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.

Leslie who has been on 24 In The Saddle rides. Desert Calvacade - wonderful | Excellent

Marian who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Morocco Desert Trails - an adventurous encounter with the Moroccan desert | I liked the blend of riding in line up the mountain and over the dunes with the free canters across the open flat areas. Abdel did a good job of evaluating our ability before he "let us loose" in free canter. The horses were absolutely gorgeous and well-behaved.

Alexandra (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Desert Trail - fantastic experience | Just so nice, freedom, great hospitality.

Elisabeth who has been on 20 In The Saddle rides. Desert Cavalcade in Morocco - Forward going horses, fantastic supportive guides and service, tenting in the desert underneath the stars | A true adventure that I can recommend if you would like a very different holiday riding 4-6 hours a day, sleeping in a tent, not afraid crossing a steep mountain and endless desert areas with forward going horses.

Kari who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Morocco - Desert Cavalcade | The riding were really good, and I could enjoy good canters and gallops on the fantastic flat areas (steppes) between the mountain ranges.
Very nice and gentle stallions.
The guides were all very nice and fun to be with. I felt safe and taken care of at all times.

Hilde (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Desert Cavalcade - Exciting, challenging and unique experience | The Berber/Arab horses were great. They have lots of energy, and are still easy to handle.
The landscape was both beautiful and challenging, particularly over the rocky mountain passes.
The riding exceeded my expectations, it was fantastic!

Jessica (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Monte Velho - Portugal | Monte Velho certainly exceeded all of my expectations! As my first riding holiday, to have such amazing facilities, truly fantastic horses and experience a huge variety of dressage Lusitanos in the lessons. Accomplishing wonderful dressage movements throughout, from tempi changes, to canter pirouettes, the whole thing was utterly brilliant. With everything twinned with lovely people and really friendly atmosphere along with great trail ride across the beautifully scenic surroundings I cannot recommend Monte Velho enough.

Margaret who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. The best horse riding safari experience | This was a dream come true after 2 years of waiting. The 3 horses I rode were wonderful and lovely characters. I always wanted to canter on an African Plain and had a great experience. We had a riding assessment to see how we rode at the school at the stables. It was fantastic to get close to many types of antelope (impala, Gazelles, and Okapi), we saw giraffe, zebras, cheetah, an elephant, warthogs, many type of birds all from horseback. The wonders of riding up to a bush breakfast (a first for me) added to the magic of the place and the peace and quiet made this so memorable.

Carol who has been on 14 In The Saddle rides. An incredible experience | The horses are superbly fit and very well cared for.

Vivien who has been on 41 In The Saddle rides. Making memories | We had some wonderful game viewing, I couldn't believe how relaxed the game were, just kept on chewing the grass and letting us watch them close up. We had some full on long, speedy canters along the tracks and went for a swim with the horses but, best of all, we took part in an impromptu game capture session, complete with helicopter (vet hanging off the side with his dart gun at the ready). I'm not sure how helpful I was but it was the best fun ever! So exciting and different from any other riding experience I've ever had. That memory will last with me forever, seriously good fun, and we actually caught some of the intended game as well, which always helps!