Hanne (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Fantastic owners who take great care of their horses. Skilled guides who know the horses and the terrain. Good for the rider that the same saddle is used all the time, maybe not entirely optimal for the different horses (?) Nice varied terrain to ride in, absolutely optimal on horseback with great stops.

Janice who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Exceeded expectations | I would give this trip 10 stars out of 5 if I could. From the very first moment we were picked up at the airport by a very pleasant driver, everything exceeded my expectations. I'll break it down:

HORSES: I wasn't impressed by how they behaved in the indoor arena during our evaluation (ignored simple aids, wouldn't canter, etc.) but out on the trail they were rock solid. I rode several horses and chose a favorite, Espanol, whom I rode whenever he was available.

RIDING: The scenery was spectacular, and what would a ride in Europe be without riding through a town? Even with tourist buses coming within inches of them, the horses didn't flinch. I never worried about my horse spooking. We did a lot of trotting and cantering which would definitely not be suitable for beginners but really pleased the experienced riders in our group. On our last day, the big finale at Sete Cidades, it poured rain, but we still enjoyed it, especially when the clouds broke occasionally and gave us a glimpse of the unparalleled beauty of the Island.

GUIDES: Bruno and Hugo were so good at their jobs and made us feel special every day. They were both excellent riders and really kind to the horses. I felt very safe riding with them. Safety was their first priority, both for the riders and the horses.

FOOD: Oh. My. God. Every day (except for when we ate out), Christina made a dinner menu worthy of a 5-star food review. It was so delicious, plentiful, and mouth-watering. There was no skimping on wine, either. Claude started every meal with a little dancing (all of us) to some upbeat music, which set the tone for the meal. He was attentive and replaced the wine bottles as they mysteriously emptied. Breakfasts consisted of fresh fruit (including pineapples grown on the Island), breads, meats, boiled eggs and cereals. Lunches on the trail were wonderful, too. I was NEVER hungry, and I live for food.

THE TOWN: I believe the town has grown up around the Quinta which has been operating for 24 years so it's kind an anachronism. Within easy walking distance is a small grocery/pharmacy/cafe which has everything you need, and there's a lovely beach just a 15-20 minutes walk away.

THE HOSTS: Christina and Claude LOVE their horses, and you can see the feeling is reciprocated. They have rescued so many wonderful equine souls and given them a meaningful, safe life. It's very heartwarming. And they make their human guests feel at home and special, even thought Claude and Christina have been doing this a really long time. You will be made to feel like you're the one and only!

THE QUINTA: It's very old, but super charming. The only caveat is there is no a/c in the rooms, and even though we were there in October, it was quite warm. Fans are provided, but some nights were uncomfortably warm. Just FYI for people who are heat-intolerant.

THE OTHER GUESTS: We lucked out. Everyone was truly fabulous and we all became fast friends on the first night. Often, other guests can detract from the enjoyment of a trip, but not in this case. I miss them all! And I miss the laughing!!!!

EXCURSIONS: The excursions that were included were lovely and well-planned and in most cases we were able to avoid the massive amounts of tourists that disgorge from the big tour buses and ruin everything. Our guide knew what he was doing!

Nadine (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wonderful horses, people, experience | The riding exceeded my expectations. No nose to tail here!
Lots of varied terrain, extended trots and canters. I wish fly spray had been available for the horses.

Judy who has been on 38 In The Saddle rides. A LOVELY WAY TO EXPERIENCE SAO MIGUEL ISLAND | Such a interesting and verdant volcanic island, with lots of flowers and cows. Many cantering opportunities in woodland, on tracks between fields and round the crater lakes at Sete Cidades.
There is some unavoidable road work through towns and villages, but the horses are well trained and used to the traffic.
An assessment is done in the indoor arena on the first day.
Our riding guides, Bruno and Hugo, were very good, observant and helpful.
Quinta da Terca is a well run establishment - all the team there, and the airport transfer drivers, do a great job.
The horses are much loved and each only works every other day. Many have been retrained from sad backgrounds and are lucky to now have a happy life.

[ITS replies: Many thanks for your great feedback. We are really pleased that you enjoyed your time on the 'Green Island'.]

Ashley (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A fantastic holiday on a beautiful island | Yes it did.
I did not ride, but my daughter, Lizzy, did and thoroughly enjoyed all of the riding / rides. The guides / instructors were excellent and the routes taken were almost entirely off-road and through beautiful countryside with many stunning coastal and other views. Lizzy particularly enjoyed the galloping and extensive cantoring.

Sally who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. A very special holiday in a very special place | Great riding variety in terms of pace and duration of ride, from full days (3) to half days (3) plus other interesting excursions.

Emma (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Superb | Excellent

Liz who has been on 22 In The Saddle rides. Amazing horses on an island paradise | Due to a bad back my riding was limited on this trip, but the wonderful hosts and guides tailored special rides for us so that I could still ride out while not holding anyone else up. The horses are superb, we were given great matches. The other ride was having lovely canters while we were at a more sedate pace! The scenery is amazing, the guides super-informative, and we still had an excellent time. We think we'll return…

Natalia (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Breathtaking! | Best horses and best guides! Riding trails were amazing!!!! 🙂 tremendously enjoyed all hacks!

Emmeline (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing! | The riding was spectacular, tailored to the group and the guides really know how to match the horses to the guests. All of the guides were knowledgable and kind, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the riding here! The terrain was varied with plenty of lovely long canters. I really felt well looked after as a solo traveller

Polly who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Great holiday | Excellent

Bianca (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wonderful adventure | The guides were very professional and the horses were very welll behaved. I enjoyed the beautiful nature during the beautiful outdoor rides.
[Caron from ITS replies: Thank you for your feedback, it is wonderful to hear you enjoyed riding in the Azores so much.]

Katie who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic in every way | It went beyond my expectations. What wonderful people,horses,scenery. Beautiful place and was welcomed in like a family member. I went as a solo traveler,but at no point did I feel lonely or bored. Guides are fun and knowledgeable. They really look after you here. Would highly recommend going here.
(Olwen from In The Saddle replies - we are so glad that you enjoyed your riding holiday at the wonderful Quinta da Terca).

Jane who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. So glad we went on this holiday the riding is BRILLIANT | Excellent riding with a huge variety of landscapes. We rode by lakes, by the coast, through jungle, along lanes and over fields. Some steep hills but horses very sure footed.A certain amount of road work to get to places but horses 100% in traffic.Big effort to box horses so could go to different areas.Guides made sure everyone was happy with the pace and would split up if some less confident. Gave us lots of information on local flora and fauna and made it all great fun.

Brilliant way to combine riding, seeing the Island and some cultural trips.The full day lakes ride will never be forgotten, it was stunning.We were lucky to have clear views and sunshine.Note when it does rain you will get seriously wet but we only had 1 wet day out of 6.

Worth a walk to local beach to swim
(Olwen from In The Saddle - We are so glad you enjoyed this wonderful riding holiday in the Azores).

Karen who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic! | the riding was excellent. considering the horses are rescue horses and some have suffered trauma, they were very calm and well behaved and practically nothing spooks them especially in traffic! once the guides got to know us and that we enjoy a fast ride, they arranged rides that we all very much enjoyed. the guides were fabulous so friendly and super knowledgeable about the island.

Jane who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. riding and relaxing | Having been to Christina and Claude's before, we knew what to expect and enjoyed our riding

Monica who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. Just like going home | As always the team in Quinta make my riding holiday perfect, everyone works to the same objectives.

Cynthia who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. A good experience | The guides and horses were very nice - super helpful and willing. The horses are totally bomb-proof. The island has natural beauty for sure. Overall, the guides made the rides fun, kept the pace perfect for all riders, and were incredibly informative on local flora.

Sheila who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Atlantis Ride (Azores) | We had a lesson at the start of the week. The quality of the instruction was excellent, and it ensured that our hosts knew which of their horses would be the best fit for us.

Chris who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Happy stay on a beautiful island | All the horses I rode had comfortable paces and excellent manners. The guides were great and the initial assessment lesson was one of the best I have had in years - extremely helpful.

Kim (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wonderful excursion on a lovely island | Most of the horses at Quinta da Terca are rescue horses and behave remarkably well and are well cared for.

Dan who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Azores | The tour was wonderful. The island we rode and stayed on was enchanting. We rode over all types of terrain.

Janet who has been on 16 In The Saddle rides. Azores | Sometimes when you go back somewhere it's not the same.This was just as good second time around. The landscape and vegetation are stunning, food fantastic and Christina made sure that in our non riding time we went to a whole lot of different places around the island....for such a small place there is a surprising amount to see and do.

The horses are wonderfully cared for and willing, the riding is appropriate for the terrain with plenty of changes of pace.

Everyone makes you so welcome, Cristina and Claude as hosts and the guides Bruno,Tomas, Manuel, Anka and Riccardo.....not forgetting Rui and the backstage staff! Thank you all for creating a wonderful holiday.

Louise who has been on 18 In The Saddle rides. Splendid Riding /Horses/Guides | We felt that the welfare of the horses was high priority which was heart warming
The guides were great as were all the staff to be honest

Angela who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. A lovely holiday, one of the best so far ,well fed, great horses and excellent care from owners and staff. | The riding was very scenic with pleasant rides , the days were filled with plenty of activity , never a dull moment.

Lorna who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. A great time | On the whole the horses appeared well cared for, however I noticed most of the horses on their hind quarters / flank had a lot of cuts. When I asked about this I was told it was from the screws from the horse trailer. The guide told me he was trying to sort this our by filing down the screws. It was something that could have been easily prevented by covering over with protective materials before the horses were loaded.
Some of the tack was old and not in good repair, and not very comfortable, a regular thorough clean and condition would have been beneficial for safety as well as presentation.

That said the horses were extremely willing and knew their job and coped exceptionally well in very steep, slippery and rocky terrain.

[In The Saddle replies: thank you for your feedback. We are pleased that you had a lovely time overall. We have contacted the ride operator about your comments. They have told us that as soon as they saw the scratch marks on the horses they took action and covered the screws with a soft material. The tack is cleaned and checked by the guides on a regular basis but the weather on Sao Miguel is very wet and humid and this is very hard on the leather. The ride operator is sad that you were uncomfortable in your saddle because had they known they could have provided a seat saver which might have made you more comfortable.]

Jackie who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Quite an adventure! | The horses are all rescues and quite a variety. Good to change whenever you wanted. The guides were keen to help and make sure you were happy. The horses were not used two days in a row if they were out for a whole day ride.
The riding was limited by the weather. The worst storm (Storm Oscar) that they had ever had. However, the riding we did was fun and there is lovely scenery to admire. As a plant lover, it didn't disappoint.
It is worth combining riding with options for tourist attractions that can be incorporated into the week, amazing whale/dolphin watching, visits to tea plantations, volcano craters etc. There is a huge team of staff, really friendly and go out of their way to drive you around. We always felt like we had personal guides whatever the activity.

In addition there is a small indoor arena which can be used in event of not being able to ride out. There are good riding trainers for coaching on well schooled horses. It was all very flexible in view of the conditions.

Gerry who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic Riding Holiday | Couldn't fault the riding or the horses and the guides were excellent and very knowledgeable

Kate who has been on 10 In The Saddle rides. Lush island, luxurious stay on their fabulous horses | An amazing holiday, fabulous riding experience In beautiful mixed terrain- from fields to jungle. Great support team, felt so looked after and loved all the plants we rode past. Great local beach for evening dips and cocktails. Highly recommend, matched us all so well to our horses. [In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your lovely feedback. We are so pleased that you had a wonderful holiday.]

Dawn who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. wonderful week in the Azores - beautiful scenery, horses and hospitality | Was great to have the flexibility to do trails as well as lessons

Rachel who has been on 28 In The Saddle rides. Stunning scenery and lovely horses | Some wonderful canters and the scenery is truly stunning. Road work was interesting but the horses are absolutely amazing no matter how big or close vehicles passed, they didn't worry.

The guides were all brilliant, knowledgeable, fun and know their horses very well.

Christine who has been on 13 In The Saddle rides. Very good, as normal. | Riding very good. We missed some of the better views because of the mist and rain, which was unfortunate.