Amsterdam Manor 9/17-10/4 - lots of PHOTOS!

[Andrea J.]

your pal is marvelous
he has a form of a martingale on?
can u imagine the head throwing if he did not have that on?

i too prefer the beginner horses.
he appears to be part paso, quarerhorse.
was there not too much bouncing in the seat?

again, really liked your report and the way you set it up.
thank you for sharing.

[Andrea J.]

ps it is nice to see he as some meat on his bones.
he is a fine looking beast.
(amy next time no spurs ;-) )
the price of hay and sweet grain on aruba is so expensive.

last time i asked a bale of hay was upwards of $18+
here in maine, a bale delivered is $3
due to all of the crappy weather this past spring and early summer, most farms only had 1 hay cut........................i expect the hay prices to go to $5 per bale

[~Amy~®]

Originally Posted by Andrea J.

your pal is marvelous
he has a form of a martingale on?
can u imagine the head throwing if he did not have that on?

i too prefer the beginner horses.
he appears to be part paso, quarerhorse.
was there not too much bouncing in the seat?

He was throwing his head around while we were still at the ranch so they put that on him. No bouncing in the saddle...even while trotting it was a nice smooth gait like a Paso Fino. I could never get him to stop though to let the others catch up - best I could do was just turn him around in circles until we both got dizzy. Then as soon as everyone caught up, off we would go again....I was exhausted by the time I got back. Spurs...can you imagine?!? I'd be laying out there in the cunucu somewhere! LOL!

I usually ask for intermediate horses....I'm going back to beginner next year! LOL!!

My friend Maria from Holland is riding the mother of my horse. She has a nice, quiet beginner horse. LOL!

[Andrea J.]

throwing the head is such a BAD behavior in a horse.
i am glad that they put the martingale on him for your safety.

i have met maria i think.........is she melvin's wife?

the mare that she is on is a beautiful girl.
again, she has some weight on her and looks healthy.

i do like the fact that both of those horses have great padding under the saddle.

i am envious that you got to ride outside in the warm sun.
i just got out of the indoor arena going around in circles and dodging 3 yearlings that were getting some exercise.

was your guy a gelding (i hope) or a stallion?

[sunworshipperII]

Awesome trip report...sounds like you had a wonderful time...How was el gaucho we haven't eaten there in about 15years..... friends we are going with this year want to go....is it worth the trip compared to MJ, or chalet suisse or LG Smith

[lindon]

Great trip report. We too like to spend long relaxing days on the beach. Your report made me feel like I was there again. Thanks for the little mini vacation. I needed it.

[~Amy~®]

Andrea - Maria is Melvin's fiancee (I'm pushing for a wedding in Aruba! ) I like the horses at Gold Mine Ranch - they seem to take very good care of them (the owners are nice as well.)

Sunworshipper - we have a friend we meet up with every year in Aruba (who has been going to Aruba since the 70's with her parents when she was about 12) and El Gaucho is her all-time favorite restaurant in Aruba...so we are forced to go there with her - LOL!! Actually, we really do like it and it's a fun place to go with a group of friends (but not a good place for a romantic dinner for two.) We also went to MJ's and Chalet Suisse on this past trip - MJ's was as good as always but Chalet Suisse is just not my thing. Chalet Suisse has great service, the food is good (good but not outstanding) and the atmosphere reminds me of some place my mother would like (which is kind of blah to me.) It's a good place but I'm always looking for something a little different and Chalet Suisse is just too mainstream for me.

Lindon - happy to hear I could help with the mini vacation!

Now I need to start planning trip #21 for next spring!

[DianaH]

Amy,

Great report and great photos. We'll be staying at Paradise Beach Villas next week and plan to try Passions one night as we'll be close by. Maybe we'll try to go Monday and first hit the BB happy hour.

Diana

[~Amy~®]

Originally Posted by DianaH

Amy,

Great report and great photos. We'll be staying at Paradise Beach Villas next week and plan to try Passions one night as we'll be close by. Maybe we'll try to go Monday and first hit the BB happy hour.

Diana

Have a great time...and have a couple of drinks for me at Amsterdam Manor's beach bar (one of my favorite places - LOL!)

[Arubalisa]

A picture is worth a thousand words...the photos MAKE me want to stay there.