Excellent

It could have been a little more galloping

Once again the horses at El Bronco were amazing. I rode two whilst I was there and both Honey and Maya were well trained, sure footed and responsive.

Excellent surrounding and nice horses. I performed some more jumping- much easier riding than expected.

Amazing horse riding. Totally different from European. It was lovely to have horses with personalities. Clear riding rules explained at the begining . You could spot the nomads adapted their instructions as they were more confident in our riding, without ever endangering our safety. Amazing gallops, great racing spirit!

The website suggested the pace would be very steady but in fact we had loads of fast and/ or long canters every day so was pleasantly surprised.

Yes. Faster and longer canters than mentioned in holiday notes. Scenery gorgeous.

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.

Lots of varied riding from wide open fields to riding through old forests. The guides Sam, Tanya and Mika made every ride interesting and fun. They can tell you lots about the local area and are very approachable. There are lots of canters and some exhiliarating races that the horses love. We even had the opportunity to pop some small logs in the forest. A great ride that I would happily do again!
[Becky from In The Saddle replied: This is great to hear and I'm so pleased you enjoyed the riding!]

Riding was great - well schooled horses get very safe for non experienced riders but fun enough for those with more experience. Plenty of long canters but also lots of time to see game close up. The guides were excellent - good fun and happy to do some cross-country tracking to make sure we saw as much as possible. They were knowledgeable and really seemed to care about our experience of the reserve and were fun - made the holiday great for all the family.
The reserve was very well stocked so we got to see a large selection of game from horseback: giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, warthog, rhino, buffalo, loads of impala, kudu, eland. The night drives were a bonus - porcupine, jackal, civet etc.
[ITS comment: I'm so pleased to hear you enjoyed the riding at Ant's Lodges, they have a great selection of horses for all levels.]

Great place, with incredibly nice, well-groomed horses and talented staff. Already ready for one more trip! 🙂

Excellent

Dallas paired me up perfectly with my horse, Honrado, who was not only beautiful but wonderfully schooled. He was so safe and sure footed when it came to being led on some of the steeper terrain.

Good horses and experienced guides
However I was lucky to be alone with another rider for the first days and then with a small family - there was another group of 5 riders who were very noisy and not that friendly - my week would not have been so good if I had been with them. Thanks to the camp manager for managing it the right way for me.

Kicking up dust we cantered across the plains spotting animals. Lots of fast canters and a chance to jump if anyone wanted to. I was perfectly matched with a cheeky pony called Lightening who was forward and responsive. He did get a little fidgety whilst game viewing which made taking photographs quite a challenge. :-). The guides were outstanding - fun and informative.
However, it does states in the brochure a maximum group number of 8 - we were a group of 10 and although we were split up to go out game viewing this did lead to a guest having varying accommodation to the other guests, not enough seats around the camp fire and it got quite cosy around the dinner table.

Excellent

I was matched with an ex-racer much to my delight as it's what I'm used to. Lynx was simply the best Thoroughbred I've ever had the privilege to ride. So well behaved and bold. Beautifully schooled. He responded to the lightest of aids and was a complete joy to ride. My son, Josh, was also equally pleased with Rodeo, the horse he was selected. There were 10 of us on the trip and nobody asked to swap horses which I think says something. Lindy was very careful to listen to what sort of horse we wanted to ride and she got my request perfectly

I was expecting the Delta to be flooded but as it was totally dry I had a different riding experience altogether. I think the rides might have been faster with more cantering as the ground was visible. Plenty of holes though due to Aardvark. The horses were all lovely and they matched me perfectly to a sweet 15 hand mare whom I would have taken home if possible. Everything was perfect.

The horses I was matched with were perfect for me, responsive and forward going. The riding met my expectations, there was lots of fast paced riding and there was a branch to jump over on the first day to jump over on the first day which I particularly enjoyed.
[ITS comment: We are so pleased you enjoyed the fast paced riding.]

When I arrived I was the only one on the Sunny Rides program, so after 2 days we made changes
My sons got one private lesson with each riding instructor so I agreed with one riding instructor to try a little dressage so it became 10 days dressage instead as it suited us all better. I learned a lot

Both Mum and I had horses perfectly suited to us. It seemed the whole ride did. I think Jo is obviously very good at matching people and ponies.

I thought,there would be more Pyrenes mountains and I would have known more details before for the Wake-Up-Time.

could not believe the ability of the horses handling some very difficult terrain. They took everything in stride. Very impressed.

The horses were absolutely amazing! So steady on their feet, easy to control and at the same time very energetic and speedy!

Riding exceeded my expectations. Horses great. Picnic ride for the day was lovely. Lots of long canters. However, it would have been even better if the girls who took us out were a little more knowledgeable about the National Park, the area we were in and the flora etc and talked a little during the rides. The rides were quite 'silent'.

Good and well cared for horses. I had to change horses during the trailride because the first horse i got was a bit too much of a challange. The second horse i got was simply amazing. Excellent trots and canters and the saddle was very nice to sit in.

If you expect to be picked up exact on time in the morning and arrive at a streamlined barn with posh equipment and facilities you will be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you expect to be picked up at 'southern relaxed time' and arrive at an authentic, warm-hearted and 'living' barn with horses, dogs and cats, you will be delighted. Very happy!

Pedro was very concerned about matching the most optimal equipage - based on temperament and personality. Not just riding skills. The connection between horse and rider was prioritized, which to me was an absolute plus, showing great love and a deep respect for the horses.

Absolutely loved my horse, a real character, I trusted him completely. The riding definitely met my expectations.

The guides bent over backwards to make our holiday a truly fabulous time. Their expertise was evident.

Good, full days and trots and canters at pretty much every opportunity. Lots of good long stretches. Terrain was idea - mostly grass tracks. Really good.

Excellent

I've been to Ant's (Nest and Hill) several times before, so had a good idea what to expect. They quickly found the right sort of horse for me. On every other safari I've been on over the last 25 years (including Ant's), guests have rotated their position in the ride, so that no-one spends the entire time at the back (out of hearing of the lead guide, eating everyone else's dust, and often missing game that has been spooked by the front riders or missing photo opps because other riders appear between the game and the back riders). Usually this rotation of riders is achieved by the centre's horse allocation and/or by the politeness/fairness/manners of the individual guests concerned. In addition, all guests are usually asked what sort of riding they want to do in order to meet all riders' interests. This time, a couple of guests got to ride at the front all the time and the rides were run to meet their requests in terms of speed and destination. It was only as we were leaving that we were put on a separate ride, which was a completely different experience and the comparison led me to reflect that, until then, we had not been asked what our riding wishes/priorities were. I also discovered a stirrup leather worn half way through at the buckle, which should not have been used. I'm not sure if this apparent drop in standards is just an unfortunate and unrepresentative blip but, if my previous trips had been like this, I'm not sure I would have returned. [ITS comment: Thank you for bringing this to our attention, we are looking into this. We are sorry that the riding didn't meet your expectations on the first couple of days, but are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the other aspects of your holiday.]