At Loose Reins, an American-style ranch, the “wild west” means Dorset. Before visiting, I’d fretted about being miscast as a cowgirl (I’m a regular rider but couldn’t hope to lasso even the statue of a cow) and my husband (an irregular rider) struggling to play John Wayne. But this place is run by Marc and Michelle Gibbs, who know their quarter horses and don’t require western riding expertise from their guests (although their ranch will make western aficionados cheer).
They have planned their plucky venture with love, stylishness and a meticulous eye for detail. No one visiting their immaculate ranch would suspect horses of being anything other than spotless creatures.
There are six cedar-wood cabins (each distinctively designed) sleeping four or six within a coombe in the Blackmore Vale, north Dorset, surrounded by beech woods, limestone and the oldest yew trees in Europe.
The Gibbs have 20 acres and about half a dozen horses, though guests aren’t obliged to ride at all, and non-riding families might love the cowboy-style setup. The enterprise is intended to remain small-scale, unlike with their previous venture as mushroom farmers, where they would turn over more than 50 tonnes a week, many of them sold to Tesco.
On the first evening, sitting in upholstered rocking chairs (for the softer-bottomed cowboy) on the wooden veranda of our cabin, named Ranchers, we saw a colossal rainbow bracketing the view over the stable block, neatly fenced fields and Hambledon hill.
Inside it is a poppet of a cabin. The ceiling is curved, the floorboards are broad, there is a wood-burning stove and a pleasant smell of resin. There are glass lights with shades like flouncy petticoats. There’s the gentle ticking of a clock and wood pigeons outside the window. Convenience food can be bought on site – our one-pot lamb tagine, eaten at the tiny candlelit table, hit the spot. There is a little enamel pail that announces WASH UP in capital letters but it seems more like a hint than an order.
The bed is high (I love a high bed – it rises above trouble) with a gorgeous patchwork quilt of pale, coffee-coloured stars. It looks wonderfully authentic, as if an American quilter had donated it. Naturally, as it is a cabin, there is not much space and I found myself tempted to climb into bed in the interests of tidiness. My husband stowed his Panama alongside a shelf of board games for a rainy day that never arrived.
Under a bright blue sky, we set out on the all-day, 10-mile Pioneering Trail, which includes lunch in the woods at the Living Classroom, a sheltered shrine to the art of coppicing.
We were given brief, clear instructions about how to ride western style (much easier than English riding, and designed for long hours in the saddle) and to potter about experimentally before setting forth. The aim is that we be easy riders – the secret to western riding is relaxation: long rein, long stirrups and a light touch. It’s not for speed fanatics; we never went faster than walking pace. But it is perfect for rusty riders, those wanting to learn western riding, or anyone who just wants to relax. (Shorter rides, lessons and even some lassoing tuition are also offered.)
Martina, our Czech guide, was a great teacher. And Dorset is fabulous riding country. We rode up Shillingstone Hill, with a view to the Purbecks and back along common land so old it appears in the Domesday book, and along the Wessex Ridgeway. The horses, all rump and muscle, ambled virtuously along, their decorative saddles as comfortable as the rocking chairs on our porch.It was fantastic to see Martina’s horsewomanship – a corrective to anyone who thinks that western riding is sloppy.
Cabin fever? No chance. I will remember the opposite: unwinding in the Dorset countryside on a long, loose rein.
• The trip was provided by Canopy & Stars (0117 204 7830, canopyandstars.co.uk/loosereins) . Four-berth cabins from £101 a night, six-berth from £149, minimum three-night stay. One-hour lessons from £48pp, two hours from £75, all-day Pioneer Trail, including lunch and refreshments, is £165pp; riders must be at least 5ft tall and aged over 12
