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Equitrekking Travel - A New Equine Travel Site
Local guide Fernando Garcia and Equitrekking host Darley Newman canter on the beaches of Donana National Park in Southern Spain. Beach riding is part of the Spain vacation packages featured on EquitrekkingTravel.com
On this cold winter day, we thought we would start this issue of Equine Niagara News off with some warm thoughts of warm-weather riding on the beaches of Spain. Just one of the adventures you can find for horse-back riding at EquitrekkingTravel.
Equitrekking, the Emmy Award- Winning Public TV series that is broadcast to tens of millions of viewers on PBS and international networks, announces the launch of Equitrekking Travel [www.EquitrekkingTravel.com]. This new enterprise will allow individuals and groups to enjoy in person the horse riding vacations they could previously only see on the popular Equitrekking television series.
The riding vacations will take place at featured locations and many will be led by the same guides who have appeared on Equitrekking's programs.
The Equitrekking series is the first televised travel series to explore the world on horseback. Host Darley Newman travels off the beaten path, riding horses with local people to get an in-depth look at an area's natural surroundings, culture and history. Viewers, after watching these riding vacations in televised form during the last four seasons, have repeatedly asked how and where they might have the same equestrian experience. Thus, Darley decided to launch Equitrekking Travel as a forum through which viewers and their friends can also enjoy Darley's favorite equestrian trips, vacations that include horse riding with local guides as well as other activities featured on Equitrekking.
As Darley has often said, "when you explore a place on horseback, you ride with local people who can show you the best of their area. This is my favorite way to travel. I learn tons of things that aren't found in any guidebook."
Now viewers of Equitrekking who have dreamed of riding horses in locations where Equitrekking has gone will be able to actually experience what they have seen on the show. Darley has handpicked the sites that have been selected so far for Equitrekking Travel, because they offer accessible vacations that accommodate travelers with varying budgets and riding skills, including beginners and their non-riding companions. Horseback riding is an exciting, eco-friendly way to see the world and traveling with a local guide makes these journeys very special.
Riders may participate in unique adventures like riding with the Bedouin in the desert in Jordan, cattle round-ups at a working ranch in New Mexico, cross country training in Ireland, a pack trip in the Canadian Rockies or Alaska, natural horsemanship at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, trail riding America’s National Parks in Utah and more. These new travel offerings include visiting magical Petra, exclusive access to Jordan’s Royal Stables, sightseeing in bustling Istanbul, fly-fishing in Wyoming, golf at Mount Juliet and castle tours in Ireland and Wales.
“I, like many Americans, own a small business, have family obligations and work a lot, so I know how important it is to have a good vacation when you have limited time,” said Darley. “I really worked to include riding vacations that encompass diverse, full travel experiences and allow those who wish it, some respite from the trappings of modern life. Some trips include city stops in Montevideo or Amman, so if you travel all the way to Uruguay or Jordan, you can ride at an estancia with working gauchos or in the desert with the Bedouin, as well as visit the major sights. On some of my chosen wilderness and ranch adventures, you can leave your cell phone behind -- because it won’t work anyway -- and so really get away from it all for a few days or a week.”
The original, first-hand travel blogs, photographs and video from the best of the 35 Equitrekking episodes on EquitrekkingTravel.com, along with in-depth trip itineraries allow travelers to learn about where they are going before they get there. In the coming weeks, the EquitrekkingTravel.com site will be enhanced with a Trip Finder that will make searches for vacations based on dates, riding skill level and location even easier.
Trips featured on EquitrekkingTravel.com can be booked by Equitrekking Travel’s preferred provider of travel services, Julie Snyder. Julie is an award winning "Virtuoso Travel Agent" as well as an experienced, enthusiastic equestrian. Julie can arrange all aspects of the vacation, including airfare, rental car, additional vacation days in cities and activities for companions who do not ride.
“I’ve been specializing in active travel for over twenty years and know the importance of personalized customer service,” said Julie. “I’ll use my experience as a travel agent and equestrian to match each individual or group with a vacation to suite their budget, skills and dreams.”
Continually updated, the Equitrekking Travel Deals page features Last Minute Deals on equestrian vacations, Special Events that include access to high profile equestrian competitions at Spruce Meadows and the annual Calgary Stampede. EquitrekkingTravel.com Deal’s also feature Special Departures to train with an Olympic Dressage Rider in Spain or ride America’s National Parks in Utah. The Best Picks section of the website further categorizes trips to help visitors narrow their search. The Equitrekking monthly newsletter features these special deals, along with travel articles and vacation updates. Darley’s Blog on EquitrekkingTravel.com highlights helpful tips on how to pack and prepare for an equestrian vacation, based on Darley’s expertise in riding the world.
For more information, visit EquitrekkingTravel.com.
About EquitrekkingTravel.com
Founded by Darley Newman, an equestrian travel expert and the host and creator of the Emmy winning Equitrekking Public Television series, EquitrekkingTravel.com features exceptional horseback riding vacations.
Visitors may watch video clips, view photographs and get first hand accounts of riding with the local guides in each destination as they dream, plan and learn on the website, which features detailed itineraries and dates for upcoming departures. Julie Snyder, Equitrekking Travel’s preferred provider of travel services, an equestrian and award winning Virtuoso travel agent with over twenty years experience in active travel, works personally with each traveler to match them with a vacation and facilitate other aspects of the trip, like airfare, additional activities, sightseeing and more. Visit www.EquitrekkingTravel.com.
About Equitrekking and Darley Newman Equitrekking is the Emmy Award-Winning PBS equestrian travel series that takes viewers on global horseback riding and travel adventures. Hosted by equestrian travel expert and journalist Darley Newman, Equitrekking broadcasts in high definition on PBS in North America and on international networks in Italy, Turkey, France, Japan, Russia and beyond. The series current 26 half hour episodes feature Belize, Costa Rica, Southern Quebec, Vermont, the Carolinas, the Georgia Coast, Wyoming, Colorado, Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Hawaii's Big Island, Maui, Virginia Hunt Country, California Wine Country, Alaska, Wales, Scotland, Southern Spain, Quebec City & Beyond and Central Turkey. The crew is currently producing a new season in Uruguay, Alberta, Turkey, Jordan and beyond. The show’s companion website, Equitrekking.com, is a one-stop site for equestrian travel featuring video clips, the Equitrekking Travel Guide, expert tips, travel articles, Darley’s blog, photos and a monthly e-newsletter.
Equitrekking was awarded a Daytime Emmy in 2009 for Outstanding Single Camera Photography and nominated for Outstanding Special Class Series.
The North American Travel Journalist Association awarded Equitrekking Best Travel Broadcast for 2008. Equitrekking’s companion book Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback, published by Chronicle Books, received the Merit Award for Best Travel Book 2008 from the North American Travel Journalist Association (NATJA). In addition to Equitrekking, Darley writes for Practical Horseman and True West magazines, Equisearch.com, is the author of the Equitrekking: Travel Adventures on Horseback book and speaks frequently at events. Darley and Equitrekking have been featured in the Washington Post, Ralph Lauren magazine, New York Times, and the book How’d You Score That Gig, a look at the coolest careers for tweny and thirty-something’s, published by Ballantine Books/Random House. Visit www.equitrekking.com
