A father's gift to ride New Zealand on horseback

Starting our horse trek near the foot of the great mountain Ruapehu was not only symbolic but liberating. Together with my four sons aged from 12 to 25 years old, the excitement of riding together was both exhilarating and a complete leveler. We talked as we rode through a constantly changing landscape which, contrasted from the serene to dramatic, amazed by what we saw from the upper reaches of the mountain ranges capped with snow, down through the ferns of native bush land to then find ourselves swimming the horses through the fresh blue waters of the river. Pinching ourselves we restore consciousness of the fact this is nature and we are actually in the wilderness on horseback. This journey made us more aware about value of taking the time to notice what’s around us. To look out for each other as we balanced our weight and confidences, and to further our appreciation about the magnificence of these incredible landscapes in New Zealand. Put simply, this was an experience of a lifetime with my family of boys and these are Horsemtrails indeed.