A COMMON sight along the Drax Hall to Ocho Rios stretch of road in St Ann is men and youth walking or riding horses, or people riding horses led by a tour guide on foot. But a more common sight is the guide sitting under trees waiting for patrons to come along as they are not attached to any particular hotel or resort.
In the heart of one of Jamaica’s busiest tourist regions, the area is ideal for horseback riding. To the south, where the hills overlook the sea, there are semi-tropical rainforests through which rivers and streams run disappearing under the road on their way to the sea on the northern side.
On Sunday, September 23, I visited the spot from which Moses Horseback Riding operates in Mammee Bay. It was my final stop on my Sunday evening trek on foot from Ocho Rios. The first guide I met said the place is where he cooks and takes a nap while he waits for job. As we chatted, another guide, Lincoln ‘Paul’ McIntosh, came along with his horse.
He said a typical day for a tour guide starts very early in the morning when horses are bathed, groomed, and fed, but he spends the greater part of it anticipating the arrival of patrons. McIntosh, who has been a tour guide for over 15 years, said there are times when there are no customers for days, or even weeks.
SLOW PACE
It’s a slow-paced way to eke out a living, much slower than the horseback journey through the Steer Town hills and back down to the beach. Patience, then, is the name of the game.
“Instead of sitting a yard and nutt’n no gwaan, mi just come dung here. Anything mi mek, mi just satisfy,” he said, “Cyaan give up, cyaan beg and go tief,”
And while they wait, the horses, as well as their families, still have to be taken care of…………………..
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