Yngve Steinar (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wonderful riding in an intereseting area with fantastic host | The trail was sold in as a trail with some cantering and trots. During the trail some more cantering would have be fine, but according to the initial information it was as agreed.

Marianne Laerke who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. The horses were fantastic. Regarding riding level Red+, I expected a relatively calm ride with a lot of walk, but was pleasantly surprised by a quite fresh pace in both trot and especially canter. There was far more canters than I expected. A huge pleasure.

Carole who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Great week, even despite the Spanish heatwave !
Very well looked after by Mamen and Emilio. Great food all week with some lovely overnight stays.
Would recommend to anyone.

Susan who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. A really steady tour through some warm and interesting country | The riding was really slow and steady apart from the odd trot and canter but we had been advised of that in advance and given the high temperatures, was just right. Initially I thought my horse - Chile - was probably a bit quieter than I would have be suited to BUT was very sweet and had impeccable manners and I actually ended up being very appreciative of having a steady ride, who could be ridden in a very relaxed way. I very much enjoyed riding him and dealing with him. A real gent.

Rebecca who has been on 10 In The Saddle rides. A nice potential ride made difficult by unseasonal heatwave. | I rode a lovely forward going mare with a sweet temperament. The ride relied on the horses drinking from water we found, during the long days on the trail. Due to the unusual heatwave (four days of 32 to 34 deg C) and drought there was not much water, less grazing at night so they had more hard feed. They had just about started their winter coats. On one day, when we hadn't ridden past water, my horse went downhill, needing a drink. She needed a pain killer injection, rehydration and rest that afternoon. There was not a back up plan with spare water to deal with that. She was fine the next day but I had been worried about her.
Personally, I would have preferred some alteration to the itinerary so we were not out for so long in such heat.

Jen who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Relaxing riding, expansive views, fabulous picnics! | The riding was at a relaxed pace, no trotting and mostly walking, but we did canter 4-5 times each day. The first morning is at walk to get to know your horse. My horse Datil was very responsive and walked out well and was polite and easy on the canters. The horses were very sure footed, managing the sometimes rocky terrain like mountain goats. All tack was in good condition and the saddle seat savers were very comfortable. The riding hours were long (6.5hrs) but a long day was broken up with tapas stops and a long lunch, and followed by a shorter days riding (5hrs).

Mie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Conquistador ride - Extremadura, Spain | The riding takes place in the hills, where it goes very up and down. Therefore, it is not the fastest ride with a lot of canters, as it will be too hard on the horses. But every day there is a canter at medium pace (absolutely perfect, as it does not go too slow or too fast) when the terrain allows it. I think it has been appropriate, as there were several good and long stretches of tracks where we canter.
Emilio is really good at assessing which horse best suits each rider. He hits the spot almost every time, it is wildly amazing!

Caroline who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Yes, lovely and varied countryside. Very nice horses indeed that were well trained and very safe though still responsive. They are well cared for and obviously very much loved. Super lunches provided by Mamen. The hotel in Trujillo was excellent and the other places to stay were absolutely fine. Highly recommended.

Marie Claire who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic experience! | excellent PRE horse, strong and sensible, friendly and reliable;
variation of terrain: countryside or national park, up and down hill;
mostly walk, canter where possible;
confidence giving guide;
nice tapas/picknicks on lovely places (thank you for the vegetarian alternatives, and the tent when it's was raining...), smooth organisation of the whole holiday

Ann who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. So Spanish, so smoothly run, such fun. | I am nervous about cantering despite lots of experience. We spent the first morning entirely in walk which gave horses and riders an opportunity to settle down with each other and build a trusting relationship. Canter was introduced carefully and I was able to enjoy every moment thanks to skilled leadership by Emilio and to my wonderful horse. On most days we had long steady canters, there was very little trotting and the majority of the riding was in walk. The terrain was perfect for riding - large areas of beautiful rolling pasture in a deeply rural region. Twenty minutes on a quiet but fast road was enough to demonstrate that these horses are absolutely traffic proof.