Trail riding in Mexico’s Guadalupe Valley

Hidden in a tender valley only 20 minutes from the crowds flocking to Baja’s ‘Ruta del vino’ wineries, is the Guest Ranch of La Bellota. The sight is a wonder after a 20-minute, bouncy ride along a dirt road. There are three gates that have to be manually opened. They deter unwanted visitors and keep the horses, cattle and sheep on the 2,800 acres that are tended by Raul Aguiar and Caroline Kane.

On the afternoon I arrived, the last guests, a group of botanists doing research, had just left. Family and friends remained and before long, we were swapping stories over a BBQ dinner of chicken and fish. The ranch is a labor of love for Raul and Caroline, both of whom have horse-tending in their blood.

I was a bit nervous about climbing back up a horse after a childhood run-away once raced me back to the stable then wedged me between his back and a beam until I was rescued. But the gentle beast they set me up with was named after Don Quixote’s fictional steed, Rocinante, and it seemed a good omen.

There are two things to know about a horse, Raul told me: Is the horse willing? Is he brave? In a few brief hours of trail riding over the steep hills above the ranch, I found out that Rocinante was both.

After breakfast I followed Caroline out to her ‘National Park,' a circle of tall oaks where Adirondack-style chairs made by Raul and her son Ricky, ringed a firepit. We enjoyed a few minutes of quiet before Ricky and two friends in chaps rode up to say they were going to get our horses. It was a scene out of a cowboy drama and I should’ve been wearing a long gingham dress.

Soon they had culled our horses from the 20 that run wild over the ranch, fattened by wild grasses in the spring and summer, fed by oats in the winter. They’re not “pasture pets” but proud and independent creatures, gentle too from the loving attention that’s a big part of their diet.

Raul told me that there are three parts of the body to use in riding: The legs, torso and the arms. His suggestions were a help as was watching Caroline’s ease on the trail. I learned to lean back when going down a steep grade and forward to help the horse climb more easily.

At the top of one hill, we looked out toward Ensenada, a ride that Raul has made in a day, and marveled over the abundance of wildflowers. On the return, Caroline led and suddenly there was a sharp, buzzing sound. The horses stood very still. It was a baby rattler warning that we were too close. With a quiet, sure turn of the reins, we guided the horses away and all was quiet again.

The ranch is full of simple pleasures. The adobe buildings are traditionally built but warm and spacious. The food delicious and all is provided without WiFi or electricity, except for the CDs Raul powers with his truck battery in the evenings. It was a mini-retreat and a special place I look forward to returning to frequently. Baja Rancho La Bellota is just 75 miles south of San Diego, 40 miles from the Tecate border crossing (where a Rancho La Bellota truck picks up guests) and a world away from the troubles in other places deeper in Mexico.

Pictures courtesy of the author, Elaine J Masters