Riding Off Into the Sunset at Wild Western Horseback Adventures in Camp Verde, Arizona

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Alpha Omega Family Adventures was hosted by Wild Western Horseback Adventures. This does not affect the opinions shared. All opinions are our own.

Living in Texas, we have learned that many people who aren’t from here think that Texans ride horses everywhere they need to go and that everyone owns a horse. While this does paint quite a funny picture in my mind, it couldn’t be farther from the truth! We don’t own any horses and we live in the suburbs and drive cars daily. When Andy and I were both teachers, we did teach in a rural school district, so we know a few families that own horses. So where do we go to take our boys on their first horseback ride, aside from pony rides at Oil Ranch (read all about our fun at Oil Ranch here)? Well, Arizona of course!

On our visit to Arizona to visit our family in January, we were hosted by Wild Western Horseback Adventures on one of their amazing rides. We went on a 1.5 hour ride through the hill country near Camp Verde with views of the Mingus Mountains, Out of Africa Wildlife Park, and the San Francisco Peaks which is the highest point in Arizona. Wild Western offers rides to riders of all experience levels from nervous first timers to experienced riders. They are located in Camp Verde, Arizona. It is an easy drive from any more well known locations like Phoenix (1.5 hours), Prescott (50 minutes), Sedona (40 minutes), or Flagstaff (1 hour).

When you arrive at Wild Western Horseback Adventures, it feels as if you are going back in time a few decades into an old time western town. There is a firepit with wagon wheel benches surrounding it. Old town buildings surround the main area on one side with the waiting area in the middle. On the other side are different farm animals such as chickens, llamas, mules, and horses in training. Cows, piglets, and a farm dog roam free. They have plans to keep developing and growing their cute, western town over time as well.

After checking in, we head to the preparation area. We are first set up with helmets, required for children, optional for adults. Between each ride, helmets and other equipment that is used is sanitized completely before the next ride. Wild Western has built a very unique, perfectly designed horse corral. In the middle are horses saddled up, ready and waiting for a ride. Around the outside is a fenced space just large enough for horses with riders to line up in. There is a raised level to make it easier for those of us not accustomed to riding horses to get onto the horse. While the wranglers are preparing the horses in this line, the riders learn how to control their horses with the reins, how to speed a horse up and slow it down, how to get the horse to go backwards, and any other important information was given out at this point. Once the information session is over, we head up to the deck level to meet our horses. We were lined up youngest to oldest, I’m not sure if that was intentional or coincidental. Adler was set up on his horse and ponied (tied to) to the wrangler in front since he was young. Once we have our helmets on, we climb into the saddle and the wranglers adjust the stirrups for us. Then, we are lined up in this chute area until we are all ready to ride. After the ride, we just ride into the circle chute again until we reach the decked area. Once everyone was settled into their horses, we were off to ride into the sunset…. Or just the afternoon for us!

The stop sign at the end of the waiting line channel

They offer 1 or 1.5 hour long rides through the beautiful hillsides. As we ride along, the wranglers point out so many fun facts or interesting points to see. We ride through a dry wash and a cow pasture up the hillside past prickly pear cactus towards the Mingus Mountains. Along the way, we passed by Out of Africa and we could see an African deer of some kind and, no joke, we saw a giraffe! We saw the tree lined Verde river and it was a fairly clear day, so we could even see the San Francisco mountain peaks. These peaks are located north of Flagstaff, over 80 miles away! As we rode along, the wranglers reminded us of certain safety issues we might have forgotten from the informational session.

If you look really close, you can see a giraffe in the middle of this picture

Wild Western has 56 horses available for trail rides. All 56, except for 12, were rescued and saved from slaughter houses. Many of the horses have mustang in them. The horses each go through extensive training when they arrive. Once they are trail ready, they are added into the pack.

During the ride and especially after, the boys started asking and begging for us to get a horse when we got home. How I wish I could tell them we would get one, but since we live in a subdivision with a tiny backyard a horse could never happen. Once the boys understood that, then they switched and asked when we could come back to Wild Western to ride horses again. Everything about Wild Western Horseback Adventures is wonderful! I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a fun, unique experience in Northern Arizona. If you mention Alpha Omega Family Adventures when you call to book your ride, they are offering a 20% discount for our readers.

Wild Western Horseback Adventures are open 364 days a year. They only close on Christmas Day. They ride rain or shine. If the storms are heavy or there is lightning, the ride would be called off. Also, if the dry wash will flood, the ride will be called off as well. Go straight to their website, Wild Western Horseback Adventures, for more information on how to book a ride for yourself!

If you are looking for maybe a little less hands-on adventure, check out Bearizona located in Williams. Click HERE to read about our full experience!