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DG20132014
Was on a Royal Caribbean Cruise and we decided that we would go Horseback Riding in Roatan. i found El Rancho online, and read the reviews and decided to give it a go. It was great, we rode Trigger and Gerald. our guide Sharkey was great. he took us throught the jungle and trails thru his land where he grew up...it was raining a bit so we didn't go up the big hill in the woods. we also went thru town and made our way to West End Beach. Nothing to complain about...everything about the ride was A+, the ride was close to 2hrs.
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FarmEgg
My family (2 kids - 7 & 9 YO) took at morning ride with Shorkey (the owner) during our week in Roatan. Shorkey made sure that we were all on horses that were suited to our riding ability - and make sure my 7 YO was safe when we were near traffic! We had a great ride through the jungle near the stables where Shorkey told us all about what is was like growing up there. Then we went to Sandy Bay to ride on the beach - it was a great ride through the Sandy Bay neighborhood, we saw barracudas swimming through the shallows, and got to canter for a while on the sand! To get to Sandy Bay we had to take the main road for about 10 minutes - which made me nervous at first, but turned out to be fine. The cars kept a safe distance from us and the horses didn't seem to mind them. We loved our visit to El Rancho Barrio Dorcas (which our driving didn't know by the way - he only knew "Shorkey's ranch)!
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chrisbH3312WU
We found El Rancho on tripadvisor and decided this is how we wanted to spend our time on Roatan during our cruise stop. We started e-mailing with the owner and got everything setup with her ahead of time including the taxi/guide for the day. Everything was well explained to us and went exactly as planned. Shirkie got us all setup when we arrive at the ranch, and Alessandro took us on a great ride along the beach. We have ridden horses about 2 other times and had no issues with these horses during our 90 minute ride. We had the taxi/guide for the rest of the day to shop and see some beautiful spots on the island. Our family of 5 (youngest 11) loved it!
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DebraSanford
My daughter and I went on a tour with Victor Bodden while in Roatan and selected this ranch as one of the things we would do while we were in port for the day. We had so much fun!! Our guide took us along the streets of the city and along the beach. We even walked in the beautiful clear water. We saw so much of the city on horseback. We were rode for about 2 hours. It was like being in paradise. If you love horses, don't miss this experience.
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690lisas
We booked with Roos-Marie online - great communication and fast replies from her. We took a taxi (Victor Bodden's) from our cruise ship to the ranch and were extremely pleased with what we found. The horses were obviously well-cared for and at-ease with everyone from young children to adults. (In response to a previous post - Yes, the stable is along a road. However, we were at least 200 yards from this road while the horses were being saddled and when we mounted. The traffic did not move quickly, and at no point did we even feel even the least bit unsafe.)Shirkie and his assistant welcomed us and allowed us to interact with the horses (and dogs) while they chose appropriate horses for us. My 11-year-old was a bit apprehensive, and when I told Shirkie this, he made sure our guide was aware of that. In fact, the guide actually tethered my son's horse to his for the entire ride, which was awesome and made my son very comfortable. I'm sure he enjoyed the ride much more this way.As for myself and my daughters, we were given horses that were well-behaved and extremely responsive. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for horses with better training. Although we didn't see much of the jungle, it was the beach portion we were most interested in experiencing. Not only were we able to go quite a distance on the sand, we were also able to go into the water at one point in order to maneuver around a kayak on the beach. The trip was even more fun when we went down the main tourist street with hooves clacking. People were smiling, waving, and taking photos while we were able to get a unique view of the town.I highly, highly recommend El Rancho Barrio Dorcas. We will definitely return when we visit Honduras in the future.
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Potty41
I did the horse riding and West Bay trip advertised on their website and it was the best day of our holiday. From start to finish the organisation was excellent and the people really friendly.We booked this ourselves as we were in Roatan for the day off a cruise ship. They gave us precise information on where to meet the driver and he was there on time.. He did what we asked all day and was never late. I cannot receommend this enough and would do it again ay the drop of a hat. If you are docking for a day please do this - you will love it.
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CutestLittleEvil
This was a fantastic and unique excursion my boyfriend and I participated in while visiting Roatan on our cruise (Caribbean Princess) last week. We booked directly with the facility which was very easy to do by email. Roosmarie arranged our transportation from the port to the facility ( and to the beach after our ride) which went smoothly.Let me preface this by saying I'd never been on a horse before and I was quite nervous. Our Guide Sharkie was excellent. The horses appeared to be well cared for. The horse he selected for me (Sprinkle) was very gentle. Sharkie provided some basic information about how to direct the horses and off we went on our ride.The ride consisted of a neighborhood tour, a ride through west end, along the beach, and we ventured to a few beautiful areas with amazing views otherwise unreachable except if on foot/horseback and with someone in the know. We had a short break on a secluded area of the beach to rest and water the horses mid way through the ride. The entire ride was a great way to see the area. Nothing about the tour was even slightly unsafe or inappropriate.Along the way Sharkie gave us some information about Roatan, pointed out various flora and fauna, and pointed out some of the wild life along the way.After our ride transportation had been arranged to take us to the beach (we wanted to snorkel) which was present immediately after our ride, and prompt for our timely return to the cruise ship at our arranged time.If you want to see Roatan in a unique way, I highly recommend this tour!
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TessaK750
My friend and I went on a sunset beach ride. I am a very unexperienced rider and made this very clear to our guide, Shirkie. Long story short, we ended up in a really bad area of Roatan, behind Anthony's Key, where Shirkie met up with friends and had a beer while my friend and I (two 20 year old blonde girls) sat there VERY uncomfortably. After we finally got back on our way, my horse was evidently mad that we stopped and started galloping off. I was screaming and crying and asking for help while Shirkie paid no attention. My friend had to catch up with me and tell me how to regain control of the horse. Needless to say, I felt very unsafe for a majority of this ride.
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Chris497
We arrived at the ranch and met our guide, Chuckie. He was very friendly to our family. He was a little hard to understand at first but we quickly became accustomed to the accent. He had our horses out and waiting to be saddled. All the animals appeared healthy and well taken care of. After getting all four horses ready, he helped us to mount and made sure all of our tack was properly adjusted. Our group consisted of myself, my wife and my daughters, 18 and 9 years of age. I have ridden for years and my 9 year old has a bit of riding experience. My wife and 18 year old daughter have not had much exposure to horses. We started off on a gentle tour through a residential area and moved into an area by the ocean with wonderful views and great photo opportunities. We then moved through city streets and finally made it to the beach where we rode for a short distance on the beach and in the surf. The ride to the beach was pretty gentle and only once or twice did we do more than a gentle trot. At the end of the beach area we took a short break in the shade and had a chance to take more photos. We then mounted back up and started back toward the ranch on the same path from before. Anyone with knowledge of horses knows that when the horse knows it is headed back to the barn, they tend to speed up. We had to request several times that Chuckie slow down, as we were riding at far greater speeds than the ability level of my wife and older daughter. Several times we were all at a full gallop and I knew they were rather uncomfortable with their ability to stay on the horse. Overall, it was a great time and everyone had fun. It was worth the money and all of us would do the trip again if given the opportunity.
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smartymartyMinnesota
We enjoyed our horseback riding experience so much 3 years ago, that we signed up to do it again this past week when we were on another cruise ship that docked in Roatan. Roatan is so lush and feels much safer than nearby ports in Mexico and Belize. We love it there. We rode on the beach and up into the hills, then went swimming at West Bay. A great day! The price is really good and you see a lot of neat areas. Roosmarie and Shirkie do a good job.
