The Equitours team has decades of experience in the field of horseback riding vacations, and we are at your service. We will see that you find the most suitable ride and that you are thoroughly informed about all aspects of the tours you are considering.
Our staff members know the ins and outs of all the destinations they sell, both from firsthand experience and from talking with dozens of clients who have done the tours. It is our mission to provide you with an enjoyable experience, from first inquiry through the booking process and the trip itself.
Bayard, Mel, Richard and Hadley Fox, owners of Equitours and Bitterroot Ranch, all ride with guests each day during their season at the ranch. Bitterroot Ranch has a strong emphasis on equestrian activities, and they raise and train their own horses on site. Hosting guests at Bitterroot Ranch each summer keeps them in close touch with Equitours clients and gives them excellent insight into what makes a great horseback riding vacation.
Bayard Fox
Read Bayard’s fascinating life story in his autobiography, Fisherman, Ranch, Horseman, Spy: True Stories of a Life Well-Lived. The founder of Equitours, Bayard has ridden since early boyhood. After graduating from Yale, he traveled widely in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He has been leading rides at his own Bitterroot Ranch since 1971 and started guiding rides in Kenya with his wife, Mel in 1980. Bayard has been organizing and taking new rides ever since. He has tested scores of rides on six continents and many American states. Few can equal his long experience in leading riding tours and in assessing the qualities of various programs. Bayard currently handles all inquiries for Africa and India. Bayard rides often with his clients at the Bitterroot during their four-month season, which keeps him in close touch with their reactions and wishes. If interested, read more about the Equitours story.
Aline Phillips
Aline has been our very efficient accounts manager since 1999. In 2005, after taking her son and daughter on the Mayan Jungle Ride, she expanded her responsibilities by becoming the consultant for our rides in Belize. Aline grew up on a wheat farm in western Kansas and earned a degree in Human Ecology from Kansas State University. She lived in Jamaica for a while, and from that experience developed a fondness for the Caribbean. She and her husband moved to Wyoming where they have managed one of the largest cattle ranches in the Wind River Valley for 39 years. She has plenty of opportunities to ride, and especially enjoys working cattle and spending time with her family.
Biggi Hayes
Biggi grew up in East Germany and traveled throughout Europe, before moving to the US in 1995. She earned an Associates Degree in Equine Science from Central Wyoming College, and has worked for Equitours since moving to Dubois in 2001. Her horse interests are eclectic, from 3-day eventing competitions in the Rocky Mountain Region to trail rides into the Wyoming mountains on her beloved Babson Arabians. Biggi coordinates the rides in Ireland, Iceland, UK, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Australia, the Southwest of the US, and Spain. As our resident expert on dressage instruction, she is also responsible for the dressage programs in Spain and Alcainca in Portugal and the instructional program in Texas.
Hadley Fox
Hadley grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and began riding at a young age. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and studied in Venezuela, Cuba and Spain before graduating from Yale University. Hadley and Richard met and fell in love while on an Equitours safari in Kenya. Hadley subsequently moved out to Wyoming and her lifelong love of riding as well as her passion for international travel make her a wonderful addition to the Equitours team. Together with the rest of the Fox family, she manages the Bitterroot Ranch in Wyoming during the summer. Ranch guests interested in improving their riding love her constructive teaching style, young horses benefit from her focused and patient training, and her hospitable manner create a very welcoming environment for all visitors. Hadley handles bookings and employment for the ranch and represents Equitours at marketing events in the off-season.
Mel Fox
Mel was raised on a farm in East Africa and rode from an early age. She attended university in England where she enjoyed fox hunting and training young horses. After school she worked for five years in wildlife parks in Kenya. For the last 30 years she has been running the riding program at Bitterroot Ranch, where she has developed a top quality herd of 180 horses. Many of these horses have been bred and trained on the ranch. Mel is a certified riding instructor and has also taken many rides on six continents. Her broad international equestrian experience has enabled her to integrate riding techniques from around the world with the best Western traditions. Mel’s editing pen also helps to refine and improve company publications.
Richard Fox
Richard was born in northwest Wyoming where he and family own and operate the Bitterroot Ranch as well as Equitours. Since his teenage years he has spent summers guiding clients into the wilderness areas surrounding the ranch. From an early age Richard traveled to exotic corners of the world, including Kenya, where his maternal grandparents lived, and throughout the Indian Subcontinent. In addition to representing Equitours at marketing events, he heads up website editing and promotional presentations for the company. Richard also manages the Bitterroot’s farming and cattle ranching operation and guides guest rides and pack trips during the summer months.
Megan Barrett
Megan came to Equitours after working as a wrangler at Bitterroot Ranch for several years. Originally from New York state, she spent a few years living in Madrid then teaching history at Millbrook boarding school. She now lives in Dubois with her husband and young daughter, riding other people’s horses as often as she can! A former working student at a dressage barn, she does a bit of jumping and trail riding whenever possible, occasionally still helping at the ranch. In the office she manages website maintenance and has updated the booking processes. She works with Bayard to sell our African and Indian trips, as well rides in France, Portugal, Italy and some here in the US.