3 Otherworldy Equestrian Vacations

Is this real life? Is this just fantasy? Jenni Nguyen shares three horsey excursions she’d like to take despite the fact that the destinations may not actually exist.

From Jenni:

Raise your hand if you dream of taking an amazing equestrian vacation one day!

Um… well, you can’t see me but I’m raising my hand and I’ll just assume you’re doing the same. I think many of us have an equestrian “bucket list” of sorts and more than likely, somewhere on the list is the desire to take a vacation of the equine kind. I know I would certainly love to take a trip to Ireland and go bounding across the emerald green fields, especially with all these fox hunting videos popping up everywhere! New Zealand is another place I would love to explore on horseback one day. But what if you could take the equestrian vacation of your wildest fantasies? I’m not talking 50 Shades of Grey fantasies (let’s not go there), but I mean places that only exist on pages or in film. I mean, how cool would that be? If these places were real, here’s where I’d be booking flights to in a jiffy:

MIDDLE-EARTH

Couldn’t you just imagine hacking through picturesque Hobbiton? Or perhaps a gallop through the fields of Gondor suits your fancy? At any rate, I think Middle-Earth would be my number one choice for an equestrian vacation, with a variety of gorgeous landscapes to choose from. Except for Mordor… yeah, we’ll stay away from there. If I could visit Middle-Earth on horseback, I think my first stop would be Rohan. I mean, hello?! It’s the home of the freaking horse lords! Just look at their helmets!

[Council of Elrond]

If that’s not totally bada$$, I don’t know what is. And don’t forget about Shadowfax, the shining Fabio of a horse who also happens to be the lord of all horses. I’d have to pay him a visit, too. Maybe his royal horseyness could tell me the secret to that gorgeous mane!

My one request to rule them all: Can Aragorn be my tour guide? Please?

WESTEROS/ESSOS

I was only recently introduced to the vast world of Game of Thrones and while marathoning through the whole show, all I could look at was the scenery and… the ponies. There’s certainly plenty of them in the show, especially among the Dothraki tribe, the fearsome riding warriors. They seem to take their horses pretty seriously, with some awesome horse statues adorning the entrance to their village, their use of horse terminology to describe random things and even (gulp) eating horse hearts. While I would probably stay away from that last little detail, something tells me that riding alongside the Dothraki would be pretty dang exciting!

Going on a ride through the Seven Kingdoms would no doubt be exhilarating! Perhaps a stop by Winterfell to visit House Stark would be in order. Or a ride to King’s Landing to take in the city views. No throwing horse patties at King Joffrey, though!

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER

No, not the theme park in Florida. I’m talking about Hogwarts castle and the surrounding areas. It looks so idyllic and like the perfect place for some exciting horsey adventures! There’s the charming town of Hogsmeade and, for the more adventurous equestrian, maybe a trail ride through the Forbidden Forest. Only problem is that there don’t seem to be that many horses around hoggy Hogwarts. At least not any real ones. The only horse-like creatures in the area seem to be Hippogriffs and Thestrals. Both look totally awesome and like lots of fun if you would enjoy taking your riding to new heights. Literally!

I have to admit Thestrals look a little creepy, and technically there is that tiny detail that only people who have seen death can see them. But hey, seems like that’s as close as you’re going to get at Hogwarts.

So, yes I know. None of these places are real. But hey, a girl can dream, right? Don’t even try to tell me that you don’t watch fictional movies with horses in them and secretly wish you could jump through the screen. Come on, I know I’m not the only nerdy equestrian in the house! Technically, one could just go to the filming locations of these places but something tells me it wouldn’t be anywhere near as amazing without the element of fantasy involved, knowest thou what I mean?

Go Riding.

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