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.

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.

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 3 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 15 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 16 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 3 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 5 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 6 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.

Kate who has been on 9 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.]

Gerry who has been on 10 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic Riding Holiday | Couldn't fault the riding or the horses and the guides were excellent and very knowledgeable

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 23 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 10 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.

Hilary who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Relaxing holiday with amazing views. | There is a lot of road riding which includes steep metal roads. The horses are bullet-proof with the traffic and also the numerous barking dogs that are behind or on top of walls.

A couple of the rides require you to walk, partly because of the steep, down-hill terrain but one so that you can see a beautiful waterfall so appropriate footwear should be considered.

Brenda who has been on 13 In The Saddle rides. Fastastic Riding Holiday | Exceeded my expectations. Loved the canters and gallops!

John who has been on 13 In The Saddle rides. An outstanding riding experience from start to finish! | What was nice was that all paces were accommodated, the horses were very well trained, the food and accommodations were outstanding, and the hosts, Claude and Christine made you feel very welcome in their home.

Anky, who led our rides, was an outstanding guide and she would tailor your ride and preferences to suit. Fantastic staff, and let's not forget Rui !

Tina who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Perfect horse riding holiday in stunning location | I was very impressed by the variety and quality of the horses, all of whom were extremely well cared for. I rode three different horses during the week, and all of them were excellent and a good match for me.

Sara Fevre (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Good

Trisha who has been on 15 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful Scenery, beautiful accommodation and well looked after horses | The initial horse I was given was very lazy, so rather hard work. Then they gave me a more forward going horse, unfortunately he had girth galls so had to take time off. By the Thursday I was given a horse I enjoyed riding. Horses all well cared for, and obviously loved. Tintin (her nickname) our guide, always asked how we got on with our horses. She tended to do quite a fast ride but always asked what kind of ride we wanted. Christina was excellent in organising the riding and programme around the weather which was not that great during our week. Just a shame that the cloud was so low on the final ride around the rim of the extinct volcano that we were riding in fog!!! Very disappointing.

Jessica (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Atlantis and Green Island Trails | Excellent

Troels Vang (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Good, steady, fresh horses. Nice to try different horses and get your favorite horse on the last ride. The guides are very attentive to all riders, throughout the ride, they are in control of everything.

Maria (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Refreshing holiday | Riding was through beautiful scenery. Horses were well cared for, but not all the equipment best fit each horse.

Janet who has been on 15 In The Saddle rides. Well worth waiting for | This was my third attempt at going on this holiday and wow did it deliver. First the horses are perfectly cared for and know their job in a nice way. They are certainly not dull. The guides are very attentive to what is going on and we did have a riding lesson on Day 1! It is beautiful, lush with extremely different terrains...and no biting insects. The riding is very varied, plenty of change of pace and you do see all parts of the island. Christina and Claude have an amazingly beautiful place and organise everything perfectly nothing is too much trouble. Christina cooks the food and it is delicious....what more can I say other that this is a place you will meet people from everywhere.For us we had Americans and Danes all delightful. I will certainly go back
[Olwen from In The Saddle - we are so glad that you were eventually able to enjoy this wonderful holiday having deferred from 2020 and 2021.]

Barbara who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous | The horses were beautiful, happy, responsive horses. We decided to bond further by doing the horse wash down at the end of each ride. Bruno was our guide for most of the week and his knowledge of the island's exstensive flora gave our rides an added dimension. We have to add that we had 2 half days of excursions to the tea plantation and botanical gardens and hot springs.As well as dolphin/whale watching boats from Porto Delgada. Rui our driver was a wealth of talents. He organized bookings, did airport pick ups, and helped in the stables.

Lis who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. It is completely different conditions they have horses under than what we have in this country. The horses were in work and all balances with new and different riders. The tack was used but usable and under the conditions it gets dusty.

Ilanna who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Responsive, calm and good horses. The saddles were slightly not so good.

Katrine who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Slightly worn saddles but there was seat saver which made it more comfortable.
The horses I rode were attentive to their rider, and although some of them were quite strong it still went fine.

Madeleine who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. A splendid week | Actually I was pleasantly surprised at how many good canters/gallops we managed to fit in given the terrain. Our brilliant guide, Bruno, went to great efforts to pair us up with horses that we might like and wanted us to have a good time.

Caroline who has been on 17 In The Saddle rides. Azores Green Island Trail - Fantastic ride in a beautiful island | The horses had interesting histories and unique characters, with several having been rescued from difficult circumstances. It was wonderful to see that they had become very good riding horses, highly sensitive and also sensible. They tackled steep hills with no hesitation and were enjoyably relaxed in canter. It's the kind of riding we cannot do in England - lots of climbs and descents and long canters along sand tracks. Bruno, our guide, was remarkably well informed about the local flora and a very entertaining person to spend the day with. He matched us very well to our different riding preferences and styles. It was lovely being able to ride a different horse every day, and also feel sure that each one was getting a good rest after lots of exercise.

Emma who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Amazing! | Really gorgeous trails, perfect range of well cared for and eager horses, and loads of fun and varied riding. Great opportunities for canter and gallop too.

Debbie who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Azores Green Island - Second time here and it was just as fabulous | Well loved and cared for horses. The grooms and guides were very accommodating and couldn't do enough for us. Nothing was too much trouble. The riding was varied and the scenery breath taking. Plenty of chances for a change in pace