Nina who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. A dream come true | This was one of the best riding holidays and riding experiences I've ever had. It was my first time riding an Icelandic horse and after doing so they are now my favourite breed. The way they move feels amazing and they have incredible personalities.
The rides out we did were short but we experienced something different each time. The scenery is stunning and the type of ground we rode on changed all the time. Where many horses would have a difficult time, the Icelandic horses skipped over it like mountain goats.
We tolted lots! I loved the pace of the ride which was quick, as did the horses. My horse was perfectly matched to me. The best horse I've ever ridden!
The log cabin accomodation was beautiful, with an outdoor hot tub you could look at the stars from. The food was plenty and excellent. The hosts and guides was just fabulous. Super friendly and caring, making sure we had the best experience possible, and they succeeded!
Everything about this holiday was perfection. I also loved the trip to the Golden Circle. Way better being taken by our host Sophie, than on a big bus full of people! She taught us so much about Iceland and their way of life. We also met the family and was able to buy Icelandic jumpers the ladies had knitted. The holiday also felt like a wonderful cultural experience too.
We didn't see the Northern Lights, but that was fine as the horses made me as happy as I could be anyway.
I can't wait to return to Iceland and ride again! [In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your wonderful feedback, it is great to hear how much of a great time you had. The horses are certainly unique and many people do love them.]

Hester who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Based to the itinerary I expected the rides to be longer and more diverse. Riding was a lot of fun, but rides were short and basically the same.

Karena who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Amazing adventure | Riding was superb the horses were loved and part of the Icelandic family as were we. The guide made an extra effort to suit me to each horse and the riding was awesome. Would recommend to anyone and would certainly go back!

We rode in beaches and across lava fields some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen. Strong sturdy and sure footed speedy horses !

Love loved it!

Dag (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A perfect vacation | Excellent

Katherine (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Fabulous riding, horses, scenery and hosts | Riding the Kjolur trail was an amazing experience. The landscapes are beautiful and the horses are fantastic. We rode north to south and at the end I would have happily joined the next group to do it all again and ride south to north and that was even with getting drenched on two of our riding days.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback, we are so happy you enjoyed riding in Iceland :-)]

Katrine Hojfeldt who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. We changed horses twice a day, and not all of them were equally good, but mostly the horse fit perfectly, and the horses were of different levels, and everyone had to be allowed to try different horses.
In addition, all horses were friendly and well handled, most quite contact-seeking and curious.

Sarah who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Very good | Met expectations. Accommodation and food relatively basic, but pretty much as expected. Don't choose this for a fast ride- walk and tolt only, really.

Ros (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Breathtaking | What a fabulous experience! Such a hardy & willing breed of horse, a joy to ride.
Very much enjoyed learning the Tolt and Pace!
The team at Islandshestar were brilliant with people and clearly loved their horses.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and we are so pleased you enjoyed your holiday in Iceland.]

Joely (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing Experience | The riding was fast and exciting, covering a huge variety of terrain. The horses were all so willing, and excited to get going each morning. Sophie the team leader put a lot of effort in matching horses to riders, and always wanted to hear feedback in order to improve her pairings.

Rochelle (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Magically Enchanting | There were plenty of helmets - of varying sizes - for everyone to use. At least for this specific riding operator -IslandsHestar - run by Sophie and Hanes, helmets are NOT necessary to bring. I would have liked knowing that, as helmets take space in a suitcase. I also think that it needs to be strongly stressed that the Northern Lights are very unpredictable, even during March. We had very extreme winter weather during our 3 day ride, so the Northern Lights were not visible. That’s normal, as we have no control over the weather, but I think this ride needs to say it several times, that the chances of seeing them are never assured.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and I'm sorry to hear the weather was extreme during your holiday and you didn’t see the Northern Lights. We will review the ride information and make sure it is very clear that the lights are subject to the correct weather conditions.
Our 'recommended packing list' mentions that hats are available to borrow locally but we would always recommend riders take their own to ensure fit and quality.]

Madeleine who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. A really fun experience! | We rode Icelandic Horses at a mixture of walk and tolt. These horses are so smooth to ride and lovely to handle. A really fun experience I would definitely recommend!
[Becky from ITS replies: It's great to hear that you had such fun riding the Icelandic horses!]

Ulla Raundrup (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Kjolur Ride | Fantastic terrain, skilled people around the horses and us. Our guide Bjørk was good at selecting horses that suited me and my level. The standard of the horses was far better than the tack (Satisfied/Very Satisfied). It was worn saddles and girths, saddlebags that were perforated and disgusting (Unsatisfied).

Line Marie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Kjolur Ride | Excellent

Laura (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Beyond my expectations | Riding was beyond my expectations. These horses are extremely well cared for, willing, strong and very competent in their environment. The views were beautiful with the ride carefully planned to get lots of different views of mountains, waterfalls and geysirs. This was my first time riding the Icelandic Horse and I thoroughly enjoyed the Tolt!

There was a beginner on our ride who struggled the first day, but the guide was so kind and supportive that she sorted it out by Day 2. I would suggest though that you will enjoy this ride more if you are not a beginner, but was so pleased to see how much help and kindness the guide was offering the struggling rider.

Suzy who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. A really lovely relaxing fun time in an extraordinary environment. | It was fun to learn to ride Tolt. The horses were well cared for and well mannered making it easy and safe.

Barbara (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing nature, friendly hosts and great horses (Snaefellsnes) | I was very happy - the riding exceeded my expectations.

Anni (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Kjolur North to South | We changed horses daily, some days two different. All horses were good, kind and the tack was top notch.

Lisbeth (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Kjolur - North to South | There was a lot in the itinerary about riding with a herd of horses, but unfortunately we did not do this very often. Unfortunately, it didn't happen until the last day when the herd overtook us and we got a feeling of being with them. Otherwise, we rode after them, and they rode away on the first time we had a pause.

Dianne who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. An amazing experience. | A few of the guests had done this trip before and kept saying how the last two days of riding (which one doesn't do for the four-day version of the ride) are the most scenic. That was disappointing to know that I was going to miss the best part of the ride. However, I imagine that the logistics dictate the route and thus, it cannot be altered.

Gordon who has been on 14 In The Saddle rides. Stunning beach riding (Snæfellsnes Beach and Mountain Ride) | A wide range of horses each rider rotates between 4/5 over holiday,. Differing ability and comfort levels for horses . in tolt but all energetic and some quite strong. 80 percent of time intolt except days in mountains. Fantastic fast sessions of tolt on estuary beaches with herd of 60 running ahead nearly 100 horses in all. Tack serviceable with pommel bags.

Karen Bolette (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Kjölur - North to South | My Neutral rating by no means applies to the horses – but for the equipment. It was uncommonly dirty when we took it over, but we handed it back with freshly polished saddles. I am well aware that after just half a day's ride it is dirty due to dust etc, but it was not nice to take over both saddle and saddlebag in the condition it was in.

Birgit (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Excellent

Madge who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. An amazing experience. | More than I expected, it was lovely to tolt at such speed and feel so safe and comfortable. There hadn’t been any rain for about four weeks so it was extremely dusty and sometimes you were riding blind but the horses weren’t phased and are so sure footed.