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Hawaii’s Back yard Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi |
Ranch takes riders
off the typical trail
Left foot in the stirrup, right hand on the back of the saddle, I lift myself slowly, gently, onto Puakea, a pretty buckskin mare with an unusual distinction. "She has a cornea from a pit bull in her left eye," says Peter Baldwin, owner of Piiholo Ranch on Maui, who'll be accompanying our group of five on a ride this cool spring day. "She had a laceration that we couldn't clear up, and if we didn't do the surgery, she would've gone blind."
Her vision still isn't perfect in that grayish-white eye, but that doesn't hold Puakea back. I feel her energy surge beneath me as she responds snappily to the slightest pressure of my legs. According to Baldwin, "She was a great polo pony -- really fast. I used to play against her and hated it because of her speed. I finally had a chance to buy her, and I did."
Puakea is one of 20 "spirited, big-engine horses" that Baldwin handpicked for Piiholo's tours. "These are not the dull, sluggish horses you usually find on trail rides," he says. "Most of them have had other careers, but they've still got plenty of spunk left."
The same might be said of Baldwin, who was president of Haleakala Ranch for 22 years. He retired on Oct. 31, 2001, and started Piiholo the very next day with his son, Chris, and Ed Uwekoolani, a seasoned cowpoke he befriended during his tenure at Haleakala.
The three men knew how to run a cattle ranch, but in the spring of last year, they began discussing the feasibility of expanding operations to tap the visitor market. "Chris' girlfriend Tamalyn Bieber had guest ranch experience in Colorado and on Kauai, and trail rides seemed like a natural for us," Baldwin recalls.
Piiholo welcomed its first city slickers last August, and its rides have been booked ever since. Baldwin himself escorts at least three groups every week. "I love being outdoors on horseback," he says. "My favorite place to sit is in the saddle."
EVERY ISLAND OFFERS trail rides, but what sets Piiholo's apart is the colorful history of its owner's family.
Baldwin traces his roots back five generations to the Rev. Dwight Baldwin, who arrived in Hawaii in 1831 with the Fourth Company of American missionaries. The intrepid physician/minister and his wife, Charlotte, served in the seaport of Lahaina for 35 years, from 1835 to 1870.
Over the decades, they and their progeny became prominent business, community and government leaders on Maui. Dwight's son, Henry Perrine Baldwin, founded Alexander & Baldwin, one of Hawaii's "Big Five" corporations, as well as Haleakala Ranch, which originally owned Piiholo's 750 verdant acres at Haleakala's 2,000-foot elevation.
Here lies a vivid tapestry of native flowers, plants and trees such as the koa, kopiko, olapa, hala pepe and naio. Kolea (golden plover), apapane (red honeycreeper) and the endangered opeapea (Hawaiian hoary bat) flit above lush blankets of palapalai, hapuu, amau and uluhe ferns.
Sunshine likely will alternate with refreshing showers as you make your way across meadows, through fragrant forests and up puu (hills) that overlook breathtaking panoramic views. For most of the journey, you won't see a rooftop in any direction.
Baldwin and his wife, Kathy, have invited leading island botanists and biologists to conduct surveys of the plant and wildlife that thrive at Piiholo, and they are developing programs focused on the preservation and propagation of the ranch's natural treasures. Later this year, assisted by a grant from the state, they hope to launch a breeding project for the endangered nene or Hawaiian goose, Hawaii's state bird. The goal, Baldwin says, is to build a population of 50 nene at Piiholo. Such fascinating tidbits enliven each ride.
"What makes our rides different from most is that they're really informational," notes Baldwin. "We stop and talk about the history of ranching in Hawaii, our management practices with the cows, and the trees and birds that we see."
Even better, Piiholo's rides are not nose to tail, meaning participants are encouraged to spread out on their mounts rather than keep them in a straight line. Usually once a week, a cattle drive, where guests help move a herd from one pasture to the next, adds extra excitement to a ride. Advanced equestrians are able to book private tours that allow them to canter, climb deep gulches and enjoy other thrills that wouldn't be possible if they were riding with novices.
"The beauty and power of the aina (land) is incredible," Baldwin says. "We want visitors to share it with us, but in small numbers. That way, we get to know them better, and they get to know us better. It's a quality experience."
Many guests are intrigued by his family's history, which Baldwin relates with enthusiasm and obvious pride. "Our guests love hearing the stories," he says, "and we love telling them!"
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and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.