I thought the participating riders were more experienced. There were a few that didn't always have full control.
The horses matched perfectly with what we had requested.

The Andalucian Arabs were amazing, sure footed and fast, the rides were so much fun and the views amazing, loved the terain of the forest. I’ll be going back again.

Yet again the holiday exceeded all expectations. Riding was superb horses excellent Rachel, Jose and Roberto were thoughtful and matched me perfectly to the horse.

All the guides were really helpful and hard working. The horses were great and the cantering through the flowers was spectacular. Also I quite enjoyed the feel of the endurance style stirrups.

Excellent

Difficult to rate when things are so different from what you know :-). But things and conditions fine - absolutely nothing to complain about.

What an amazing way to see this beautiful country. This is a challenging ride that is mostly in fast trot and allows for lots of long gallops across the Steppes. Everything about this trip was perfect from start to finish. Our support team were incredibly attentive and were great fun, the equipment was good, the food was amazing, the horses were well suited to each person in the group and the riding exceeded all of our expectations. We cannot thank the team enough and will definitely be back to see more of the country.

Very impressed by the quality and variety of the horses and the care they clearly receive. From talking to the guides the horses get good long breaks between rides which is great to see compared to some places I've ridden. They are obviously well fed, watered and groomed - which is an impressive task in the African bush!

The saddles were very comfortable and it's nice to see simple bits and bridles. Only slight criticism would be that as I had the smallest horse (Million - what a superstar!) His breastplate was uselessly big so David had to adjust the saddle at every opportunity as it would slide back. My stirrups leathers were also mismatched and couldn't be shorted to quite my liking.

The riding more than suited my ability however one member of the group was only used to riding Western Style and struggled. You need to be comfortable riding at speed on hard ground. 3 of the horses were competition endurance horses, fast and very fit. Just putting a western saddle on a horse does not address the very different styles of riding.

Horses were very sensible, light in the mouth but responsive. The tack was of a good standard and didn't need the seat saver provided. The horses were in excellent condition and well looked after, perfect match with Heston who was very good looking as well. The heat made the ride a little hard going at times, but gave me a good work out with alot of trotting up and downhill, lovelly long canters as well. You would have to ride regularly and be riding fit to enjoy this ride, due to the amount of trotting. The ride was well organised and all safety aspects considered.

Excellent

The horses were all in excellent condition, the saddles very comfortable, the horses were schooled to an ok standard, some of them could have done with martingales - was surprised that no account was taken of height/weight when allocating horses. I ended up on a large horse and people much taller than me ended up on smaller horses which seemed a bit odd. The riding was absolutely excellent and could not have been better, loads of gallops and a lot of hours in the saddle, fast paced, great fun.

My riding experience was somewhat compromised by travelling companion Jill's stupid request for a none brown horse 15hh plus, having spent the first full day getting to grips with the horse I was allocated, I then felt obliged to swap with Jill when she admitted she couldn't manage her mount's paces. Though by the end of the week she had persuaded herself that I actually wanted to ride her horse. I have previously lead rides in the U.K. & know how difficult & potentially dangerous the job can be. The group was too big & took 2 days to sort out due to some ignorant, selfish and potentially dangerous riding resulting in one very predictable fall. Given the overall cost of the experience I personally would prefer to pay more to GUARANTEE a smaller, therefore safer group able to crack on from day one.[ITS Comment - thank you for advising us that the group size was 9 guests. We had been led to understand that if this was the case, two smaller riding groups would go out from camp. I am sorry that this didn't happen on this occasion]

Truly and equestrian paradise! Castle Leslie did not disappoint. We were hoping for a luxury "adult riding camp" feel and it was exactly that. Beautiful grounds, superb accomodations and of course, fantastic horses and riding. We expected the riding to be excellent (so many acres and so many interesting cross country fences), but the icing on the cake was the friendliness, expertise and high level instruction given by the equestrian facility staff. They pushed us to try more, corrected bad habits, all while making sure every minute was fun! Absolutely terrific staff that takes excellent care of their rider and all the wonderful horses at the estate.

My horse was Zenobia, the current national endurance champion. She was simply outstanding and I loved every minute.

Excellent

Lovely selection of horses to suit ability and age. Some riding experience is necessary but the guides are very happy to adapt the rides to suit the group. Horses were all very well behaved out on the rides but also responsive. Instruction excellent with private lessons often available on request after the evening ride.

Lovely horses & great instructor/leader - Vladimir.

The horses were well looked after and the guides were very keen on correctly tacking up and did regular checks. Where possible we did some nice gallops however most of the trip was in walk due to the nature of the terrain. We regularly had to dismount and walk, which for me was a perfect balance between riding and some ‘exercise’, it was nice to get out of the saddle regularly. Some people did struggle a bit with the altitude and were not very fit, which made it difficult for them to climb uphill but the pace was adjusted so everybody eventually made it.

The only disagreement in group all week,was which was best, beach gallop, rollercoaster (got to try it!) Or fire break gallop???, we just couldn't decide, fortunately you get to do them all.

Wonderful horses, perfectly matched to each person's needs, I had Camboria and Hercules who are both lovely, speed with brains. Special note to Camboria who took me from calm as you like walk at start of gallop, and then flew all the way down the fire break, no better feeling!

Riding at Los Alamos was quite literally the best holiday i've ever had. The riding was varied and so much fun. Lots of long walks through the forest which were then interspersed with fast canters and gallops as and when the guides advised us. The guides always always kept us fully informed and ensured everyone was ready for whatever we were about to do. The horses were matched to the riders impeccably. The first day was a slightly slower pace as everyone got used to their horses, although still lots of cantering through the forest. The second day was the beach ride day and the horses although very up for the speed were so well mannered and galloped beautifully alongside the waves. Such an awesome experience first thing in the morning, my heart got so full it almost spilled out of my eyes! Then afterwards we went for breakfast and I felt a little sad that the beach ride was done, however to my amazement our lovely guide then announced he was taking us on what they refer to as the roller coaster. This was basically fast going down the sand dunes. It was amazing!! Best experience ever!! I'd never ridden fast down hill until then, but needless to say at the end of it I was wanting to do more! The final day we got to race on one of the fire breaks. I was somewhat blessed with a little horse called Shukran, a gorgeous flea bitten grey and oh my goodness can he fly! His walk was so laid back and chilled I could have fallen asleep on him but boy oh boy when he got onto the fire break, again he was super polite and just sat behind the others quite happily until I found a gap and got up out of the saddle and by nothing more than voice and lifting off his back asked him to go go go!! He flew so fast I'm surprised he didn't sprout wings!!! Literally the best experience of my life as he sped up to be with the front runners. That is why my review is headed as it is, because riding Shukran was quite simply a few minutes of heaven to enjoy on earth. Most amazing experience ever. There is absolutely no doubt I'll be going back again and again.

The riding experience for my daughter was excellent. She thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and would love to return.
I had great confidence in Rachel at the stables. She was very competent around and with the horses and gave me a real security in her ability.

I was unlucky as my first horse was unwell and so I’m sure we would have been a great match but the first ride was not quite as I expected through no fault of the stable.

The riding guide at Velani was great. We were able to go out in a small group of just me and two friends all of similar riding ability. This meant we could explore more terrain and had some great challenging rides.

yes, the horses were incredibly kind and well trained and SAFE. Tack (saddles) could be slightly more comfortable, but were certainly suitable.

The horses were absolutely fantastic - I was totally blown away by the high standard. Without doubt, the best I have ever encountered at a stables that caters for such a variety of riders. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My family and I had a wonderful time on all of your horses. When we had a concern about something, you fixed it right away. The rides themselves were beautiful and full of excitement. On the days we were feeling a little sore, our guide made our rides fun but not over taxing on our bodies. The grooms and stable manager know the horses so well and were very insightful when it came to any questions we had.

The riding, horses, terrain, escorts and whole experience far exceeded my expectations - it was superb, I couldn't fault a thing. The rides were exciting and led in a safe and sensible manner. The care for the horses was very apparent. The routes were varied and the scenery and riding tracks splendid. The beach was spectacular. The horses themselves were stunning and it was an honour and a great privilege to be riding them.

The horses were great as were the place itself, the staff and the food. We had an amazing time there. A thoroughly wonderful experience!

Mod, as stable manager, was brilliant at his job.
The horses are in very good condition, extremely fit and their welfare is paramount.
Over the period of a week I rode 4 horses and felt they were all ideal mounts. 3-4 different horses over a week is typical due to horses resting requirements.
If any member was struggling with their horse a suitable replacement was found immediately.
It is vital not to overstate your riding ability.

The horses were excellent and bomb proof. Horizon takes very good care of their horses, which is nice to see. I loved the long canters too and all the pretty scenery. It was very relaxing and the guides were super. They all had fun stories and a good sense of humor. Can not say enough good things.

The riding was fantastic... our guide Saphi was just the right amount of crazy while keeping everyone safe . It took me back to riding my ponies when I was a kid fun fast riding over miles of unspoilt countryside . I don’t think I have laughed so much on a riding holiday . My horse Junior was exactly what I had asked for small fast and fun I loved him . Despite the heatwave we rode in the horses were all happy fit and up for a gallop .
They all appeared happy and well cared for and knew their jobs and the whole group agreed all horses were well matched . It was an amazing experience on the last day when two people weren’t riding that their horses came loose with us back home as a herd . Saphi the guide clearly has a real affinity with the horses which was lovely to see.
This is excellent holiday for someone wanting some fun riding and escape the constraints of UK riding !