Beth who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic Adventure - Holiday of a lifetime | The riding in South Africa was brilliant - soft sandy tracks and lots of canter and some small jumps. In Botswana near the Treehouse Camp, the terrain was more rocky and so there was a lot more walking for the first 2 days. The riding back from the Two Mashatus Camp was great - more open so cantering didn't have to be single file and some jumping. I feel that the expectations given at the briefing in Botswana were that there would be more open cantering but this was only true after we left Treehouse Camp - a little disappointing but only because of what we were expecting.

Linda (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Perfect! | The horses and instruction were superb and appropriate for my level of riding. All the riding facilities and care for the horses are exemplary, and also extremely relaxing for the rider. Everything about the yard works really well - including the adorable, friendly Jack Russell dogs who make one feel at home! I really enjoyed watching fellow riders’ lessons from the glamorous and comfortable viewing lounge/bar. The instructors are brilliant and intuitively gauge how to get the best from each rider. I will definitely return.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Wonderful that you had such a great time at Quinta do Rol. Many thanks for your feedback].

Helen (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Fabulous Horses, Fabulous location, Fabulous Hosts | The rides were well planned and varied. Stunning views and wonderful beaches.
Our group were well matched in riding ability. Everyone was experienced and up for the thrill of fast riding when conditions were appropriate.

The horses are wonderful! Well schooled, keen, fit, responsive and very forward going. The riding is not suitable for beginners.

Rachel puts a lot of thought into matching the right horse with the right rider. She truly loves and understands each horse in her care. Jose and Roberto are both excellent horsemen and it was a privilege to be under their guidance whilst on horseback.

The riding and the horses were beyond my expectations, and my expectations were high!

Thank you xx

Sissel who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic riding holiday at Los Alamos! | I had a fantastic time the horses are so well trained and really looked after (this is very important) I liked the way they gave me the opportunity to try different horses and challange myself on strong and very fast horses. Tremendus guides and the hospitality is excellent at both the stable and at the house. This was my second time at Los Alamos but not the last.

Hanne who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Best riding holiday ever | Excellent

Jane who has been on 20 In The Saddle rides. Absolutely fantastic | The horses and riding always meet up to my expectations.

Caroline (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Fabulous riding in a beautiful setting. | Exciting but also safe riding on well trained horses suited to the work. Very professional and friendly yard owner and guides. A really fantastic experience. Early morning beach gallops and fast fun in the firebreaks but also gentle walks through flowering areas of the forest with the horses crushing wild oregano under their hooves. Magical.

Kathryn who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Excellent | Horses immaculate and very well cared for.
Stables immaculate.
Lessons very well structured catering for individual riders needs.
Instruction excellent.
Facilities excellent including the viewing gallery with easy access to home grown wine
Improved my riding position which has helped with riding my own horses at home

[Abbie from ITS replies: We're so pleased that you enjoyed your stay at Quinta do Rol. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experiences].

Judy (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Lovely | I don’t think this holiday would be suitable for people who are inexperienced hacking over different ground. The terrain was uneven. I enjoyed every moment but I spend most of my time hacking.

Lyndsey who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Amazing riding experience! | There was a wide range of well cared for, nice natured horses to ride. I was paired with a forward going mare named Zoi, who was an excellent match for me. There were differing abilities on the ride- if you don't like to canter then do not go as you will spoil some of the riding for more capable people. The terrain is tough at points but this makes it all the more fun, none of it was unsafe and I felt secure at all times. The horses are trained so well in their environment. We loved every second and will be back!

Joanne who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Incredible | Myself and my sister in law have had a fabulous holiday at los alamos, the horses were incredible, sensitive, kind and very strong throughout including varied terrain, woodland, and sand were they gave us a safe and happy ride.
Our accommodation was great and everything we wished for was provided from lunches out at local restaurants to home cooked meals in the evening! We even managed a swim in the pool! We are definitely returning next year! Thank you

Janet who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Amazing | Met more than my expectations! An amazing place with stunning well trained horses.

Bob who has been on 16 In The Saddle rides. Fun in the Wind | The horses were all excellent, certainly forward going but also controllable! They coped amazingly well in the (higher than expected) winds we encountered

Jennifer (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Incredible horses! | Incredible experience! The horses were amazing and I was sad to be leaving. Can’t wait to go back again!

[Abbie from ITS replies: Many thanks for letting us know that you enjoyed your stay at Quinta do Rol. We very much look forward to arranging your return visit].

Emma (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Fabulous in all respects | The riding was exactly what was advertised and I loved my horse ( Karim)
For my next holiday I would go for longer hours in the saddle, but that is absolutely not a negative comment on this trip. It was exactly as billed.

Elva who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Macatoo - Seeing big game from horseback is a privilege beyond imagination | The riding was brilliant. I was a bit nervous going due to a recent accident, and the team were so good at matching me to a horse I was comfortable on. Allowing me to switch horses when I felt a bit unsure. They horses are well cared for and all seem happy doing their jobs. Its not easy keeping horses in good condition in that climate, and in big herd, but the team do an excellent job.

Only slight negative was that another guest arrived half way through the week who was a repeat guest and requested the one of the horses I had been assigned for the week. Which meant I was swapped onto another one for my last two days. I understand this put the team in a bit of a difficult situation, as the other guest kicked up a fuss about wanting that particular horse and was pretty demanding. I didn't want to be difficult in response, but I was a little upset about it (quietly). Mainly as this was the horse I had got on the best with and had made me feel very safe. I don't blame the team for this situation, it was definitely the other guest's fault (particularly as she was there for 10 days and could have had him once I left).

In terms of the Guides, we had Chief for the majority of the trip - my word he made us feel so safe. His understanding of the game and their behaviour was beautiful to watch. He managed to get us so close, so many times, but always in a slow calm way, that you never felt like we were interfering with the animals or disturbing them. While on previous trips I've had many charges/ chases, and being honest they are fun, it was pretty special they way he works, we never had any run ins at all. He was also great company, fun, easy going and incredibly knowledgeable. Roda our back up guide was also sensational. Sometimes unless you are riding close to the lead guide you can miss out on some information about the animals. But Roda was as qualified and knowledgeable and always telling us about what we were seeing. He has a lovely way with guests and the horses too. Excellent guy, I hope to see him as a lead guide soon.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thank you for this wonderful feedback on your much-anticipated visit to Macatoo. We're absolutely thrilled that you got to experience this incredible riding safari with your best friend - albeit slightly later than planned!].

Russell (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Great riding holiday in the Sierra Nevada | We were hampered by the weather (rain & snow) but the hosts adjusted the routes sensibly and appropriately

Johnathan (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Faultless service and experience | Dallas and her brother are very generous hosts.
They are interesting to talk to, fun to be with and clearly care about their horses. A great trip.

Vanessa who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Holiday of a lifetime! | The guides were extremely skilled and very sensitive and respectful of all the wild animals. They helped us track and understand so much. The horses were well cared for and there was plenty of opportunity to change if you wanted to though I was extremely happy with my two, the kind hearted Orapa and nicely schooled Mohembo

Joanne (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Excellent | Excellent

Cat who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. The most amazing adventure | The riding was hands down the best of my life: fantastic horses, varied terrain and a lot of long canters on the best going in the world.

Tina (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Perfect holiday for your none riding partner to join you | They have set rides going out at 9am, 11am and 3pm. The 9am and 3pm are classed as slow rides and that means walk only. They have none riders too. The 11am is down as a fast ride and includes trot and loping.
The rides are predominantly 1 hour long and all are nose to tail kind of rides. We got told to stay in a line. They did do a 2 hour ride on 1 of the days, which is a walk only ride. Apart from the ride into Tombstone , which is a half day ride, all the rides go over the land immediately surrounding the ranch which can get a little monotonous as you can't really get far doing a 1 hour circular route and the rides kind of cross the same same terrain as previous rides .Having been on working ranch holidays previously, I personally found the riding a little tame and the terrain not very challenging. Even as riders you are not allowed to mount or dismount without one of the wranglers holding your horse. This was my first 'dude' ranch and I feel its ideal to go with your partner or children to have a little ride etc or if your happy to ride single file and tootle around . As we were all inclusive we could sign up to every ride if we wanted. Initially we had our name down for every ride each day but crossed our names off the lists for some of them as it became a little 'same old'. My horse was lovely . Most of them are rescues which is nice to hear. All of the horses on our rides were well behaved and the wranglers are quite chatty.

Catherine who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Another fabulous holiday at Ant’s Nest. | Excellent

Amelie who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic dressage training on Lusitano horses | The trip was absolutely incredible. It was everything I’ve always hoped for in riding and haven’t been able to find before. Riding Lusitano horses has been a revelation for me. They are everything I’ve always dreamt for in a horse, forward and ultra-responsive while being quiet and safe, super smart, perfect size for me and a lovely temperament. Perfect schoolmasters! All the horses I rode were amazing and they all taught me something different. All three trainers were really great too, again teaching me different things and constantly pushing me to improve. I got to ride piaffe, passage, Spanish walk, flying changes and one-tempis for the first time, which was incredible and a lot more than I ever expected I’d be able to do!

Pat who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. A fun-filled week in the Arctic Snow | We both enjoyed riding a number of different horses, in the indoor arena, on the oval track and along the forest trails, riding some mornings, afternoons and one night ride. All the horses we rode (9 in total between us) were responsive and easy to look after - to catch, groom and tack up.
We both enjoyed tolting. It's a shame that we can't tolt on horses at home.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thanks so much for your feedback. We're really pleased that you enjoyed your return visit to Sweden.]

Rochelle (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Wild animals, fun and food | Got so close to the animals would have liked to be able to have more open canters

Helle who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Moderately priced and well managed riding safari in eSwatini | I had been to Mlilwane riding once before (2001) so I knew the place. The ride and the horses absolutely met my expectations. Mlilwane and KaMsholo are both very small reserves so one will not get the same wilderness experience as many of the other safari riding, however the price is very affordable so top 'value for money'. The horses are well cared for, the guides are good and Ann is just fantastic.
The trail I appreciated the most was the ride to the river where we had picnic lunch, the one that was most boring was the so called 'community ride'.IF including a community ride I suggest instead to visit a local small scale farmer instead of a large - very artificial - event place. I also really enjoyed the 'canter-track' we rode the second afternoon when Ann came with us. I will suggest including that particular path more than once (other tracks were we were riding more than once were not as nice...)
(Olwen from In The Saddle writes - we are so glad that you enjoyed the horses and riding at Mlilwane and KaMsholo. And we will make sure your comments are noted by the ride operator for future guests).

Donna who has been on 40 In The Saddle rides. Cape Winelands Gourmet Trail - wow! | Well, didn't see that coming! We had the impression (wrongly) that we would be pottering along from vineyard to vineyard and the horses would be a bit like 'dobbins'! In fact, the horses were fabulous, very well cared for, lovely and lively, which meant we were able to go at a variety of paces with lots of canters and gallops before and after wine tasting! Excellent ride and our guide for the trip was brilliant making the trip really enjoyable and fun.

[Abbie from ITS replies - Fantastic to hear that you had such a wonderful time on the Cape Gourmet Wine Trail. We're so pleased that you enjoyed this trip so much].

Ashley who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Memorable | Beautiful horses and great trainers and grooms
I was lucky enough to ride experienced advanced horses and also some not used in the school much yet due to the stage of their education so great variety.
We were not asked about if we wanted to do anything other than lessons. When we did ask for a hack it was soon accommodated and one of us wanted an inhand lesson which they quickly organised too
We couldn’t use the gym as used as storage and we were told couldn’t use the pool either.

Hanne who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. It was a fantastic ride in beautiful surroundings with a fantastic guide.

Debs who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS !! | Don't be fooled by their size, these Icelandic ponies would put a 17hh warmblood to shame.
Our ponies were strong enough to carry us, forward going, very light to the aids, sensible and well adapted to their surroundings and snowy terrain.

They were polite in the stables to groom and tack up. Responding to gentle aids to ask them to move over, pick up a foot etc. They came to call and led in willingly from their paddocks.

Because they had the natural freedom to interact and play in their paddocks, they all just seemed to rub along together. Amiable, well-adjusted and happy ponies !

Donna who has been on 40 In The Saddle rides. Oh how we love you wild coast! | This was our 4th trip to the Wild Coast. We keep going back as the ride is fabulous. Lots of long canters, the Wavecrest gallop, and fabulous, well cared for horses. The guides are great and really make the riding special.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thank you for your lovely feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoy your trips to the Wild Coast so much!]