Western / Reining in California

California may be the only state where a rider can choose between redwood forest, ocean beach, alpine wilderness, and open desert without crossing a border. The Sierra Nevada, the Central Valley, the Pacific coastline, and the Southern California deserts each carry their own riding: redwood trails near Eureka, beach gallops in Santa Barbara County, hard desert country in Anza-Borrego. The regions run on different seasonal clocks, which means somewhere in the state, the riding is always good.

The industry is as big as the geography. Guest ranches run everything from working cattle drives to luxury resort stays. Trail-riding stables concentrate where the visitors do: around Yosemite National Park, in the Santa Monica Mountains outside Los Angeles, through the Sonoma and Napa wine country. Riding academies serve every level of rider, with deep rosters in Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Orange and San Diego Counties, teaching English and Western disciplines side by side.