Helen (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Mountain tracks and Olive Groves | My hosts catered for my request to mix longer and shorter rides which meant I was able to enjoy my holiday without getting too sore.

Barak (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Perfect! | Everything was perfect - the scenic location, the clean and elegant rooms, the gourmet meals by the amazing chef Manolis, and of course - the rides, which were suited to our preferences, with beautiful views and fun canters with good-natured and forward-going horses!

Even more, I would like to thank the people that made this vacation so enjoyable: starting from the professional organisation and detailed communication by Louis, through Sabine at Velani, who did her best to answer every need and fit the rides (and the horses) to our desires, kind Nikko at the gourmet restaurant of Manolis, and finally - dear Andrea, my and my daughter's guide at all the rides, who was extremely kind and professional, and led us safely to rides that were exciting and fun!
My daughter and I are already checking the calendar to book the next vacation with In the Saddle!

Penny (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Best holiday ever !!! | Brilliant two hour rides and a great 30 min lesson.

Great to learn about our surroundings as we rode and to be surrounded with such a lush and beautiful place.

I had imagined there would be more kids and there wasn’t much of the mounted games etc. but that didn’t matter as T came out on the two hour rides with me which was great 🙂

Jane (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Relaxed and excellent | Excellent

Sophie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Brilliant memorable week of riding in the Cretan mountains | I had a wonderful week at Velani and everything was as I'd hoped for. Amazing scenery, sunny weather, and a sure-footed and responsive horse which was a pleasure to ride. We got some good stretches of canter in most of the rides, although the terrain is very hard and rocky so there was a lot of walking too - good opportunity to look around and take photos though. The horses know their job and I enjoyed the riding a lot. [ITS replies: thank you for lovely feedback. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay!]

Liz who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. A great time - again! | I was able to ride the lovely Mangas - as I did last year. Sabine was very accommodating in arranging four lessons for me as well as the Sunny rides.

Verne who has been on 27 In The Saddle rides. A wonderful return trip | we knew what to expect as this was a return trip
Liz was happy to be reunited with the same horse from last year (Olympia), I was happy on Poseidon...

Sophie who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Lovely relaxing countryside break | Great fun, loved the new horse Zoi

Sally who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. A wonderful riding oasis in the Crete mountains | I think the riding experience exceeded my expectations, the main reason being the spectacular countryside. I hadn't expected us to climb so high and each ride managed to have it's own identity. I loved my horse, truly Spanish and fun to ride. I also liked that we were a smaller group, between 4 and 6 people. It was a good group dynamic.

Sophie who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. The perfect relaxing break | Excellent

Vanessa who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous location and excellent horses | We were extremely impressed with the equestrian centre at Velanie, the yard was organised, clean and with good facilities. The staff (Vladimir and Julia) were extremely helpful and patient. We were expected to help prepare our horses and, as it was some time since we have done this for ourselves, we needed some help. Both Vlad and Julia were happy to show us what to do and careful to check everything was in order before anyone mounted. They clearly loved all the horses and made sure their welfare was always the priority.

We were both very happy with our horses and when we were allocated less interesting horses on one of the days, the situation was quickly rectified following a chat with the team.

The riding was on fairly hard and narrow tracks which limited freedom a little but this had already been explained before we went so we knew what to expect. However, the scenery and the overall experience made up for these limitations and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Olaug who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. Ride, food, relax. Hospitality. Lovely hotel, room/food. | Excellent

Grethe who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful | A good selection of horses in a changing landscape.
Did different rides everyday and enjoyed the variety this offered.

Liz who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous - again! I’ll be back - again. | I rode the wonderful Mangas who suited me completely. Willing, able and with a great temperament. I also had three lessons on him in the open air ménage - with a great view down to mountain.

I am not able tack up the horses but this was done very willingly for me.

I was on the Sunny Rides programme which proved suitable and fun for an experienced rider of advancing (advanced!) years.

Elisabeth who has been on 20 In The Saddle rides. Beautiful location and excellent service | The riding took place in small hill/mountain/field roads, with gravel or concrete or asphalt surface. Most of the riding was upwards or downwards with beautiful views and with short and some longer canters in the more relative smooth upward parts with gravel ground. The selection of horses is varied and will fit the unexperienced and the experienced rider. I got to ride 3 different horses and was very pleased with 2 of them. We were riding in one line with the same order within the same day. It was therefor a nice experience to change the horses some days to also get another place in the order, being in the back and also being in the front. It was difficult, some times, to get the information given by the guide when riding in the back. The guides were very helpful and nice in all respect.

Joanna who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Great riding, great people, great accommodation and location | Riding was great, lovely horses - clearly well cared for. Enjoyed being able to help with grooming, tacking up etc.

Tessa (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) brilliant | great stable and very fun rides and guides

Louise who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous time in a beautiful setting | Excellent

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

Kate who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. Velani Hotel, Crete - gentle riding and a beautiful view | The riding was very steady and the terrain was demanding on the horses. Very rough going and concrete roads. Cantering on hard road surfaces. Lots of walking up and down the steep hills. Fabulous views but very similar every day. The horses really knew their job but were rather bored and robotic. Good for the not-so-experienced.

[In The Saddle replies: Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your holiday. We appreciate your constructive comments].

Emma who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic riding | This holiday was great. We were all matched with horses that suited our needs and the guides we’re always willing to adapt the riding or horses to suit our needs. One member of our group was a novice rider and everyone went out of their way to accommodate her offering her lessons and hacks that involved a quieter pace. I would definitely return!

Penny who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Pretty amazing | The only thing that I was not happy about on this holiday is the horse trainers. I observed a very heavy handed approach to training that left the horses fearful of the trainer. Horses were disciplined while on the rides in a manner that I felt was not safe. On one occasion the trainer was attempting to school her horse who was afraid of the mounting stairs in the arena. He spooked and fled dragging the trainer while several of the riders were mounted in the arena and waiting to go on the ride. I know that Sabine cares deeply for her horses and do not understand why this type of training is allowed to occur.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for letting us know and we've followed this up with the owner, Sabine. The safety and welfare of the horses is very important to us.
Sabine explained that the horse in question was only recently backed and has a tendancy to bolt when spooked. He isn't easily mounted and so for now he remains a guide only horse until he becomes more confident.]

Caitlin (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A Perfect Week! | The riding and the horses all exceeded my expectations. No ride was the same and the variety on offer was great. They are wonderfully trained and cared for. [In The Saddle replies: we are pleased to hear that you had such a great time.]

Christel Shermer (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) We had a really nice experience at the Velani Country Hotel in Crete and a nice riding experience. The riding suited our level well and there was an opportunity for our 12-year-old daughter to get extra hours and enjoy herself in the stable with the horses. Both guides were competent, friendly and welcoming, and we felt in safe hands with both, especially the male guide. The female guide was super good at “nerding” horses with our daughter and was sweet and welcoming, which provided a wonderful experience for young and old ones. It works well with some in the family riding and others walking, there are good hiking trails right outside the hotel.

Sue who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful | The riding net my expectations, and was very enjoyable. Our guide was extremely good and very knowledgeable about horses. Nothing was too much trouble and they were very accommodating.

Helen (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Fun and relaxing | Riding was brilliant. Really liked that there was only us with the guide. They look into account some of the difficulties my daughter was having mentally and made her feel comfortable.

Fiona who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous trip | I loved everything at Velani.
The people, the riding, the horses, the food, accommodation and the scenery.
I will definitely go back there as it was just the right combination I was looking for.
Vladimir and Giulia were very helpful and did their best to keep all riders happy.
Sabine is a very astute horsewoman and has a very good knowledge of horses and their suitability for the riding at Velani.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your lovely feedback and we are so pleased to hear you enjoyed your holiday.]

Bev who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Just what we planned | Would have liked it to have been a little faster pace but it was particularly hot. Maybe riding earlier or later would have been better. Vladimir our lead was great and the horses in good condition and well looked after.
My horse was delightful albeit a little on the small side for me.
Overall though thoroughly enjoyable.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and we are pleased to hear you had a great holiday despite it being very hot.]

Karen who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Sunny Ride at Velani Country Hotel | There was a bit of confusion when we arrived, we thought we had booked the Sunny Ride and that is what we went for in the end. It was very hot during our week of Riding and one day we decided not to ride as it was 36 degrees. We did manage to persuade Sabine to let us ride later in the day (after the first 2 days) as it was so hot, we rode at 4:30pm rather than 3:00pm.

All of the horses were well cared for and we were able to help with grooming and tacking up and also wash down on our return to the stables. The tack was in good order and clean.

As we were only riding for 2 hours per day, the rides were very gentle passed (mainly walking) with the odd trot and very rare canter. The terrain did not help with this as most of the riding is on rough tracks and paths through Olive trees.

[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback. As per your itinerary booklet and invoice, you had booked the Panorama rides. I am very sorry if this wasn't clear when you arrived and I will certainly follow up to see where we could improve.]

Penny who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful hotel with delicious food very friendly hosts and well looked after horses | Thoroughly enjoyed my days at Hotel Valani. Charming hosts Sabine and Manolis absolutely delicious food wonderful accommodation and fun riding.

Verne who has been on 27 In The Saddle rides. Sun, Riding, Loafing and Eating | Well mannered horses, very well looked after, good quality tack.
Great guide, some steep trails (which made for some slower riding). Hot at times.

Jenny who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. The riding was great, we cantered wherever possible, the horses were well behaved and there were a good selection of types to cater for the different riders abilities.