That is a beautiful part of the country. I've always wanted to ride that area....
Zion does have horseback riding inside the park. It is run by an outside contractor. They will supply the horses and hire a staff to take out the rides and manage the horses. At Rocky Mountain NP, Sombrero Ranch runs the stables as well as provide the horses to multiple camps, parks and outfitters all over the west. I know they don't run Zion but it's a name. Pretty much every lodge, dude ranch and camp ground will have guided trail rides (no rent-a-horse self riding because of insurance liability)and some will have dinner rides or drives. Usually you must be 18 (insurance) and ability to ride is not a prerequisite. Enthusiasm, attention to detail, easy going, comfortable with crowds and willing to work hard and long hours are 10x more valuable. They will have very talented wranglers who work for them year round who do the bulk of the heavy lifting. The summer hires do most of the grunt work and are the official drag riders.
Spend some time looking for places online. Check them out on FB, Twitter... those will give you a better feel of how things are run. Treat grand pa to a trail ride if all else fails and line up some work for next summer.
Zion does have horseback riding inside the park. It is run by an outside contractor. They will supply the horses and hire a staff to take out the rides and manage the horses. At Rocky Mountain NP, Sombrero Ranch runs the stables as well as provide the horses to multiple camps, parks and outfitters all over the west. I know they don't run Zion but it's a name. Pretty much every lodge, dude ranch and camp ground will have guided trail rides (no rent-a-horse self riding because of insurance liability)and some will have dinner rides or drives. Usually you must be 18 (insurance) and ability to ride is not a prerequisite. Enthusiasm, attention to detail, easy going, comfortable with crowds and willing to work hard and long hours are 10x more valuable. They will have very talented wranglers who work for them year round who do the bulk of the heavy lifting. The summer hires do most of the grunt work and are the official drag riders.
Spend some time looking for places online. Check them out on FB, Twitter... those will give you a better feel of how things are run. Treat grand pa to a trail ride if all else fails and line up some work for next summer.
