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!

Paddy who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. A week of adventure into an unspoilt and stunning part of South Africa with fast paced riding. | The ride exceeded our expectations on many levels.
The scenery was stunning with long sandy beaches, rocky foreshores with grassy headlands set against a backdrop of the roar of the Ocean waves. It was all breathtaking and when you thought you couldn't better the view another spectacular scene appeared.
The sure footed nature of the well trained and responsive very fit horses ensured us an excellent riding holiday. They never seemed to tire despite the long hours with many beach long canters. Julie Anne, our host and ride organiser, runs a very slick operation. Our riding guide, Tertia, was excellent taking great care over our safety at all times and in particular on the many river crossings. However she also ensured that a fast pace was maintained with numerous fast long canters during each day. A huge thanks to Julie Anne and her team.

Sarah who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous | A fabulous ride through the most beautiful part of rural Spain. The horses were excellent, well cared for and the saddles were very comfortable.

Ruth (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Ants lodge - Absolutely fabulous | It far exceeded expectations. We didn't realise how close we would be able to get to all the animals from horse back. It was magical. We also really enjoyed the swimming with the horses in the dam. We did that twice and it was fabulous. The canters were wonderful too.

Sue who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic ! | Above and beyond all expectations but then this was my second visit !

Diana who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Another fantastic riding holiday at Los Alamos | A fantastic range of horses to suit each rider. Rachel is excellent at matching the individual to the horses. fantastic chances for fast riding on the fire breaks and on the beach.

Milly O who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Stunning ride in the snow | The riding was very enjoyable with lots of canters. The landscape was beautiful with a mix of meadows, rolling hills and valleys all covered with a layer of powdery snow. During the course of the week on the rides I really felt we explored the local area with many of the rides going out in different directions. The horses were quite fresh as we were the first winter ride of the season and appeared very keen to be out in the landscape. My recommendation would be to pack lots of layers to stay warm as I was cold by the end of many of the rides.

Dilys who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Estancia Los Potreros - So good I went there twice! | Yes, but the "average" UK rider, whose experience is of riding schools, arenas, competitions and occasional hacking (but very circumscribed unless you live in certain areas) can have little idea of what to expect - it's as if you own, for a short space of time, your very own 60,000 hectares of ranch, free to roam the wide open spaces at will, without cars or other people. Riding across pampas grass is good for horse and rider, and the horses are well-trained and experienced on the rocky hilly terrain. You really can just sit back and leave them to it. In my normal UK environment I am not the most confident of riders, but there I feel absolutely confident. The landscape is varied and stunning. Every ride is accompanied by a gaucho and one of the English-speaking guides, who are fun company.
Guests who are not riders at all but decide to "try sitting on a horse" often have a wonderful experience. The back of a horse is simply the best way to experience that scenery.

Sandra (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Riding in a snowy winter wonderland on well schooled Icelandic horses - with lots of other exciting experiences | The riding was well planned and enjoyable. The stables were well run, organised and warm (important when its 20 below!). The staff leading the rides were delightful and gave good instructions. They knew the character and abilities of the horses very well and gave tips for each horse. They matched the horses to the individual rider's ability and personality. The horses were healthy and happy and well cared for. No bad behavior and willing. Although I have ridden for years, my husband has only been riding for 6 months and he had a wonderful experience. Tack was well maintained and saddles comfortable. We had 3 lessons while we were there as well as the hacks to help us with the 5 gaited horses. Instruction was excellent. One of the lessons was on the oval track - flying round the track on the ice in tolt and canter... good job the horses had studs! We were joined by a moose on one of our lessons as he ambled across the school. The instruction meant that both my husband and I were able to give the aids to tolt and we also had ground lessons to help with suppleness of the horses.
The hacks through the forests were during the day and night rides ( its dark at around 4pm) Tolting and cantering through forests on crisp snow in the dark with horses we could trust was a fantastic experience. Quite emotional.
While we were there there were parties of tourists from the nearby Ice Hotel - some of them with no experience of riding at all. They all enjoyed their trips out despite never having ridden before and were very well chaperoned and looked after. For the holiday experience we had though, staying at the farm and going out each day, it would be difficult to get the best out of it if you couldn't trot and canter easily before you went. You also bring in the horses, clean and tack them up so knowledge of horse care is needed too. We have our own horses so not a problem but some steeper learning for one of our group - "first catch your horse..."
There was a room filled with hats, balaclavas, wool socks, snow riding boots, padded overalls, wool trousers, jumpers, gloves etc to borrow. No reason to not ride because of the weather. No need to spend loads of money on kit if you don't want to ( though I liked the excuse for a new padded jacket) just good warm base layers needed.
We felt safe with the horses and well cared for by the staff.

Davina who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. What a phenomenal week! | The horses were so well looked after and impeccably behaved. They had horses for every level of ability.

Donna who has been on 40 In The Saddle rides. Fab riding in the sunshine | This was our third visit, which says it all!
Following unprecedented rainfall, we weren't able to fully follow the planned route and instead transferred to the Kob Inn by car and rode the Kob Inn ponies for 2 days whilst our horses remained at Wavecrest. Had a fantastic couple of days riding from KCob Inn which hadn't been expected!
I rode 3 of Julie Anne's horses in addition, which was great to have some variety whilst Phil's horse just loved the water, heading into the waves every time he hit the beach.
All our horses were sure footed and fit.