sentinel rock horseback adventures

During our round trip through the American Southwest, we stumbles across Sara and Mike's Sentinel Rock Horseback Adventures. Riding with them was an amazing experience. After arriving, Sara and Mike introduced us to our apparently gentle and well trained horses. As both of us only had little or no experience in riding, Sara took the time to teach us the basics in the round pen. Both our horses, Kaddi and Kahlua, were amazing. After the lesson, Sara and Mike took us out in the Grand Staircase Escalante-National Monument. Our horses led us safely through the beautiful scenery of the monument. We took narrow trails through the fields and up and down dry creek beds with the local wildlife (mainly gophers and jackrabbits) routinely accompanying us. Unfortunately, no antelopes were in sight, but we loved it nevertheless. The ride itself lasted about two-and-a-half hours. Along the way Sara and Mike made sure to provide us with drinking water and took plenty of picture of us riding.After returning to the ranch, we were allowed to treat the horses. Kaddi and Kahlua both were willing to shake hands/hooves with us. Maybe Sara will show you also what horses do when speaking of "foot". Afterwards we were allowed to help feed the horses, hose them down and lead them back to their paddock.Sara and Mike were quite patient and wonderfully friendly people. Overall, the ride was a great and very personal experience. It made you feel like you were out riding with friends.

Sara and Mike took our group of novices (six) out for a 3 hour ride and in hindsight I don't know how they managed it (but they did, brilliantly). Training-up and preparing that many beginners is not easy or ideal but we are eternally grateful to Sara and Mike for going the extra mile and doing it because we had no other option. We had a real mixed bag in our group: the horses were utterly dependable, but six novice riders is what really starts consuming attention but Sara and Mike are very attentive in matching the right horse to a specific rider. If you have a large group, my advice is to keep numbers low (split days if you have to) so that you have two or three max on a ride. Possibly not so much of a problem if there are experienced riders present, but keeping numbers low makes for a more intimate experience.Personally I have a love-fear relationship with horses because although I love been around them I've been bitten in the past and had a few close shaves. There is absolutely NO fear of that with Sara and Mike's horses. Many animals can sense human apprehension, but none of those beauties took any advantage of that. I have never felt so safe and at ease around horses, so if I can do it, anyone can. A three hour ride is too short to form a 'bond' with a horse but my mount (Maverick) and I developed an understanding of each other and he was very forgiving of any of my shortcomings as a rider. Six novice riders and nothing but smiles at the end of three hours - says it all really. The scenery is stunning but the main attraction for me was always going to be the horses themselves. And what happy, good natured, stunningly beautiful individuals they are. This is no nose-to-tail tourist on horseback caravan job; I could listen to Sara and Mike for hours talking about their four-legged friends (which they do with a passion). I was utterly fascinated by the group interaction between all the horses and it's every bit as complex as human relationships (if not more so!).One of the highlights of my two week holiday was sitting on my four-legged companion at the top of a high ridge and looking off into the distance across a valley toward the not-so-distant heights of the Escalante. It's one of those moments when you become unaware of anything else around you including the reality of your usual day-to-day existence. Timeless, perfect. Mental snapshot taken and stored in the memory bank forever. I'll use it every time I find myself somewhere I'd rather not be. Thank you so much.

My husband and I spent an afternoon with Sara & Mike. They were both wonderful, took the time to make sure we were comfortable on the horses, we LOVED the fact that it was just the two us, instead of being a nameless face in a crowd. Of all the activities we participated in on our visit, this topped the list! I highly recommend Sentinel Rock Horseback Adventures!

We can't thank Sara and Mike enough for the wonderful experience we had with them this summer. I was especially grateful to Sara for walking next to my seven-year-old while he rode so that we could share this experience as a family. As the other reviewers have said, this is not a typical trail ride; it was so much better! They had extra water available for us, but make sure to bring some with you especially if you are not a desert-dweller. We have little riding experience, and they handled our inexperience kindly and thoroughly. Advanced riders would enjoy riding with Sara and Mike as well. We highly recommend riding with Sara and Mike!

Absolutely love this adventure and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves riding/horses. This is not a typical tail to nose trail ride where you are bored and the horses are bored. Sara took the time in the beginning to do some quick lessons before heading out on the ride so we would both feel comfortable with our chosen horses. Both Mike and Sara were very nice and knowledgeable on the area and we had many great conversations! We also loved how much care and dedication they had for their horses – they did not look like tired old trail horses. The horses were very well trained and didn’t want to rush back home or race each other when we were cantering/trotting. We are looking forward to going back again next year!

Our family of three cancelled a nose to tail ride at Zion to ride with Sara and Mike while the family we were traveling with rafted in Page. Sara and Mike were super personable, and we enjoyed getting to know them throughout the morning. Our daughter has riding experience, so they generously both went out on the two hour ride so that Sara could do some trotting with our daughter while my wife and I simply rode our horses at a walking pace with Mike, though we traveled as a group. We each got an individual lesson/refresher on a horse chosen specifically for our size and experience, and the two hour ride started after all that. They know each horse's personality, even making an adjustment mid-ride as my horse was taking advantage of my inexperience, which Sara sensed would leave me frustrated. This is no green rolling hills ride of course, but there was variety and beauty typical of the area. We saw an antelope and her youngster and lots of jackrabbits. Great fun, and delightful folks. To our happy surprise they took photos and video on their camera that they offered to email to us. That kind of personal touch doesn't happen often, particularly without some added charge. We can't speak highly enough of Sara and Mike and our experience.

Me and my boyfriend were looking for a nice place to ride horses. We considered to ride at Bryce Canyon or even the Grand Canyon, but with all companies it seemed they only offered tours where the horses would just walk and there would be no challenge for us at all. But then we found Sentinel Rock and it was a great experience! Sara adjusts every ride and horse to every individual. She never rides the same trail so the horses won't get bored and go in automatic mode. That meant that we could ride ourselves on horses that suited our expectations and experience. Although the landscape wasn't really as spectacular as said, Sara told us great stories about the surroundings and her own life. After two hours we were very fulfilled and glad that we went riding with Sentinel Rock. It may cost a little more than the other companies, but it is totally worth it!

My girlfriend and I took my parents for a ~3 hour ride with Sarah and Mike and had a great time! The area is beautiful, and their location is easily accessible from Page or Kanab. Sara has a relationship with each horse and was able to select horses to specifically fit the level of each of our riders. We all had a great time!

Sarah has the best horses. This is no nose to nose trail ride. We had not been on horses in a long time and Sarah made us very comfortable. The horses are so well trained and Sarah let us do what we wanted with the horses. The scenery is beautiful and the ride was about 3 hours long. It was definitely worth the 30 min drive from Kanab.

We are a family of 3 utter novices when it comes to horses. But our 6 year old daughter was very keen to do a trail ride - and of course she is too young to do so. Sara was so accommodating that she took us on a 2-hour simple trail ride and she walked on foot with our daughter the whole way, allowing her to ride for herself the last half mile or so. Our daughter was then taught how to brush her horse Bandito after her ride and allowed to give him a special treat too. My wife and I could amble along at our own pace on our horses. These horses are gorgeous, healthy specimens and trained professionally to respond to each rider's capabilities. We had a very special morning here.

There is so much I could say about our trail ride experience with Mike and Sara at Sentinel Rock, but I will try to keep this short. I arrived at the trail site eager but apprehensive and left feeling happy and way more confident. The reason for this is that Sara trained ME before I ever got onto my horse or out on the trail. She instructed, demonstrated, and then let me practice in the ring before setting off on our ride. I would never have believed I could be so comfortable on the back of a horse, especially while going up, down, and all around a shallow canyon. We chose to do the 2.5 hour ride, which was long enough to see a lot of the canyon area and not feel rushed. In a word, our experience was fantastic. Mike and Sara run a high-quality operation, and I highly recommend them to you.

The ride was excellent. We were 3 absolute beginners from Switzerland. Sara gave us a very good introduction with a short 'on the job' training. We have seen, that Sara has a very good relationship with her horses, so it was no problem for us to enjoy the ride. We all recommend Sentinel!

My friend and I visited page too and did the 2,5 h ride with Sara and Mike. Great, well-kept horses, beautiful landscape and very very friendly riding guides :) They tailer the ride to your experience level, so we could do a wonderful gallop! They also picked up water for us and took many nice pictures which they sent us by email. After the ride sara even showed us her amazing stallion: wow!!! So we highly recommend taking a ride with Mike and Sara!

My husband and I recently visited page and went for a half day ride with Sara and mike of sentinel rock. We had a great ride thought the beautiful scenery, Sara and mike were friendly and professional and the horses were wonderful, so well trained and responsive. We would highly recommend sentinel to anyone wanting a horse ride in this area.

My wife and I did the half day ride with Mike and Sara. We had a blast. They made sure we knew what we were doing and we were comfortable with our horses. Beautiful ride with great views. We highly recommend taking a ride with Mike and Sara.