Being a Kentucky girl, a top priority was to go horseback riding on a beach while visiting Oahu in 2017. I did some googling and found the Hawaii Polo Trail Rides on the North Shore. I signed up for the Sunset Ride ($98 not including tip).

I thought the site was beautiful. As you might suspect, besides offering trail rides, they also have a polo club. Most of their trail horses are also athletes in the sport, and some are retired from polo.

Part of what made my trail ride so special was learning about how expensive it is to have horses in Hawaii. Horses and grains are not native to the island, so they are shipped over. Acquiring a horse and then caring for it are both costly. The guide told me that all the horses’ food is shipped over from the mainland.

The trail ride itself is what I imagined. Amazing scenery, cool breezes, and a magnificent sunset to bring the ride to an end. My horse was Hoagie, and he has my personal recommendation. He was a good boy, sweet, and obedient. The horse ahead of us, in the picture below, was also sweet, but always tempted by the grass and shrubbery. He made a couple snack stops along the way.

If you are an experienced rider and want something more fast paced, you can pay to trot/gallop a horse around their big polo field. They also offer sunshine rides and private rides. Mahalo!

 xo Rae xo