was late May, 2019 and three of us were riding a 60-kilometre stretch of the historic Collins Overland Telegraph Trail in central British Columbia, which hadn’t been ridden in its entirety in at least half a century. The trip was an opportunity to ride along a piece of history, experience the challenges of those who had traveled before us, and celebrate the reopening of the trail.

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