点评:Cliffs notes: Highly recommended. It is just a trailer parked on the side of the road, so don't miss it. There are no bathrooms, so pee before you get there.
My daughter and I rode with Raina. The booking process was very smooth. I booked on Black Friday and just randomly picked a day. As the day got closer, we discovered that the weather was going to be cold and rainy. I e-mailed the company and they responded promptly and let me switch my day to an earlier day with no penalty, which we greatly appreciated.
Getting there:
We plugged the address given into Google and headed out. We were expecting a barn or at least a building, but when Google told us we were there, we were on a very busy two lane road between two recreational water areas in downtown Bradenton. We happened to look over and there was a horse trailer on the side of the road with Gypsy Vanner horses tied to it. We almost blew right by it! There was a sign, but it was in front of the truck (we were coming from the rear) and it was back by the parking bumpers. (When I asked about it, they said the city does not allow signs out by the road because they may distract drivers, so they have to keep it at least 30 feet from the road.) There are other companies that operate the same way, so be sure you have the right trailer.
The Ride:
Be sure to wear clothes and shoes that can get wet. We wore our light weight gym clothes and water shoes or bathing suit. They worked great. Arrive in the clothes you are riding in. There are no bathrooms (not even an outhouse!)
We were greeted and checked in when we walked up to the truck. They asked our riding experience, gave us a brief safety talk, and we were assigned our horses. The guide brought each horse down by the water where there was a mounting block. We were encouraged to greet our horse, and then she helped us mount and we walked straight into the water. The other people on our ride were late, but the guide made sure we were on our horses and in the water on time. We appreciated it when the guide told us that we should not be penalized because the other people were late. She took us for a short walk in the water and chatted with us about our background and experience, and the other people joined us as we circled back around. There were 4 riders plus the guide, so it was a nice, small group. The horses love their job, and it is evident. They all eagerly walked into the water and we actually had to stop them from going deeper until the guide told us to do so. The recreational area is a man-made reservoir that is filled by the ocean water. It is a bowl shape that is shallow around the outside and gradually gets deeper in the middle, so no fear of drop offs or extremely deep water. We started by walking around the outside of the bowl area, so the water was about mid calf on us all. We turned and stopped in an area with a nice background where the guide took more pictures of each individual person and groups that were together. We then went for our first deeper water ride. The horses did not have to swim on this one, but we definitely got much deeper. What a unique experience! We basically did a horse shoe route and ended up right back where we started. When we had regrouped, the guide got off her horse and checked each rider's tack to be sure everything was still secure and in place which was huge bonus points in my mind. She then took more photos and started telling us the history and story of each of the horses and about the rescue that they operate. We repeated this pattern again, but this time we went deeper where the horses actually had to swim. Each horse has a different swimming style, which was neat to see. My daughter's horse did a jumping "carousel horse" type motion, which kept her pretty high in the water. The water barely came over her thighs in the saddle. My horse basically sank so that only her head was sticking out of the water, so I was in to the middle of my chest. One of the other horses buried her entire face in the water while she swam and blew huge bubbles when breathing out before popping her nose out to breath! The water was definitely cold when it first came up, but after the first swim, we didn't even notice it. Keep in mind, this was early December, but the water was still about 72 degrees. When we regrouped after the second swim, the guide checked with each rider to be sure they were comfortable before the final swim. Our last swim was a race back to shore where the trailer was which was really fun. This again was deep enough that the horses had to swim. Every horse there surged forward for the swims. It was obvious they enjoyed their job. When we got back to shore, we did one more short photo session and then they helped us get off. You do not need any riding experience to do this ride, but it does take a little leg strength to hold on while they swim. We brought towels to sit on in the car and stopped at the gas station on the way home to change as it was a two hour drive.
The horses:
We are experience horse people, and I look at every horse / outfit with a critical eye. Let me say that this outfit passed with flying colors! I would happily allow them to care for my own horses, which is saying something. Every horse they have is a rescue. When we walked up, each horse had its own hay net filled with good quality hay and a personal water bucket hanging from the trailer. They were of very good weight (some might even call them a bit chubby) and their hooves were in excellent condition. They were well groomed and their hair was amazing! If you know anything about the Gypsy breed, you know how much hair they have. Their manes and tails are insanely thick and they have feathering from the knee down. I can not imagine how much time is spent maintaining these horses, but every one of them had long, thick, beautiful manes and tales and neat, clean feathers. Most of them had been body clipped because otherwise they stay wet way too long. It is very obvious these horses are well looked after. The tack was clean and well maintained. They use wintec western saddles, so everything is that light weight mesh type fabric that dries very quickly but is not slippery like leather. All of the stirrups have baskets on the front so your feet don't slip through them while swimming - again huge bonus points for safety... They also use hackamores instead of bitted bridles, so no one is able to jerk on the horse's mouths. The horses were all happy, pleasant, gentle, and friendly. No grumpy pants horses here...
The Photo Package:
The photo package was $25 and is paid for at the time of the ride. The cost is per person for the first two people in your party and then $5 for each additional person. Everyone gets the link to all the photos, so some my think that it is unfair to make everyone in the party pay for them. My view on it is that this is a rescue, and the photo package is where they make most of their money. I was happy to pay it because it takes so much money to care for these horses, and this rescue is definitely one of the good ones! They will hit 200 horses this year that they have rescued! We got a ton of really good photos, and the guides do a great job at both posed shots and candids as you are swimming with your horses. (We were not offered the opportunity to stand on the horses like some of the photos show if that is one of the shots you are looking for.)
Overall Impression:
If you are still reading, thank you. I know it was long, but I really appreciate detailed reviews when I am trying to decide where to spend my hard-earned money. I would 100% recommend CPonies! They are a great company that provides a good, safe, and unique experience to the public and uses that revenue to save and better the lives of these beautiful horses. I could not ask for anything more. There are other companies that run the same type of operation out of the same area. We were there with one of them, and some of the things we saw them doing were a bit sketchy. They even had a horse get loose. Luckily the horse ran back into the water to join his buddies instead of into traffic. Yikes! We have not ridden with these other companies, so I can not give a personal recommendation, but from what I saw, CPonies is the way to go.
翻译:简明指南:强烈推荐。它只是一辆停在路边的拖车,所以千万别错过。那里没有洗手间,所以最好在到达之前先解决一下。
我和女儿参加了Raina的马车之旅。预订过程非常顺利。我是在黑色星期五预订的,随意选了一天。随着日期临近,我们发现天气会很冷而且下雨。我给公司发了邮件,他们很快就回复了,并且允许我免费改期到更早的日期,我们对此非常感激。
到达方式:
我们把地址输入谷歌地图就出发了。我们原本以为会看到一个谷仓或者至少是一栋建筑,但当谷歌地图显示我们到达目的地时,我们却发现自己身处布雷登顿市中心两个休闲水域之间的一条繁忙的双车道公路上。我们无意间瞥了一眼,发现路边停着一辆马车,上面拴着几匹吉普赛马。我们差点就错过了!那里有个指示牌,但它在卡车前面(我们是从后面过来的),而且就在停车挡板旁边。(我问过之后,他们说市政规定不允许在路边设置指示牌,因为可能会分散司机注意力,所以必须离路边至少30英尺。)其他公司也采用这种运营方式,所以一定要确保你租对了拖车。
骑行须知:
务必穿着可以弄湿的衣服和鞋子。我们穿了轻便的运动服和水鞋或泳衣。效果很好。最好穿着骑行时穿的衣服到达。那里没有洗手间(甚至连旱厕都没有!)
我们走到卡车旁时,有人接待并办理了登记手续。他们询问了我们的骑行经验,进行了简短的安全讲解,然后给我们分配了马匹。向导把每匹马牵到水边,那里有一个上马台。他们鼓励我们和自己的马打招呼,然后帮助我们上马,我们直接走进了水里。我们同行的其他人都迟到了,但向导确保我们准时骑上马,下水。向导告诉我们,其他人迟到不应该影响我们的行程,我们对此非常感激。她带我们下水走了一小段,和我们聊了聊各自的经历和感受,其他人也陆续加入我们,我们绕着水面走了一圈。一共四位骑手加上向导,是个温馨的小团体。马儿们显然很喜欢这份工作,它们都兴高采烈地走进了水里,我们甚至不得不拦住它们,直到向导示意我们才肯继续往深处走。这片休闲区是一个人工水库,由海水注入。它呈碗状,外圈较浅,中间逐渐加深,所以不用担心落差或水深过大。我们先绕着碗状区域走了一圈,水深大约到我们小腿肚。然后我们转身停在一处风景优美的地方,向导给每个人和一起的团体拍了照片。接下来,我们进行了第一次深水骑行。这次马儿不用游泳,但我们确实游到了更深的地方。真是独特的体验!我们基本上绕了一个马蹄形路线,最后又回到了起点。集合完毕后,向导下马检查了每位骑手的马具,确保一切都牢固就位,这在我看来是一大加分项。之后,她又拍了一些照片,并开始给我们讲述每匹马的历史和故事,以及他们开展的救援工作。我们再次重复了同样的路线,但这次我们游到了更深的地方,马儿们真的需要游泳。每匹马的游泳姿势都不一样,这很有趣。我女儿的马像旋转木马一样跳跃,让她在水里保持着很高的位置。水只到她坐在马鞍上的大腿。我的马几乎完全沉了下去,只露出头,而我则被水淹到了胸口。另一匹马游泳时把整张脸都埋进了水里,呼气时会吹出巨大的泡泡,然后才把鼻子探出来呼吸!水刚涌上来的时候确实很冷,但第一次游泳之后,我们就完全感觉不到了。要知道,当时是十二月初,但水温仍然有大约72华氏度(约22摄氏度)。第二次游泳结束后,我们重新集合,向导在最后一次游泳前询问了每位骑手是否感觉舒适。最后一次游泳是赛跑,目标是回到停在岸边的拖车旁,这真的很有趣。这次的水深也足够让马儿们游过去。每匹马都奋力向前游去,显然它们很享受这份工作。回到岸边后,我们又拍了一组照片,然后它们帮我们下了马。参加这项骑行活动不需要任何骑马经验,但确实需要一些腿部力量才能在马儿游泳时抓住缰绳。我们带了毛巾在车里垫着坐,回家的路上在加油站停下来换衣服,因为要开两个小时的车。
马匹:
我们都是经验丰富的马友,所以我对每一匹马和每套马具都格外挑剔。我可以负责任地说,这套马具的表现堪称完美!我非常乐意让他们照顾我自己的马,这可不是随便说说。他们所有的马都是救助来的。我们走近时,每匹马都有自己的干草网,里面装满了优质干草,拖车上还挂着一个水桶。它们的体重都很理想(有些人甚至会觉得它们有点胖),蹄子状况极佳。它们都梳理得非常干净,毛发更是令人惊艳!如果你了解吉普赛马,就知道它们的毛发有多浓密。它们的鬃毛和尾巴浓密得惊人,膝盖以下还有饰毛。我无法想象照顾这些马匹需要花费多少时间,但每一匹马都拥有长而浓密、美丽的鬃毛和尾巴,以及整齐干净的饰毛。它们中的大多数都修剪过体毛,否则会长时间保持湿漉漉的状态。很明显,这些马匹得到了很好的照顾。马具干净整洁,保养良好。他们使用Wintec西部马鞍,所有部件都是轻便的网状面料,速干且不像皮革那样滑溜。所有马镫前面都有凹槽,这样在游泳时脚就不会滑落——这又是一个大大的安全加分项……他们还使用无衔勒而不是衔铁,这样就不会有人猛拉马嘴。所有的马都快乐、温顺、友善。这里没有脾气暴躁的马……
照片套餐:
照片套餐价格为25美元,需在骑行时支付。费用按每人计算,前两位同行者免费,之后每增加一人加收5美元。每个人都会收到所有照片的链接,所以有些人可能会觉得让同行者都付费不太公平。我的看法是,这是一家马匹救助机构,而摄影套餐是他们的主要收入来源。我很乐意付费,因为照顾这些马匹需要大量的资金,而且这家救助机构绝对是其中的佼佼者!他们今年救助的马匹数量将达到200匹!我们拍到了很多非常棒的照片,导游们在拍摄摆拍和抓拍方面都做得非常出色,尤其是在你和马匹一起游泳的时候。(如果你想拍一些像照片里那样站在马背上的照片,那很遗憾,我们没有这样的机会。)
总体印象:
如果你还在阅读,非常感谢。我知道这篇评论有点长,但我真的很需要详细的评价,因为我要决定把辛苦赚来的钱花在哪里。我百分之百推荐CPonies!他们是一家很棒的公司,为公众提供优质、安全且独特的体验,并将收入用于拯救和改善这些美丽马匹的生活。我还能要求什么呢?还有其他公司在同一地区经营类似的业务。我们和其中一家公司一起去过,看到他们的一些做法有点冒险。他们甚至让一匹马挣脱了缰绳。幸运的是,那匹马跑回了水里和同伴们会合,而不是冲到车流中。真是吓死我了!我们没有和其他公司一起骑过马,所以我无法给出个人推荐,但就我所见,CPonies 是更好的选择。