Wright Park Riding Circle
The reason I love Baguio is because I can ride a horse and explore the mountains on any given day!
One of my earliest childhood memories is of a pony ride during one of my first visits to Baguio, when I was about 6 years old.
It was a large black horse that was a little frisky and what an adrenalin rush (could not have known that then) it was -- to ride like the wind, or even just to commune with nature and interact with one of the most beautiful creatures on earth! .
I remember that in the early 1970s, an hour on horseback was just Php5.00, which was about a day's wages in the Philippines!
How Much Does an Hour on Horseback Cost? Three decades later (2008 rates), an hour on horseback will cost you about Php300.00 -- still cheap considering how much it costs to maintain a horse (ever hear the phrase "eats like a horse?"), still about a day's salary for minimum wage earners.
Still cheap compared to the Php500 they charge in
other tourist destinations in the Philippines, like Tagaytay or Subic, where horse rides are offered, And yet the temperatures here are way cooler -- perfect for exploring the surrounding hills of Baguio or just riding around the Riding Circle
Mines View Park Trail - you will climb up from Wright Park passing through Gibraltar Road, enter through some residential roads, some of which are not paved, and head on back down through Outlook Drive or vice versa. Horses are not allowed on the Mines View Market road anymore and may not pass in from of the Mansion (the Philippine president's Summer residence).
Country Club Trail - you will turn at the Pacdal rotunda towards Park Drive, which has been renamed Nanoy Ilusorio Drive, then turm left at the fork to Country Club Drive. Past Baguio Country Club and right before the Camp John Hay (secondary) entrance, you will go down to Happy Hollow Barangay.
I have gone to the end of this trail and let me tell you that it gets narrower as you go deeper -- sometimes requiring you to walk your horses on single file. So when the trail gets to difficult for you, depending on your experience as a rider, just turn around and go back.
MORE ABOUT WRIGHT PARK RIDING CIRCLE & OTHER HORSE TRAIL RIDES COMING UP!
Marlboro Country. This trail used to be the best of them all. You go past Pacdal, up towards Ambuklao Road. You turn to Tiptop and there used to be a plateau (or were they gentle rolling hills?) where you could ride your horse hard and pretend you were a true cowboy!
These days, the Marlboro Country trail passes through the same route without the hard ride in between.
Honestly, when we take horses out this way, we prefer to go up, past the turn to Marlboro Country, straight towards Beckel instead.
The Most Popular Horse Trail Rides
Now that Baguio roads are fully developed, a lot of the trail rides are accessed via paved roads. It is essential to take a guide along with you to take you there, and more importantly, to be around to help the riders and horses along the way. The ratio is 1 guide to 2-3 riders. The guide can be a walking guide (cost is Php300) if you plan on a slow ride, but if your group is more experienced, then the guide will be a riding guide (cost is still Php300), bringing along his horse or renting one for this purpose..
Parents prefer to treat their young children to a hour's pony ride at 'Ride Park' (that lower portion of Wright Park called the Riding Circle), where they can be observed, photographed and videoed althroughout.
This is the riding area for beginners. There is an inner circle for walking horses and an outer circle for the running horses. Only pony boys are allowed in the Riding Circle, parents and yayas will just have to use zoom lens.
Accredited Pony Boy Guides, usually the horse owner himself, or his employee,
will watch the horse and rider at all times -- he can lead the horse, walk along side it or ride behind the child for the latter's protection and enjoyment of a faster ride. The pony boys are experienced handlers, as their fathers were before them.
Oh, and by the way, please don't take the 'boy' literally -- most of the Pony Boys are grown men, some are grandfathers even!
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Go Baguio! Your Complete Guide to Baguio City, Philippines
