George (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Absolutely Amazing! | The variety was fantastic and the guides were the friendliest people I’ve ever met.

Suzanne who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Best Holiday! | They divided the groups to riding ability, a fast group & a slower group. You would have 2-6 riders per group (not more than 6, usually 4) with a guide behind. They would move horses around in the group if needed so everyone could get wonderful gallops, not behind a slower horse (or rider). If someone in the group decided they wanted to go a bit slower on some of the long gallops, the back guide would stay with them at the pace they felt most comfortable at. After the morning ride or the sundowner ride, you unsaddle the horses and they life along side all the animals. It was so incredible to be able to ride your horse so close to the animals, just being part of the herds. You had two horses, one for the morning ride and one for the evening ride. They were so cared for. Two of the guides horses were 30 years old, you would have thought they were 7 years olds, so full of life! I just can't say enough about the horses and the riding!
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: I'm so pleased to hear how much you enjoyed the riding! The horses are so loved at Ant's.]

Verne who has been on 31 In The Saddle rides. exceeded expectations in every way | great care was taken to listen and provide appropriate horses and paces and we felt well looked after on the rides

Maggie who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. What can I say-just amazing! | We all found perfect horses suited to our ability-particularly for Steve who hadn’t ridden since we were last at Ants in 2017 and he is not an experienced rider -he found Morocco who was such a gem. Steve rode every ride morning and evening and really enjoyed it!
We had a lovey mix of some fast rides with Ant and some more relaxed. Sophie adored Jack and Fugly and especially the speedy rides!
The horses were all amazingly looked after -a credit to Amanda

Carol who has been on 15 In The Saddle rides. Fifth visit - I think that says it all! | Fabulous horses and great rides

Sara who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Absolutely fantastic in every way | I am always in an odd group as I am quite experienced but I don’t want to go on a flat out gallop all the time. I like to have a ride that includes lots of game viewing and information. So sometimes I fall between the groups and have to choose - either exhaust myself and go on the ‘fast ride’ or go on the slow ride and have much shorter canters etc. I chose the slower and I had a lovely time. I would probably chose to go a bit faster and canter a bit longer but I made my choice and I had the best time. I had a fabulous horse - a Boerperd who used to be one of the fasted but is getting a bit older and he was amazing ..as fast as I wanted and completely controllable and (very important) very comfortable.
We went as a group of 2 friends and we couldn’t have had better companions in the Gorvett family. We got on brilliantly and enjoyed each other’s company.
The team at Ants Nest were amazing. The food was the best ever - delicious and so much of it. The guides were fantastic and we saw the animals so close up.
Everything was absolutely wonderful - the best holiday yet.
Thank you

Lucy who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. A trip to remember | Enjoyment of the rides does depend on making sure that all riders are of as equal a level of experience - Ants guides did this well ( probably helped there being 4 of us and 6 being the most sent out together). Speed of rides depended of lead guide somewhat - so those we went out with more frequently tended to be better.
Variety of horses was impressive. Their level of fitness and general health seemed very good. Tack good.

Anya who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Best holiday yet 🙂 | Horses, guides, rides all 10 out of 10
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: This is great to hear!]

Chris who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. A wonderful riding safari | We liked all the horses we rode but thought the ones at Nest were particularly good - forward going and responsive but always obeyed the guides' signals when cantering. Our favourites were Pumbaa and Leo. We also thought Nest had more guides so the rides were more varied as a consequence. We especially enjoyed our rides with Sehkiri, Kiara, Hannah and Ali. We liked Moses at Hill - he is an excellent guide and took us on many different routes around the reserve which made the rides very interesting and varied. Ginger was also good but we only had the 2 guides while at Hill.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and we are so pleased that you enjoyed your return to Ant's Lodges.]

Annette who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Magical | The horses are wonderful, so well cared for and genuine. The team know their horses and are very good at matching people with horses.

Bob who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. Just Fab! | All of the horses were lovely; even Morocco who I fell off after he went from fast canter to dead stop after grounding himself in the sand!

The tack was in good condition and very comfortable.

The guides were AMAZING 🙂 Very knowledgable with good senses of humour and could spot an animal a mile away!

Joy who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Outstanding! | The riding and variety of terrain far exceeded my expectations. Tha guides were so knowledgeable about the area and horse welfare was paramount with regular access to water

Karen who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. The Best Visit Yet! | Exceeded expectations

Karen who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Ants Hill - Amazing | Really good. Lovely horses and knowledgeable guides.

David who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Outstanding | Excellent

Marion who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Amazing experience | the riding was excellent, horses were amazing and the guides very knowledgeable.

Ruth who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Another delightful African stay | The riding was excellent. We (Myself and my daughter Rebecca) were always asked what sort of ride we would like by our first class guides. We opted for long canters interspersed with close encounters with a variety of game viewings.

Rachel who has been on 28 In The Saddle rides. Perfect riding safari | They are really good at matching horse and rider, for me I had a perfect combo straight away and fell in love with all the ponies I rode. Each of us in our group found their ideal pony after a couple of rides. All abilities catered for.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: It's great to hear that you enjoyed your holiday to Ant's :-)]

Karen who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Amazing in every way | The guides ensured the riding was geared to all members of the group. We had some steady and some faster rides depending on how everyone was feeling on the day. The horses were great, forward going but sensible and we all found a favourite.

Charlie who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. A beautiful life experience | I was matched well with the horses, however sometimes it was difficult for me to be placed constantly at the back as the result of a number of other strong personalities who complained a lot. Their riding ability was much poorer so I had to spend a lot of time focused on their erratic riding to keep my experience enjoyable. After 6 consecutive rides I asked to be placed in a different group however as it was change over day the following day was much more enjoyable. I particularly loved the safari and guided elements but unfortunately i couldn't always hear or engage due to the other strong personalities taking precedence. However because I was often at the back I was near the rear guide Texshaw who was always very happy to give me my own tour and I was very thankful for that! The riding itself was wonderful and to ride through the safari animals was incredible

Liz who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Five star riding safari | The riding was superb, plenty of fast canters but also time taken by the excellent guides to allow us to view the wildlife and learn about the flora and fauna. The horses were impeccably behaved and completely at ease up close to the wildlife, the pace was tailored perfectly to each person’s abilities.

Debbie who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Out of this World | The guides match you carefully to the horses based on your abilities and your wishes. On one particular day I was put on a lovely horse who I did not gel as well with and it was no problem to change at all.
The riding is wonderful, lots of time to take in the game but also the most exhilarating long canters on perfect tracks…..i desperately wished to be able to take my favourite horse ‘Cheeks’ home, Fresians are my new love 🙂

Angie who has been on 24 In The Saddle rides. Ants is Heaven on Earth | I had the most fabulous horse at Ants - Shamane, a darling. The others were also lovely but she was my favourite. If you like long canters this is the place to go. 7 minutes or about 3 miles, fabulous. All the guides are amazing especially Ali and Sekhwiri. Went out with Ant one morning, he does love a gallop! The quality of riding and horses is perfect.

Benedicte (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) We are not the best riders, but both the horses and the pace were adapted to our level and wishes. And we saw lots of wildlife.
The guides had great knowledge of the Game and the vegetation. They were always smiling, helpful and attentive and created a good atmosphere both on the rides and during the dinners.

who has been on In The Saddle rides. Ant's Nest - Amazing experience, fantastic people and animals - a little slice of heaven! | Excellent

Eve (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Brilliant | Lovely variety - some steady chilled out rides and some fast pace races!

Mary who has been on 14 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous Experiences, Not to be missed | I did three rides on this trip which was quite a challenge for my fitness, but it was well worth it. I started off with Ants Camp (then went to the Wild Coast and then Botswana). Ant's is the gold standard and both the horses and accommodation are fantastic. Ant himself took us on some rides and he does not hang back. We had amazing times with the wildlife and learnt so much. Food was first class.
On all the rides, we had a great group of people. Everyone contributed and will remember these holidays!

Simone who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Out of this world holiday | For two years we waited do this holiday, and what was built up in my head still couldn't have matched what i saw and did. Have never smiled so much and enjoyed a holiday. It was my first equestrian holiday and couldn't have hoped for better organisation, Olwen really made it effortless and kept up communication throughout. The travel pack received in the post was a lovely touch. I will definitely be back in Ants Nest, and definitely will use In the Saddle for future holidays.

Fanchea who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Holiday of a lifetime - exceeded all expectations! | Whatever Ant and his team are doing here, they've got it 100% right.

From our arrival, the staff were friendly, welcoming and helpful, from Ant himself through to the volunteers. We stayed in the Nest, and the rooms were immaculate. A special mention has to go to the chefs, as the food was 5*.

The riding was a perfect mix of paces managed by the guides (ours were Ali and Kiara - both super), allowing for time to ride up with the wildlife, take photos, ask questions, explore the landscape, and then have lovely canters through sandy tracks, ending up back at the stables at lunchtime, or different spots around the reserve for sundowners at the end of each day (spectacular views). The horses are really fit, healthy, and well cared for and living on the reserve means they are completely at ease with the animals they come across each day.

The highlight has to be when the team included us in a game capture of an roan antelope bull, as he needed medical attention; this brought me back to my childhood dreams of living in a Daktari episode (does anybody else remember this?). The care and attention the bull was given was wonderful, and it reinforced the importance of the critical conservation work that goes on here, and throughout other reserves.

Finally, a huge thank you to Olwen and the Inthesaddle team. Olwen made the whole process of booking painless (particularly as we had to postpone twice due to lockdowns), answered all queries we had, and already has my name down for next year!

Hilary who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. A lifetime high | Lovely sandy tracks to canter along on well schooled forward going horses.
Beautiful scenery with lots of game, we were led by knowledgeable guides who made the riding interesting and fun whatever the pace.

Paul who has been on 17 In The Saddle rides. What a fantastic holiday for all | All horses were very well looked after, very well behaved, good variety for beginners and experienced, we rode with people the at the level, so no body was held back, lots of long canters, with animals all around us very close too!
We rode for 2.5 hrs in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon, enjoyed every single ride we did

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.