Horseback riding

[enchic21]

Has anyone done the 2 hour horseback riding excursion with Bayside? During the swimming part, is it true that the horses use the bathroom in the water?

[Lofty]

I did the 2 hour trip last year and enjoyed it. The horses walk through the water only for a few minutesm just long enough for the leader to take a photo for you with your camera if you wish. The ride is pleasant and there is no trotting or galloping, just a slow pace.

[mwebb]

Took the 2 hour afternoon Beachride scheduled for 200 p.m. on April 7th, 2006 with myself & 2 teenage kids $70@. plus tip. The ride was great and I felt well worth the cost.

 

However, 3 other individuals had scheduled with Bayside & joined the ride. You are supposed to arrive about a half hour before your scheduled ride time. They arrived late thus delaying the start of our ride. Since we had to get back to our cruise ship (had allowed an hour to get back from Bayside to Port) it was a real concern for us getting back on time. The ride itself was primaraly through trails along the beach and in some areas a nice view of the beach. some areas were heavily littered and this was disappointing that other people would leave cans bottles & picnic debris behind.

 

The ride ended with our guide leading 2 horses at a time into the water about shoulder high for about 10-15 minutes. You can then coax your horse to walk in the water. Occasionally they may stop and I suspect they may have been urinating (not really an issue- and didn't particularly notice this).

While you are in the water, you or your guide can take pictures. You may want to take a disposable waterproof camera for this reason.

As a horseperson I would highly recommend this stable for a pleasure ride.

[Hallesmom]

Is there a website for this place? I am guessing this is an excursion you booked on your own - not through the cruiseline?

 

Thank you!

 

Edited to add I found it finally. Thank you! Looks fantastic!

[sford75]

I just got back this morning and I will post my complete story sometime tomorrow, but we had a bad experience with Bayside. Despite arriving on time and having made reservations 1 month in advance, they did not have enough horses for us. They had our reservation written down, but somehow, not enough horses. They said we could come back at 2:00pm (it was 9:00am at this point) and ride then. So we wasted $40 in taxi fares, not to mention an hour and a half to not go horseback riding. Our taxi driver on the way back said that this happens all the time. Just consider yourself forewarned.

[Hallesmom]

Wow! Thanks for the warning. I hadn't read any threads with this in it yet. Now I am not so sure I want to give this a try?

[PSCruiser]

Yes, thanks for the warning. I want to surprise my DW and grandaughter with a ride, and was thinking about Bayside. I had decided to try to get off the ship, rent a car, and still make a 9AM ride, instead of any worries about getting back on time from a 2PM ride. I know there is another stable called Lucky Stables on the Dutch side. Anybody know about this one? Also, can't seem to pinpoint their location on a map, so if you know the exact location?

[Hallesmom]

I think I read that Lucky Stables is the one the cruise line uses, but you don't get to ride on the beach you ride through the oil fields? Don't quote me, that is just what I think I read.

[gtaylor]

Until reading the post above, I've heard nothing but good things about Bayside Riding Club. It will be interesting to read the promised follow up post by sford75.

 

As far as Lucky Stables, it is not located in an oil field, but to get to the beach you have to ride through a commercial/residential/industrial area.

 

Lucky is in Cole Bay, coordinates J-6 on this map, and our friend kal has a photo posted on one of his pages showing the location in relation to the beach.

 

gary

 

p.s. For the Original Poster, we have seen, on several occasions, horses relieving themselves in the water and along the beach, including along the heart of Club Orient's beach. And I'm not talking about pee.

[PSCruiser]

Gary - thanks for the location info on Lucky, I had been unable to find it.

A question about time. In August, will St. martin be 1 hour off from ship time? I thought the Bayside ride from 2-4PM might be pushing it to get a rental car gassed and back by 5PM, but if the ride is really 1-3PM ship time, no problem. Also, will a 2PM ride be scorchingly hot in August?

[Hallesmom]

Thanks for the information Gary! That is a big help. I think we are going to book with Bayside if it looks like we can make it both ways with plenty of time to spare.

[KENN101]

St Maarten is on Atlantic Standard Time. The ship will be on Eastern Daylight Time. In August , they will both be the same.

Ken

[where next?]

I'd like to spend part of our day with eight people (4 adults and 4 kids ages 9-15) at Galion Beach, let the ones who want to ride book with Bayside, others go to the Butterfly Museum and then finish with letting the kids get shopping out of their systems in Philipsburg. We'll be on the Crown Princess, just in St. Martin for the day.

 

It sounds to me like the horses, butterfly farm and beach are all within walking distance. Is that true?

 

Also I've read about the horses using the ocean as a bathroom! Is it on Galion Beach where the chair/kayak rentals are or in a different spot? This beach sounds so well regarded that I imagine the horses are in an isolated part of the beach?

 

Will this beach be boring for the older kids? I'm hoping that they can rent a jet ski but am opting for this beach over Orient since some of the kids are young and I don't want them to see nude bathers!

 

I'd appreciate any info anyone has!!

 

Thanks,

Bobbie

[Jason's Storm]

St Maarten is on Atlantic Standard Time. The ship will be on Eastern Daylight Time. In August , they will both be the same.

Ken

Yes, it is different from fall to early spring.

 

~JS

[jenjens1023]

Bayside and the Butterfly Farm are next door to each other. I'm not sure how far it is to the beach. My DD did the two hour ride in April and really liked it. There were only three on the ride and they spent a fair amount of time in the water. We were very happy with the service.

 

A word about weight though. These are smaller horses than most Americans are used to seeing, and can't handle heavier weights. On my DD's trip one of the riders weighed 190 and could be accommodated. Her DH weighed 220 and couldn't ride because their one and only horse capable of carrying a 200+ rider was out of commission. They are very strict about the weight thing.

 

As far as the nudity on the beach, my DD said "Yuck!" They were not beautiful Baywatch-type bodies, they were 40-somethings whose bodies had discovered the laws of gravity!!

 

Concerning your question about getting to the ship by 5:00: If that's when the ship actually leaves, I wouldn't do the 2-4 ride. It took us a good 45 minutes to get from Bayside to town. It probably would have eaten up the other 15 minutes if we'd taken the cab all the way back to the port.

 

We arranged for the same cab that took us to Bayside to pick us up after the ride. The stable is down a side road and cabs don't come down there unless needed. He was a nice man and a great driver and didn't charge us until our return trip!

[Jason's Storm]

The stable is down a side road and cabs don't come down there unless needed.

Reason is, that the roads are horrible there.

 

~JS

[gtaylor]

Real reason is that there is very little taxi business from Butterfly Farm, Bayside Stables or Galion Beach, so the taxis don't go there unless called or prior arrangements have been made. Same as most other out-of-the-way destinations on the island.

 

The good news is that they are only a few minutes away from Orient, and most every business knows some taxi drivers that they can call for a pickup.

 

Not a problem.

[enchic21]

We did the 2 hour ride at 9am and got there a bit early. Took about 20 minutes from port to Bayside. The guides were wonderful and made the ride very enjoyable. The sights that you see during the ride is absolutely breathtaking. One thing I have to mention is that, if you are have never ridden a horse before, it takes some getting used to. It was my first time, and there were times I was scared the horse was going to take me on some joy ride and throw me on the ground. You really have to know how to control the horse so that it doesn't go on its own route.

 

Overall, I'd have to say that it was a different experience. I had a good time, but I wouldn't do it again. To me, this is something that you do once and it's enough. But that's just my opinion.

[where next?]

Thank you very much for the helpful information. We're thinking about riding in St. Lucia instead of St. Martin, since St. Martin will be our last day on a very port intensive cruise. We're traveling with our kids and they asked if we could plan NOTHING for St. Martin and see how we're feeling once we get there.

 

I couldn't argue with reason!! Vacations are supposed to be relaxing......and the 10-year old had to figure this out!!!!!