Saddle up, Southern California style

Sunset, Nov, 1994 by Peter Fish

You don't have to rough it to ride at these four ranch resorts

Billy Crystal galloped to self-fulfillment in ventures of Spin and Marty? Hollywood has long known the appeal of slapping a dude in a saddle and watching what happens next.

In real-life Southern California, though, it can seem a lot easier to slip City Slickers H into your VCR than to find a ranch that will turn you from tenderfoot to cowpoke. But Ventura and Santa Barbara counties have four deluxe resorts that give reins to riders of all abilities. November's a good time to saddle up: resorts that are fully booked much of the summer can be easier to reserve in late fall and winter, with the exception of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

The Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort, Solvang 93463; (805) 688-6411 or (800) 425-4725. An elegant retreat that doubles as a working cattle ranch, the Alisal has 10,000 acres spread across the rolling hills of the Santa Ynez Valley, and the accoutrements you'd expect of a full-service resort--two golf courses, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and an attentive staff. But its true raison d'etre is its equestrian activities, which are tensive: lessons, group rides, private rides, and early-morning rides that end with breakfast and maybe a performance by Jake Copass, resident wrangler and cowboy poet. Accommodations are comfortable without being citified (no televisions or telephones in the rooms, for example).

From now through June, the Alisal offers Round-Up vacation packages whose rates range from $285 to $380 per night; double occupancy; the price includes unlimited horseback riding, golf, and tennis, plus breakfast and dinner.

Circle Bar B Guest Ranch, 1800 Refugio Road, Goleta 93117; (805) 968-1113. "We feel like we've just spent the weekend with Aunt Betty," a posse of guests enthused to me as they were saying adios to Circle Bar B. Run by the Brown family (Betty, Jim, Pat, and Kathy), the Circle Bar B maintains an endearingly down-home charm. The ranch, tucked in Refugio Canyon west of Santa Barbara (just down the road a piece from Ronald Reagan's spread), has 35 horses that take riders over the ranch's 1,000 acres and into the adjoining Los Padres National Forest. The newest rooms have a ride-'em-and-rope-'em decor guaranteed to make 8-year-olds (or the 8-year-old in any adult) feel they've died and gone to cowboy heaven. As a bonus, the ranch offers live theater in its old barn.

Rates, including all meals, range from $186 to $225, double occupancy; horseback riding costs $18 per hour.

Ojai Valley Inn, Country Club Road, Ojai 93023: (805) 646-5511. Since its inception in 1923, the Ojai Valley Inn has been best known for its Spanish-style elegance and as a mecca for serious golfers. But last year, the inn added the Ranch and Stables at Rancho dos Rids, on an 800-acre site a 5-minute drive south of the inn. The ranch and stables offer lessons as well as guided trail rides along Lion and San Antonio creeks and high enough up Sulphur Mountain to earn you great views of the Ojai Valley. There's also a small petting farm.

Room rates at the Ojai Valley Inn begin at $195; guided trail rides cost $40 per person weekdays, $50 weekends.

San Ysidro Ranch, 900 San Ysidro Lane, Montecito 93108: (800) 368-6788. The San Ysidro Ranch has lovely gardens, a distinguished restaurant, and a who's-who guest list that has included Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, who were married here, and John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy, who honeymooned here. But the bit of ranch history that impressed us the most was an original Chuck Jones sketch of Bugs Bunny in cowboy getup, inscribed to the noble steed Sammy Sidro. The ranch's eight-horse stable is small compared with the others listed here, but the hour-long trail rides up into the Santa Ynez Mountains are quiet and lovely; the ranch also offers riding lessons.

Rates run from $225 to $730, double occupancy. Trail rides cost $40 per person Sunday through Friday, $50 Saturdays; lessons cost $30 per half-hour.