High Country Horses — Local services in South Island

I actually don't know how to find the words. We (me and a friend of mine) did the 3-day Closed Borders ride, and I think these 3 days really were some of the best of my life. There are no words to describe, no amount of money that can give this experience. It was golden!

First of al, the horse I got, Peso, she was most definitely one of the best horses I've ever ridden. She was so kind, honest, responsive and not scared to get wet or go for a swim. And she's a black beauty. Lets be honest 🥰 I will never forget about her.

I thought we would be with a big group. But the 3-dayride is normally with a max of 5 people. We were just with three people and 1 guide. That was actually really nice and personal!

We were very lucky to have 2 very sunny days and only the last was a bit rainy. Around this time (beginning of december) the lupins are in bloom and as you see that gives some stunning sights as well! The roads we took were so rough, beautifull, challenging, sometimes we needed to push through the bushes a bit and the horses did that so well. Walking tracks that our covered with water. Through forest, through big fields. Some amazing canters over these days. I don't think I will ever find a ride with so much beautifull scenery.

We stayed both nights at a hutt. They were so much better than expected and I really enjoyed the spare time I had there. Just sitting there in the sun with the horses in the grass, looking to the mountains and the horses. I did that for hours and I actually found so much peace inside of me that had been missing for quite a while. I really found myself in balance again and sheaded a tear. I was so insanely happy. I'm very gratefull for this moment and I am actually gonna get a tattoo based on this place and moment. Unforgettable. The second hutt was a little bit smaller but really cosy in that way. We could actually have a swim with the horses at the lake when we arrived there as well. The hutt was really close to the lake. Peso was really easygoing with swimming and we had so much fun. The sun was shining. It was one of the highlights of our trip!

A shoutout to our guide Gaby as well who did everything to keep us comfortable, well-fed (the food is amazing! 10/10!) and informed us during our rides about the area, wildlife, the horses, some lord of the rings film spots and you could actually talk to her or ask about anything.

I can go on and on about this trip and how lovely it was. Glenorchy and High Country Horses (especially Peso) have received a place in my heart. We are for 6 weeks in New Zealand, did this in the 5th week and till now there's nothing that made me feel so happy and mindblowing as this ride and scenery that comes with it.

Take a look at the pictures, movies and decide for yourself. I have done many many horse trails but this is my number 1. I will think back about this ride a lot! If I ever come back to NZ I will definitely go back there again, maybe even for the 5...

My wife and I joined the river trail experience last year 26 Sep 2023.

Whilst the scenery was breath taking, i would advise readers who might be interested in partaking in their horse riding tours to exercise caution when deciding whether this experience is for you.

While their tours are promoted as being beginner friendly, potential visitors MUST have confidence in managing the horses. The risk of injury is significantly understated. The guides do their "best" to look out for the safety of everyone, but i found this to be very superficial.

On my tour, their attention was focused on 3 young girls who had difficulty in managing their horses. As a result, the rest of us (equally inexperienced riders) were frequently left to "fend for ourselves". The 3 girls were at the head of the column and had difficulties guiding their horses through the river, this led to the rest of the group spending a prolong time in the river and because of the currents caused the group to become strung out in the river. We had to use our own initiative to guide our horses to safety.

Additionally, there is a hierarchy amongst the horses, the order of travel is determined by this order. Movement is strictly in a single file. The guides (for obvious reasons) spend most of their time at the head of the column. This unfortunately means that those of us towards the rear, struggle to catch the instructions of the guide. Additionally, the further back you are in the column, the more time it will take for the guides to come to your assistance (as we soon found out). My wife was the last rider in our group. While her horse was generally a manageable/well trained horse, on our way back to camp her horse started to buck a little. Fortunately it wasnt serious and my wife was able to maintain her grip and balance and managed to calm her horse down. During this time, our guide barely budged - simply yelling out instructions (that we couldnt hear) from the head of the group. I shudder to think what would have happened if my wife had lost her grip.

TL;DR: While it might not seem like it, this is a high risk activity. Horses like all animals, no matter how well trained can be unpredictable. Do it at your own risk.

I would give this 5 stars for the novel experience of horseback riding and the beautiful scenery but because of the understated safety risks, i give...

Firstly I just want to say the ride itself was great. I really enjoyed it for the most part.

What I did not enjoy was the hostile staff member who was rude to me from the moment I arrived. I honestly don’t know what I did wrong. I was left feeling absolutely humiliated in front of the other riders and after the ride one of them even approached me to say she was sorry for the way I was treated by the female staff member.

As soon as I arrived and was seated in the saddle, the woman was staring at me. Singling me out and giving me very unpleasant looks as though she had some serious issues with them. And then she asked me to stop while sorting out the trial lines. I tried to stop numerous times but the horse “Dodge” who I was assigned for the ride was quite strong and aggressive with his head shakes and would not take orders so he kept moving on his own (I am an experienced rider and volunteer and ride at Glenworth valley in Sydney so I’m not an amateur). Dodge has a mind of his own and he is a free spirit. Instead of acknowledging this, the female staff member asked me if I was listening to her, and I repeated myself numerous times and said yes I am listening while trying to steer dodge to where she wanted him. She said very loudly and aggressively to me “no you are clearly not listening I’ve told you to stop over 10 times” she then grabbed the reigns aggressively and pulled us to the side. Luckily I was filming this atrocious ordeal I had a strong feeling she was going to be unpleasant to me, as she was unpleasant from the get go. I have no idea why this was, but it makes me so to think it may have had something to do with my hijab (Muslim head covering), that it was likely racism and bigotry. I have experienced a lot of this during my life and I guess it’s just apart of being Muslim that I need to understand I will be hated in most places I go. But it was really embarrassing to be treated like this in front of others, I was actually secretly crying in parts of the ride because I felt humiliated. I’m so grateful to the kind lady in the end who recognised my mistreatment and asked if I was ok. The guide himself was lovely but please don’t employ racists in a place where people from all walks of life are likely to go...