Amanda (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) The most brilliant week would go back again in a heartbeat! - brilliant people, horses, scenery, riding, food, and organisation, from start to end 🙂 | It exceeded my expectations! The group was of mixed ability, ranging from people who own their own horses and ride everyday, to less frequent riders such as myself who only ride occasionally, and despite this, everyone commented that the riding was perfect for them, which is really hard to achieve! A good mix of mostly walk, trot, and the occasional canter (galloping on the beach past the flamingos in the Camargue was the best moment of the holiday for me!) Scenery was incredible. The horses were superb and despite varying terrain you never felt worried on them at all. Getting involved with the grooming and tacking up I loved as well, but with people always on hand to help if needed. By the end of the holiday I put the bridle and saddle on for the first time by myself! I already miss my horse Carmen.

Lorraine (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing | Riding was amazing, but I could have done with a little smoother horse as mine was a little small, almost a pony and tended to have a choppy gait to him. Also he tended to be a typical pony, hard headed and stubborn. He was a Camargue horse so I did appreciate getting to ride a horse from the region I have read about and have had a life long dream to see. I had a concern that the horses didn't seem to get enough water over the course of the days journey and it was quite hot in some spots.

Susan (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wonderful scenery, hard riding at times in the , but well worth it. | The riding was all I expected it to be, but I would have liked to have seen a better quality of tack and clean. Also the horses were extremely good and very willing but I felt they could have been cared for better. The riding was amazing and the scenery spectacular at times. We were disappointed that we were unable to go on the ferry to the Little Camargue, apparently the ferry was broken.

Sue who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Five days on horseback is always enjoyable | There was a significant amount of road work (minor lanes) on the first day. With temperatures in the 30s the tarmac reflected the heat. The gallops in the Camargue were great fun and the horses, as ever, generous of spirit. In the mountains they took me to places I could not walk to.

The horses are in good condition on a diet of hay and grass (surprisingly no hard feed). Over winter they get four months holiday in the Jura as a herd.

Amy (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) I really enjoyed the trip. In particular the riding through the mountains was beautiful and really interesting terrain to ride through. I enjoyed the mountains more than the Camargue, I was a little dissapointed with the Camargue, as were some others. Perhaps it was the time of year.

Regarding the riding - I do need to point out that different members of the group booked with other 3rd party companies or direct with the operator, and I would say that In the Saddle had this down as a lower ability ride than other companies and indeed the operator. This was fine for me as I am very keen to improve my riding, but it was more challenging than I expected and I think the range of abilities in the group caused some friction (either rightly or wrongly) in the group. I should point out I was not the least able there. I think/hope I held my own! But you should know that on the owners website this trip is rated 3 out of 3 in terms of ability and that you should be happy at walk, trot, canter and gallop - which is why some members who'd booked directly probably expected a faster ride. On your site it's down as intermediate "Has had a number of lessons and is reasonably confident on a horse at walk, trot and canter." and is only level 2 of 4, so quite different.
Hannah from In The Saddle comments: In order to join this ride you have to be capable of walk, trot and canter out in the open on a well behaved horse. More experienced riders are obviously welcome to join this ride too, but novice riders who arent capable of this description arent suited.

Angie who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Amazing Hospitality | Excellent

Ali Elizabeth (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) The riding was excellent. It was mostly at a gentle pace (walking) but with enough trotting and cantering. There was some fast cantering/galloping on the beach. It definitely met my expectations.

Marianne (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Luberon & Camargue Provence, France | Excellent

Zipper who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Beautiful Provence. Great variety of scenery with professional guide and horse. | I rode a lovely little horse called Carmen who was such a professional and gave me safe uncomplicated five days on the trail.
The variety of the scenery from the Alpilles looking over to Les Baux in the evening sunshine to the uniqueness of the Camargue,,actually wading through the marshes is reason enough to go on this holiday. Plenty of forest trails,the rocky garrigue,fascinating apple orchards and flat marshland meant that there was so much to see.
We had some really good gallops especially on the beach where the hard working horses found a speedy fifth gear.