Jim Balzotti's Best Guest Ranches and Horseback Riding Vacations [Paperback]

Jim Balzotti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000

Over 180 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Ireland that provide unique and exciting vacation adventures for individuals and families geared toward the outdoors and, in particular, horseback riding. The book includes detailed descriptions of facilities, activities, costs, etc. for guest ranches, romantic country inns, fox hunts, cattle drives, pack trips, fishing locations, and more. Contains a full color photo section in addtion to black and white photographs. Also includes interesting information on horse care, favorite recipes from contributing ranches, cartoons and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Balzotti grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Boston. His fascination with horses began when he was a young teenager and had his first opportunity to ride these magnificent animals. After graduating from Amherst College and moving to the "suburbs", he bought the first of many horses he rides for his own pleasure. While transporting his horses from Massachusetts to his ranch in Arizona, he discovered that stopping at a motel for the night was fine for him but the horses needed to come off the trailer for rest and exercise too. Finding suitable stables, convenient to major highways, became a quest and ended in the publication of the first U.S. Stabling Guide in 1994. While marketing that book, Jim was often asked if he had discovered great places to ride horses in his travels across the country. He had and decided to provide detailed information about these great places in a new book: Jim Balzotti's Best Guest Ranches and Horseback Riding Vacations was created in 1996. Jim has written articles for Western Horseman, The Pet Gazette and has been featured in an article in The Boston Globe. Jim also offers customized travel recommendations and arrangements for the best vacation of your life. You can call him at the toll-free number, email him or through his interactive website.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Balzotti Publications; 2nd edition (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965527816
• ISBN-13: 978-0965527811
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough - could be more critical, February 12, 2002

By 

J. Wynne (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jim Balzotti's Best Guest Ranches and Horseback Riding Vacations (Paperback)

Overall, I have found the book very helpful - it covers a vast range of guest ranches across the US. Lots of fun to read and plan the next trip - great photos.

The descriptions are generally complete and describe the key points about the accomodations, dining, and activities. However, they tend to read as if they were authored by the owners of the ranches - there are very few, if any, critical comments that might be helpful to guide the reader in their selection (quality of the horses, the accomodations, etc.). Although almost all of these facilities offer horseback rides for the beginning rider, I would like to see more explanation (where applicable) of the rides offered to the more experienced rider who may be looking for something more than the typical nose-to-tail trail ride.

But overall this is a very nice book and a greating starting point for researching a horseback vacation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Bother, June 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jim Balzotti's Custom Ranch Vacations (Paperback)

I was disappointed in this book and it did not meet my expectations after reading the previous reviews and the details about the book. It did not provide any helpful information in my opinion and for those looking for similar material, I would highly suggest the book by Gene Kilgore.