'Natural' challenge for riders

A new sand arena where riders can get to know their horses will add to the variety of equine experiences for visitors at River Valley Adventure Lodge and Stables.

The arena will be enclosed and ready for use by October, Nicola Megaw said.

She and daughter Janey run the horsey side of the River Valley business owned by the Megaw family trust. They and another staff member take about 900 people for a ride every year, in stunning hill country on the fringe of the Ruahine Range north of Taihape. They have up to 14 well trained horses ready to go.

The venture started in 2005, adding horseriding to the white water rafting adventures River Valley had available.

They offered two-hour and half-day rides for the less experienced, and one and two-day treks for experienced riders. One of the trips heads downriver from one lodge to another, with a total of six river crossings in the first day.

At the most basic level a person can get on a horse that is then led through the countryside for hours, Mrs Megaw said , but they can barely be said to be controlling the animal.

She wants to allow visitors to take riding a stage further and try "natural horsemanship" - riding with reins attached to a rope halter rather than a bit in the horse's mouth.

She's also a member of the international Cowboy Challenge, and finds or sets up obstacles for horse and rider to traverse.

The new arena will allow people to get to know their horse over hours or days, as well as riding it.

"Horses have feelings and thoughts. We try and bring that out so the spirit of the horse comes out.

"People need to know how to make that work to their advantage," she said.

River Valley's half-day Grade 5 white water rafting trip is one of the most popular of its kind in the world, owner Brian Megaw says.

White water rafting is the main adventure activity offered at the lodge nestled in a deep valley chiselled out by the Rangitikei River in the remote farming area of Pukeokahu.

The lodge also offers day and multi-day rafting trips, with one starting right up in the river's headwaters and ending at the lodge.

About 4000 people a year take the rafting trips.

A less popular option, also based at the lodge, is a guided day trip high up on to Aorangi Mountain to the west. It's a joint venture between River Valley and the Maori owners of the mountain, the Aorangi Awarua Trust.

Altogether the adventure business employs 10 people during winter, and 20 during summer. Its lodge can accommodate 80 people, with Kiwi Experience buses arriving on 200 days of the year.