Jayne who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. Sweden Explore Winter - Incredible Experience | Wonderful Icelandic horses, with impeccable stable manners, who were well cared for and really enjoy their work. We were lucky to experience clear and bright days and so the riding, albeit limited to around 2 hours at any one time, was thoroughly enjoyable. A good blend of forest rides and lessons in the oval with the evening forest ride being a highlight particularly as we experienced the northern lights. The planning and management of the riding at the farm was impeccable and the staff exemplary.

Naomi (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A week full of bucket list adventures! | Incredible experience riding beautiful Icelandic ponies riding through thick snow; they were so clever, strong and sure footed. Also it was great fun learning to ‘tolt’ on the oval track and I really enjoyed a groundwork session learning new skills.

Emily who has been on 25 In The Saddle rides. Lovely holiday exploring snowy Sweden | This isn't a holiday of fast and furious riding; but it was lovely exploring the snow covered forests in a picturesque, winder wonderland setting. Due to the conditions, it not always possible to go fast as the horses can stumble in the snow. The horses are very sure footed and are lovely to ride. Tilting was an excellent experience.

Sandra (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Riding in a snowy winter wonderland on well schooled Icelandic horses - with lots of other exciting experiences | The riding was well planned and enjoyable. The stables were well run, organised and warm (important when its 20 below!). The staff leading the rides were delightful and gave good instructions. They knew the character and abilities of the horses very well and gave tips for each horse. They matched the horses to the individual rider's ability and personality. The horses were healthy and happy and well cared for. No bad behavior and willing. Although I have ridden for years, my husband has only been riding for 6 months and he had a wonderful experience. Tack was well maintained and saddles comfortable. We had 3 lessons while we were there as well as the hacks to help us with the 5 gaited horses. Instruction was excellent. One of the lessons was on the oval track - flying round the track on the ice in tolt and canter... good job the horses had studs! We were joined by a moose on one of our lessons as he ambled across the school. The instruction meant that both my husband and I were able to give the aids to tolt and we also had ground lessons to help with suppleness of the horses.
The hacks through the forests were during the day and night rides ( its dark at around 4pm) Tolting and cantering through forests on crisp snow in the dark with horses we could trust was a fantastic experience. Quite emotional.
While we were there there were parties of tourists from the nearby Ice Hotel - some of them with no experience of riding at all. They all enjoyed their trips out despite never having ridden before and were very well chaperoned and looked after. For the holiday experience we had though, staying at the farm and going out each day, it would be difficult to get the best out of it if you couldn't trot and canter easily before you went. You also bring in the horses, clean and tack them up so knowledge of horse care is needed too. We have our own horses so not a problem but some steeper learning for one of our group - "first catch your horse..."
There was a room filled with hats, balaclavas, wool socks, snow riding boots, padded overalls, wool trousers, jumpers, gloves etc to borrow. No reason to not ride because of the weather. No need to spend loads of money on kit if you don't want to ( though I liked the excuse for a new padded jacket) just good warm base layers needed.
We felt safe with the horses and well cared for by the staff.

Chris who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. An Exciting Arctic Winter Adventure | We have fallen in love with the lovely sturdy Icelandic horses - so comfortable to ride and so willing in extreme conditions.

We had excellent tuition in tolting from Kerstin, Jenna and Gry. We rode several different horses each with their own personalty.

We also enjoyed looking after them - they were very patient with our rather inexpert attempts at grooming, tacking up etc.
[Becky from In The Saddle replied: It's great to hear how much you loved the Icelandic horses - they are great fun to ride!]

Jill who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Amazing holiday. | Horses very well looked after and clearly loved. While the rides were not long, due to the cold, they were the right length.