Park visitors can ride equine star

ANTELOPE ISLAND STATE PARK — It isn't often stars will take time out from their day to show people the beauty of Antelope Island.

These stars have appeared in Disney, Hallmark and IMAX movies. But people will not know them by name.

Who are the stars? They are the horses of R&G Horse and Wagon.

The wranglers at R&G make it a point to find any horse a producer may need. More importantly, they'll find any horse a novice rider might need to enjoy a day at Antelope Island.

"We get a lot of people who have never been on the back of a horse and are petrified they are going to get bucked off," said Ryan Brown, an R&G wrangler.

This was not the case of Jessie Hermanson of Las Vegas, who had never been on a horse. He came to visit his brother Adam Hermanson, who is stationed at Hill Air Force Base and owns two horses of his own. Jessie jumped on the horse and quickly grew comfortable with Merlin.

"We were going to go out separate, and we wanted him (Jessie) to have a chance to ride," Adam said.

Wranglers Ryan and Lonnie were able to match the Hermansons with the appropriate horses because they grew up around horses. After finishing his first ride to Mushroom Springs, Jessie said he had fun and he would do it again.

"The only thing we ask is that they are 6 years old and up," Lonnie Brown, an R&G wrangler, said in reference to the age of riders. "We'll take the least experienced. It doesn't matter."

The reason the age limit is set is because children tend to get restless on longer rides. The wranglers will take people out for however long they want. "If you want to feel the pain, we'll take you," Lonnie said with a chuckle.

To get out to the south end of the Island is an all-day trip. Most photographers and avid wildlife people are willing to endure the trip, however, to get the coveted pictures of bighorn sheep, deer and antelope.

The most often-asked question: "How close can we get to the buffalo?"

While the buffalo are used to humans, the wranglers try to keep their distance from the herds. At this time of year, they are even more cautious because the mothers are protective of their calves. This is the reason there is no set trail either.

"It's hard just to have one set deal because the buffalo may be in one spot, and we have to work around it," Lonnie said.