Chloe who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho - dressage dream | Excellent

Rachel who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Absolutely outstanding in every way | Beautifully cared for and presented well trained and talented horses.
Passionate and informative instructors.
In a location of outstanding natural beauty very high end accommodation and facilities and very caring helpful friendly staff

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your time at Monte Velho].

Ashley who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Incredible Luxury On Another Level! | Beyond expectation - this holiday is for the equestrian who loves luxury and riding beautifully trained horses with top quality tuition - there was nothing that I could fault in this entire holiday experience - apart from the fact it was too short - I could have stayed for eternity!

Alison who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Had a great time | Instructors are world class

Jim who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. 4th visit, best ever (so far) | My wife Bev does the riding, I watch, video and learn too. She has a German warmblood at home competing at Advanced Medium level but even though he's now 21 everyone is saying there is PSG in there soon. Although Lusitanos are different, the opportunity to ride horses who can do the higher level moves is just amazing, to really get a riding feel and bring home to pass on. All the trainers at Monte Velho have been amazing, they know their horses and are very adept at matching horse with rider capabilities and aspirations. The 2 riders per trainer hour lessons work well, balancing time to learn with walk breaks to catch breath and let the instructions sink in. So lots of perspiration but loads more inspiration!

Alix who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Unbelievable learning and fun | Brilliant tuition, well trained happy horses. Accommodation stylish, comfortable, to die for. Hot tub, plunge pool. Lovely food. Honesty bar. Brilliant staff. Very accommodating. Other guests very supportive and friendly. Thoroughly recommend!

[Abbie from ITS replies: Many thanks for your lovely feedback. We're so pleased that you had such a good time at Monte Velho in dressage paradise!]

Anna who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful short break | We had two lessons in a group of two and they were very informative and gave us a chance to try new things. The instructors were lovely. We also had two trail rides around the property, through the cork trees paddocks and tracks, which were relaxing and involved a few short canters.

Sandrine who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Great riding experience in Monte Velho | Excellent

Jenny who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Incredible days in a beautiful location | The accommodation, facilities and meals at Monte Velho were all of a high standard. The horses are a credit to them and the instructors provide a super level of instruction.
I was privileged to ride 3 different well schooled horses. There are some challenges involved in meeting the demand for lessons and some guests had lessons taken out from their original schedule. Also important to know lessons are shared rather than individual. This was fine for me to have a walk and give the horse a break at times as the instructors switch between riders during the session.
I had a great trip, which was my second visit here. The evening walk to meet this years foals with the owner was a highlight as it’s incredible to learn about the history and breeding program. I’m sure I’ll return again.

Lisa (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Individual lessons would have been preferred

Aisling (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Monte Velho | Teaching, horses and accommodation were fantastic. Even when an issue with the No of horses MVH went to great lengths to sort with demo/breeding tour etc. lovely experience

[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: Many thanks for your feedback. We are really pleased that you enjoyed your holiday].

Gemma (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing location | I was a bit disappointed with my rides unfortunately. I was given difficult horses on 3 out of my 4 lessons (and we booked 5!) which unfortunately meant that by the time we’d sorted them out my lesson was over. I did have 1 fabulous lesson on a beautiful horse called Favourite and asked if I could ride him again on the last day but was given one of the difficult horses again instead. I understand that everyone wants to ride the GP horses but as an inter 1 rider I only had that 1 ride where I felt like I really learnt anything.

I also have a fear of heights and this was not accounted for on the trail ride and the trainer did not understand when I tried to tell him and I ended up having a pretty unpleasant experience.

Sorry that this sounds so negative the place is amazing and it wouldn’t stop me going back but I just wanted to be honest about my experience.

[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: Many thanks for your feedback. We are looking into this and will be in touch shortly].

Imke who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous | Excellent

Sarah who has been on 17 In The Saddle rides. Another wonderful few days at Monte Velho! | This was my second trip to Monte Velho this year. I learn so much there on their wonderful horses with great instruction. I really felt like I built on what I learnt last time and what I have been learning with my instructors at home.

Ann who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho, Portugal - Great holiday! This was our second time at Monte Velho and we enjoyed it just as much as last time. | I mostly had lessons and only one trail ride. Mostly I had Lorena as a teacher and she is very good. Sadly she is leaving, but there are other excellent teachers at Monte Velho.

Lizzie who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. 3 days of trails | Excellent

Maxine who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous week of riding | I had an amazing week at Monte Velho, my riding improved so much with some great instruction and superb schoolmasters.

[In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your feedback on Monte Velho. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your return visit.]

Juliet who has been on 15 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic - as always | Super, well trained and willing horses. A great variety to suit all abilities.
I have had numerous trips here ( I’ve lost count!) and can always feel an improvement in my riding when I get back home. Emphasis on correct riding but also the opportunity to work on ‘the tricks’ too.

Susan who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Absolutely superb! | The riding exceeded my expectations. I learnt so much in just 3 days. The horses were just amazing - well trained and an absolute pleasure to ride. My instructor (Lorena) was very patient and helpful - I really benefitted from her guidance (and did want to bring her back to the UK with me!).

[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your feedback. We are happy that you enjoyed your stay at lovely Monte Velho].

Catherine who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. A fabulous holiday | On the last trail ride, I felt a little out of my depth on the horse I was riding.

Peta (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Utterly perfect! | The riding more than met my expectations! The horses were incredible and the instruction was of the highest quality. I hadn't ridden at the level I was aiming at for thirty years (!), but am still on a high from what I achieved. I honestly can't wait to go back.

Audrey who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Amazing from start to finish | 5 star. Can't wait to go back.

[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: Thanks so much for your feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your holiday at Monte Velho.]

Linda who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho - nice time but uninspiring riding | I expected the riding to be much more challenging. In the whole of the week I must have done a total of about six flying changes and just a few minutes of passage. No piaffe at all.

All the instructors were lovely - calm, clear and professional. The problem was that they give personal tuition but there were always two people in a lesson. So, while one person was being taught the other person was doing nothing which meant that an hour's lesson was really only half an hour at the very most.

I could have quite happily done at least twice the amount of riding that I actually did.

Penny who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho - Fantastic accommodation and great horses | The horses were lovely and I was able to experience flying changes and Passage on a schoolmaster. It was July so incredibly hot, but the horses were willing and submissive.

The lessons were always for 2, taking turns and usually with a Bluetooth earpiece which made it easy to hear instructions. The only downside was that this meant for half the lesson you spent your time trying to keep out of the way of the other person, and I can imagine if there was more than one lesson taking place it would have been difficult.

The instruction was relevant and pitched to the right level. I got a lot out of them as did my daughter.

Riders were all expected to wear spurs so although they can be provided, best to bring your own.

[In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at Monte Velho and gained so much from the lessons. Spurs are included as an item on our suggested packing list].

Jo (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Dream come true! | Great instructors for both lessons and trail rides.

Sarah who has been on 17 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful, wonderful experience! | This was a really special experience. I am a very basic dressage rider and worried that Monte Velho would be too advanced for me. I needn't have worried because my instructor, Lorena, listened to what I wanted to work on and perfectly targeted the teaching for my level. The lessons were wonderful and I learnt SO much. What a privilege to ride such highly schooled horses. I came back from all my lessons grinning from ear to ear.

Carole who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho | I had an awesome experience on fabulous horses who make you feel completely safe. I never ride without my air bag in France but in Monte Velho, I took it off, in full confidence.
The coaches are full of energy and living the ride with you. The owner is showing you his property explaining the history and the horses.
The food is just so good, people there are so nice.
I can't wait to go back to Monte Velho next year.
Thank you Abbie for your perfect organisation.

Kate who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho - Fantastic |
The horses all exceeded my expectations and were an absolute joy to ride.

The main large arena seems to be the preferred choice for the trainers. There can be up to 6 people riding in the arena at any one time (including instructors) which makes it very difficult to keep out of each others way. We would have enjoyed it far more if we had been able to have our lessons alone in either the covered or outdoor arena.

The next time we book we will also ask to have our lessons (husband & wife) at different times so that we can watch each other and take photos and videos of each other.

Julie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wonderful relaxing break | In general the riding was good - however I found the hack sub standard - we were taken out and taken down a track which resulted in turning round a tree and coming back the same way!! I would have liked to have hacked around the grounds.....we then cantered back at full pelt which resulted in one of the group dramatically falling off as he was not experienced enough to deal with the pace. It was very irresponsible and when I asked for us not to canter again on the way home I was ignored. I didn't pay for a hack to a tree and back - it was all about going out for a fast ride and not about seeing the sights and the grounds. Completely misjudged in my opinion and was the only bad point of the holiday. If I go again I won't be doing a trail ride.

(Abbie from In The Saddle replies, "Thank you for your feedback on the trail ride you joined at Monte Velho. This is very unusual and we are looking in to what happened. We appreciate you highlighting this to us.)

Sarah who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho - third time back & still as great as the first | The horses are all very well schooled at Monte Velho, with superb manners. The instructors are clear & precise with their teaching & also spend time with you until you get things right.
Lovely to see some riders experiencing flying changes, piaffe & passage for the first time, their big smiles said it all.

Barbara who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho Portugal - wonderful horses, fantastic accommodation and lovely hosts | As on my previous four occasions at Monte Velho, the holiday met all my expectations.

Jessica (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Monte Velho - Portugal | Monte Velho certainly exceeded all of my expectations! As my first riding holiday, to have such amazing facilities, truly fantastic horses and experience a huge variety of dressage Lusitanos in the lessons. Accomplishing wonderful dressage movements throughout, from tempi changes, to canter pirouettes, the whole thing was utterly brilliant. With everything twinned with lovely people and really friendly atmosphere along with great trail ride across the beautifully scenic surroundings I cannot recommend Monte Velho enough.