First of all, the Canyon de Chelly is absolutely awe inspiring - a wonderful place and not to be missed. Well above excellent. My report is about our tour of the canyon which left a lot to be desired. We were on holiday in Arizona in April 2003 and my two daughters are very keen horse riders and when they found out that one of the 3 ways to enter the Canyon was by horse, they were incredibly keen to tour that way. My husband and I have ridden horses before, but I wouldn't say we were expert riders - ok, but not more than average. We can canter though. Anyway, because it was holiday season and we were over three hours drive away I thought it prudent to reserve the horses and start time in advance. The park service recommend two stables and I rang one of them - Justins Horses and booked a 4 - 5 hour riding tour to start at 10 am. It was all confirmed. On the appointed day we got up at 5 am and were at the stables by 945. There were several people standing about and when Justin arrived at the office, I introduced our family and he found our booking in his daybook. Imagine my surprise when he said to me "well, I wish I had better news for you, but all my horses have gone out and I can't offer you anything." I was astounded as our booking was clearly there but he could only respond that "they" hadn't checked the book and let walk-ins take our horses out earlier that morning. Talk about disorganised. He assured me that if we returned at 1 he would have horses for us. We went off and drove the rim (wonderful) and returned, not very confidant. He had managed to round up one guide and three horses for us. The horses were not the best I have ridden by a long road. I don't know how many he has, but these must have been the dregs. My husband's was extremely odd and kept biting the others and had to be kept apart. Mine was nearly half dead (not a joke) and would not go more than a walk unless the guide rode behind and constantly hit it. In the end, he gave me his horse ack. It still wouldn't go more than a trot. This all took a lot of time and we progressed so slowly (walking pace) that we didn't get very far into the Canyon by the time we reached the 2 hour half way mark. Very disappointing. Oh yes, and my daughter only had one stirrup - they couldn't rustle up a replacement saddle - and my saddle fell off luckily just as we returned to the stable. On the other hand this was a fantastic way to see the Canyon and if the organisation had been better and if the horses had been up to standard it would have been awesome. You ride through a shallow river wash which is an experience in itself. I would love to do this trip again under different circumstances.I'm sure it goes without saying that Justin didn't give us a discount for our trouble, just muttered an apology that he had been a bit slow getting things together. There is another stable on the park which is near the Spider Rock end. I don't know if it is any better, but I think I would try them first, double check the bookings and ask about the horses.