You’re in for great scenery just about everywhere you go in Banff – and the view’s even more spectacular when you’re in the saddle.
But it can be a bit nerve-racking if you’re heading out on horseback for the very first time.
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That’s the situation Calgarian Volga Pannu found herself in this week.
“I’m scared that they’re going to run away. You know, you’re on a horse and they just go crazy. We don’t want that,” Pannu said with a laugh.
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It’s the kind of fear veteran wrangler Mike Beerwald deals with every day.
He and his team at the Banff Trail Riders stables regularly send out rookie riders from around the world.
“We get people from Europe, the Middle East, Thailand,” Beerwald said.
No matter where they’re from, the first-timers get paired up with easy-going equines.
And there’s one horse in particular Beerwald knows he can always count on.
“You’re the one that gets to ride the rock star,” Beerwald told Calgarian Preet Brar. “Cowboy is our celebrity horse here. He’s on the cover of all of our pamphlets, so this is the guy that everyone wants.
“He’s our supermodel. And you can’t deny he’s an incredibly good-looking horse.”
But Beerwald says Cowboy remains humble, with no spoiled-star attitude, describing him as “really easy-going.”
“He’s the kind of horse that you put someone that’s nervous to ride on, because he just takes good care of you.”
After a few minutes on the trail, Brar agreed.
“I’m not scared at all. It’s just me and my horse and this natural beauty.”
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