Paul who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Hotel with stable attached | A fairly relaxed week with excellent accommodation and food. Riding is mainly on hard ground - gravel, stone, concrete carved out of the hills. The horses cope with it extremely well but best not to fall off! Really nice guides, very helpful. All the hotel staff were great too.

Sarah who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. A great holiday with my lovely sister! | The riding on this holiday was excellent for many reasons: the horses were lovely to ride, well trained and willing. the terrain, views and beach were perfect and the length of time in the saddle was just right for me...not too long so as to be tiring but plenty of time to relax and enjoy the whole experience. The gallops were amazing!

Flora (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Macatoo - Loads of fun! | The riding was excellent - we cantered and even galloped. Cantering with zebras is an unforgettable experience. Horses were good and well cared.

Katie who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Quinta Do Rol - First Class | This short stay vacation met all my requirements and exceeded my expectations. It felt like home, the horses and training were excellent and the staff were passionate, knowledgeable and friendly. A safe environment with well kept horses, tack and equipment. Lockers for your riding equipment.

Steve who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Borana/House in the Wild - A wonderful memorable experience | The riding was exciting, varied and very well guided. We are experienced riders and were not disappointed with any aspect of the offer. long canters, exciting gallops, fun jumps over natural terrain, very well thought thorough days in the saddle.

Chris who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Amazing | The riding was lovely, we wished we could have stayed longer, two of us hadn’t ridden but felt very comfortable at all times. The scenery was exactly what we had hoped for.

Jane (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing experience | Instructors were excellent, support was fantastic and riding was wonderful

Kim who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Perfect | This was my fourth visit to Los Alamos and my favourite. The riding, as always, was perfect for the terrain and climate. The horses are extremely fit and forward, even the more sedate ones! They need to be ridden, not just sat upon, but they are very forgiving when you use a bit too much ‘English style’ before you’re used to the more relaxed ‘Spanish style’! Rachel clearly loves her horses and will always ensure their needs are met and no horse will do more than its fair share, reassuring if you love horses!

Jackie who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful | I just wanted to say a big thank for another super holiday! We had the best time, Velani was amazing, horses great, food was delicious, weather was lovely, the staff, guides everyone were brilliant. To top it off, we had the most amazing group, who all got along so well. The scenery was spectacular and we were mostly totally off the beaten track well away from roads, tourists, people

Sarah who has been on 15 In The Saddle rides. Riding holiday | Riding was fantastic. Good balance of relaxing and exhilaration. Horses I rode were all very fit and well mannered.

Alison who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. On the first morning Sabine sat down with the group and asked us about our riding experience and what type of horse we wanted to ride. She then matched us with our horses and we had a three hour introductory ride to get to know them. We were all happy with the horses and no one wanted to change. My horse was a lovely mare called Iris who was forward going and enjoyed a canter but she also felt very safe.
The riding met my expectations - there was lots of ups and downs as we crossed the mountains to and from the south coast but we still did plenty of canters, including a couple of long canters on the flat. The ground was uneven in places but all the horses seemed fine with it. We had to walk our horses on a few downhill sections but not for very long at a time.

Anabel who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Incredible trip with amazing horses across the best landscapes Crete has to offer! | Really fabulous trip, I had a great time and created some memories that will last forever. Everything was really well organised, the hosts were very attentive, delicious food always provided and the horses were wonderful and very well cared for and looked after.

Sue who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. The time of my life | The riding exceeded my expectations. The horses were so beautifully schooled and responsive. At no time did I feel that I might not be able to stop at canter or gallop.

The horses were so fit and nimble footed. My horse (Gordi) barely broke out into a sweat after a full days riding.

All the staff were delightful. Rachel has an uncanny ability to match horse to rider. Jose and Roberto were so relaxed but inspired confidence.

The terrain was perfect. I couldn't have wished for better. The pine forests with wild rosemary and lavender, the deep sandy tracks, the magnificent fire break gallops and, of course, the beach.

Mette who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Los Alamos | Super beautiful horses that were easy to ride, in really good fitness and happy to walk. A little for everyone and you wanted to ride them all.

Lisbet who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Beautiful well-groomed horses that were taken very good care off and was safe in the terrain. Rachel was so good at finding the right horse for me.

Shannon who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. An Amazing Family Holiday | We had an fantastic week at Horizon. All five members of our family are at different riding levels, with ages ranging from 9 to 50, but we managed to ride together all week with no one feeling left out or held back. The staff and horses were perfect. Some great activities were organised from Polocrosse to swimming with the horses. I wouldn't change a thing.

Mette who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Los Alamos | The tack was fine, a lot was done to make the saddles comfortable to sit in, for many hours. The paddocks were not fantastic seen with Danish eyes, but think they were perfectly ok for Spanish conditions. The horses were taken really well cared of.

Tine Anette (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Los Alamos | Gel pads were provided on the saddles which was very nice when riding for many hours.
Absolutely safe and willing horses.
Beautiful terrain.

Gillian who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. A great Spring riding break. | The riding was varied in pace and type of surface. Cantering on hard stoney paths came as a bit of a shock at first, however, the horses are clearly well used to the terrain and I felt very secure. It was lovely riding amongst all the Spring flowers.

Rachel who has been on 26 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful horses, hosts and setting | Wonderful horses, perfectly matched to each rider.

Naomi (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A week full of bucket list adventures! | Incredible experience riding beautiful Icelandic ponies riding through thick snow; they were so clever, strong and sure footed. Also it was great fun learning to ‘tolt’ on the oval track and I really enjoyed a groundwork session learning new skills.

Emily who has been on 25 In The Saddle rides. Lovely holiday exploring snowy Sweden | This isn't a holiday of fast and furious riding; but it was lovely exploring the snow covered forests in a picturesque, winder wonderland setting. Due to the conditions, it not always possible to go fast as the horses can stumble in the snow. The horses are very sure footed and are lovely to ride. Tilting was an excellent experience.

Michael who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Good fun but just unlucky with bad weather | Excellent

Jackie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A great adventure | I could not bond with my first horse (Ganadore), mainly because of the seriously uncomfortable saddle. Also, his tendency to veer off in the direction of home and his very uncomfortable jog when heading homeward. When he lost a shoe I was given a different horse (Mr Percival) who, with his sublimely comfortable saddle and his easy to control pace, transformed the whole experience. He was wonderful.
[In The Saddle - we have discussed your feedback with the safari operator. She is sad that she didn't know on the first day that you weren't finding your horse comfortable because you could have changed earlier, but she is glad that you were happy with Mr Percival].

Anne who has been on 18 In The Saddle rides. Another excellent safari | Lots of walking to view game but long canters where appropriate and terrain allowed.
Perfectly matched to my horse ( a bit of 'cheating' as I had ridden him before and was delighted to be reacquainted after 4 years!).

Rochelle (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Magically Enchanting | There were plenty of helmets - of varying sizes - for everyone to use. At least for this specific riding operator -IslandsHestar - run by Sophie and Hanes, helmets are NOT necessary to bring. I would have liked knowing that, as helmets take space in a suitcase. I also think that it needs to be strongly stressed that the Northern Lights are very unpredictable, even during March. We had very extreme winter weather during our 3 day ride, so the Northern Lights were not visible. That’s normal, as we have no control over the weather, but I think this ride needs to say it several times, that the chances of seeing them are never assured.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and I'm sorry to hear the weather was extreme during your holiday and you didn’t see the Northern Lights. We will review the ride information and make sure it is very clear that the lights are subject to the correct weather conditions.
Our 'recommended packing list' mentions that hats are available to borrow locally but we would always recommend riders take their own to ensure fit and quality.]

Joanna who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Los Potreros Argentina - out of this world - eat, ride, sleep, repeat! | The riding at the estancia is absolutely superb. The terrain is hilly and rocky and the horses are incredibly sure-footed, managing the rocks like mountain goats. They are beautifully calm and well trained, yet forward going and fun to ride, all absolute sweethearts! I really enjoyed riding the Peruvian Pasos with their extra gait, the Paso, which is so comfortable to ride. We rode out twice a day, in the morning at around 10:00 returning for lunch at the estancia followed by a siesta and then a late afternoon ride after afternoon tea. I rode at every given opportunity and maxed out the opportunity. Bringing the foals in off the hills in the evening was a highlight. We also rounded up the brood mares for pregnancy testing. A real highlight was herding the cattle to the cattle station which was so much fun, channelling our "inner gaucho". A few of the later afternoon rides were "sun downer" rides - a special gin and tonic stop on the eve of my birthday (complete with ice and lemon) was incredibly special, as was the moonlight ride under the full moon for "Rose on the Rocks. The gauchos were amazing as were our three guides, Kim, Milly and Niek who were incredibly attentive, ensuring we were always safe and well cared for as well as fun.

Maddy who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. A really fun experience! | We rode Icelandic Horses at a mixture of walk and tolt. These horses are so smooth to ride and lovely to handle. A really fun experience I would definitely recommend!
[Becky from ITS replies: It's great to hear that you had such fun riding the Icelandic horses!]

Nuph who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. Ants Nest - we all had the most amazing holiday | The riding as always was brilliant- horses were great and Amanda was really good at organising everyone and making sure we had the correct horses everyday.

Linnéa who has been on 23 In The Saddle rides. Perfect | Excellent

Barbara who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Monte Velho Portugal - wonderful horses, fantastic accommodation and lovely hosts | As on my previous four occasions at Monte Velho, the holiday met all my expectations.

Orsi who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Lovely relaxing holiday with fantastic riding | Second time at Los Alamos - had a brilliant time again! Rachel is fantastic with her horses. Andrew and Rhiannon are amazing hosts and very accommodating. The guides are amazing with the horses as well, and are generally very attentive.