Faye who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Exceptional holiday | The horses were lovely to ride. All geldings. Due to the heat you alternated between two horses daily to ensure your morning horse (long ride) did not come out again in the evening. Any difficulties with tack were dealt with straight away - I needed a couple of holes in my stirrup leathers. One skinny chap needed a seat saver. I wasn't taking that chance and took my own!!

The rides had a guide and a back up and both were happy to take your cameras for good game shots especially if the animals were dangerous!! The guide (ours was Thabo) was sensitive to the needs of rhe riders in terms of pace and style - although we were encouraged to canter in a line to avoid racing he didnt worry if this wasn't followed if riders were fine. Guide very knowledgeable and we saw many animals and birds. You could also take a vehicle trip instead of riding if you wanted to - we elected to do this for lions!

[Abbie from ITS replies: Many thanks for your feedback; we're so pleased that you had such a great time at Macatoo. One way Macatoo manage their horses' workload throughout the year is for guests to try a horse on the shorter afternoon ride and then if it is a good match, they'll ride the same horse the following morning].

Christine who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. Excellent week | Was matched with two lovely horses for the week, I like to be at the back of the ride watching everyone.

Neil who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. I thoroughly enjoyed it - thank you! | Yes!

Nina who has been on 10 In The Saddle rides. Every aspect of this holiday was superb! | All the horses here are fantastic and very much loved. They are so forward going but very safe too. The saddles are super comfy. The beach and fire break gallops are incredible. The riding was pure joy from beginning to end.

Lucy who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful | Rides cater to the whole group so you are rather dependent on people in your group - which, on occasion, can be a little frustrating.
[Olwen from In The Saddle replies - we do urge you always to have a quiet word with the lodge manager or horse manager if you aren't happy with the pace of the ride- because it is normally possible for something to be done.]

Judith who has been on 15 In The Saddle rides. Great, as usual. | It always helps being given a spectacular horse to ride.

Camilla who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Now the focus was dressage, so riding in terrain was slow and calm maybe a little too quiet, but good for the horses. I have been extremely satisfied with the entire process! from the high service from Rid & Rejs to the absolutely fantastic surroundings, high service, friendliness and helpfulness and especially the highly trained horses and good instructors on the place.
I absolutely cannot recommend it enough. and I will definitely return to the same location and will use Rid & Rejs again.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thank you very much for your super feedback. We at In The Saddle and Melina at Rid & Rejs (in Denmark) are really pleased you enjoyed your stay at Quinta do Rol.]

Jane who has been on 13 In The Saddle rides. riding and relaxing | Having been to Christina and Claude's before, we knew what to expect and enjoyed our riding

Monica who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. Just like going home | As always the team in Quinta make my riding holiday perfect, everyone works to the same objectives.

Maxine who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous! | My fourth year of visiting Monte Velho and won’t be my last. I visited for 5 days and had 6 lessons. I really benefited from the superb instruction and very tolerant schoolmasters. Each lesson I was matched with a horse which suited my ability and increasing skill level. The difference to my riding when I returned home was obvious.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thank you for your lovely feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoy your visits to Monte Velho so much].

Karen who has been on 11 In The Saddle rides. Ant Africa safari | Excellent

Sandra (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing experience | The riding was excellent, a brilliant experience. However I did think the saddle cloths could have been changed they were very grubby.

Carole who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Just fabulous. Definitely a bucket list holiday. | Really could not fault. Very interesting all round. Great horses with so much energy yet completely responsive at all paces. Scenery totally enthralling. Would recommend anyone who rides to out this on their ‘to do’ list.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Many thanks for your lovely feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your adventure in Morocco].

Nicola who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. A true adventure | I loved getting to know my horse Atlas and helping to look after him too.

He is a lovely horse. My husband was extremely happy with his horse too and we could spread out and enjoy the breathtaking scenery. Lots of walking in the varied terrains and plenty of faster riding too.

Our guides were excellent too and funny.

Tessa who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. A Fantastic Experience | The riding was brilliant with lots of different terrains which I wasn't expecting. The guides were very pleasant and helpful, assisting us in getting the horses ready and again at the end of the day.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thanks for your lovely feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your holiday in Morocco].

Jade who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Ant’s Nest / Ant’s Hill | I just came back from my holidays at Ant’s Nest / Ant’s Hill in South Africa. I have had such a wonderful time, one of the best holidays I have ever had to be honest.
As a solo woman traveler, I was a bit anxious of the unknown (it was the first time that I traveled by myself) but everything was organised perfectly and I felt very safe.
I met wonderful people (guests/ guides/hosts) and the riding and the horses were amazing.
This is an adventure/a holiday that touched my heart. The connection to nature and to such a peaceful environment had a huge impact on me.

I really wanted to thank in the Saddle for taking care of my booking and answering all my questions and for proposing such a wonderful trip. And of course thank you to Ant Baber.

Angie who has been on 24 In The Saddle rides. Yet another fabulous week | Excellent

Dawn who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Decent trail ride, good food and accommodation. Would recommend. | Most of the time was spent in walk, which can feel a bit tough on the joints (after several hours). I suspect this was due to the terrain - road work for some of the time, then hilly and rocky for the rest - meaning opportunities for trot and canter were fairly limited. Near the end of the week we did have an incredibly long canter (lots of fun), the others were significantly shorter.

My horse (Seleni) was young, keen and fit. She had a tendency to fling her head up when excited, but this settled as the week went on. The horses were ridden in a set order on the trail, which perhaps limited the variety of conversation between riders. It was also a very big group (12 including the guide).

Vanessa who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. Fit horses in rocky mountainous terrain | I was perfectly matched with my horse. I had asked for something forward-going but that you could ride on a loose rein. The mare I was assigned, Carmen, was exactly like that. Great, fit horse that was extremely sure-footed in the mountain terrain.

David who has been on 10 In The Saddle rides. An excellent holiday | Two types of terrain: pine forest with no low branches, and long beaches. No steep gradients. Makes for easy riding.

Claire who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Absolutely amazing! | Gerti, Philip, Clare, Jo and all the team have a fantastic setup.
The care and attention to detail was fantastic; each horse was thoroughly groomed before each ride; the tack in great condition and cleaned after each ride.
The horses looked in great shape, were well schooled and fit for the job - a real credit to the team at Wait a Little - super happy horses who enjoy their job; insane that they stand when faced with a lion, or a leopard!
All the horses were very much loved; it was so nice to see and be part of.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback. We are so pleased to hear how much you enjoyed your time at Wait A Little.]

Vivien who has been on 41 In The Saddle rides. Perfect, relaxing holiday | I was given a wonderful horse to ride for most of the rides, an ex-racehorse called Nala. She was perfect, fast and powerful and beautifully re-schooled. She was super-polite and you just needed to ask her once to do something by shifting your seat (very soft mouth) and she obliged. A real credit to Amanda's training and I felt very honoured to ride her. We had some fab fast, long and windy canters. The other horses I rode were lovely too! Being able to be so close to the wildlife on the rides is very special as they are used to grazing with the horses, a USP of Ants I feel.

Karolyn who has been on 16 In The Saddle rides. Winter sun | Like many horse safaris, it's mostly walk or canter, no trot. The wildlife is very habituated, so you can make a lot of noise and still get up close to most things. Ideal first horse safari.
The guides didn't ask what I wanted and just assumed that if you could canter, you would want to and the faster the better.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback, I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your return to Ant's Lodges.]

Jennifer who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Exceeded expectations! | Overall I had a great riding experience and Quinta do Rol has exceeded my expectations. The instruction was excellent with their highly trained horses. I felt safe and relaxed knowing I'm in capable hands as a novice rider.

ALL the horses were special and performed to a top level. It's nearly impossible to pick a favourite. As soon as you set foot in their stables it's quite obvious that the horses are treated and cared for to a high standard.

I also appreciated their attention to detail -- from the comfortable viewing area where you can watch others ride, the clean and modern facilities both for humans and horses, even a kit to clean your boots was provided in the stables. The instructors and grooms were all genuinely nice and friendly making it a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone.

[Abbie from ITS replies: Thanks for your super feedback. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your first holiday with In The Saddle. We hope it will be the first of many!].

Charlie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Awesome | This was our first experience of safari and we were fortunate to be travelling with family and friends. A lifetime of memories made, exceptional hospitality, amazing game viewing and super adaptability to ensure we all were grinning all the time!

Our eldest daughter grew in confidence and found out she was braver and more capable than she thought riding - it took Africa and a great team to make her realise. Our younger non riding daughter had a fabulous time getting close to lions and joining up with us to brag! The balance of abilities, riding, non riding, ages, adult ailments etc all disappeared as the team managed smoothly to ensure we had the most fabulous, relaxing and exhilarating time of our lives.

The attention to detail, knowledge and kindness of the team did not go unnoticed.

Thank you Macatoo and In the Saddle
[In The Saddle replies - Thank you for leaving your feedback. We are so pleased that you enjoyed your holiday.]

Philip who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Amazing | Don't ever give a 5 star rating!!! This was 6 !! In the saddle great ,camp in Botswana great ,you have to go!

Julia (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Immense! Trip of a life time! | I didn't have any expectations but I would say that there is far longer canters than most of us would be used to in the UK. Sometimes we would canter for 7 or 8 minutes at a time, walk for 10 mins, and then go again for another 5 minute canter. No trotting, just walking or cantering.

Lesley who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Great | Excellent

Jennifer who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Superb riding holiday | Exhilarating riding in beautiful forest and on long, stunning beach stretches. Faster paces well-matched with slower sections made very well-balanced rides. Felt horses' and riders' best interests were put first at all times. Expertly-led, thoroughly enjoyable.

Veronica who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Memorable and Fun | This was my second visit to Monte Velho and my mounts for lessons on my first visit were more suited in that I progressed (albeit slowly) from Day 1. However, having a more difficult horse at the beginning of the week this time meant that when I did sit on my favourite Xico, I was super happy, more relaxed and achieved more thanks to Laerke who deserves a medal for her patience!

Thoroughly enjoyed the trail rides. My horse on Day 1 didn’t suit me but asked for a change. Everyone would prefer you say if you are not happy and all steps are taken to ensure you get the best out of your MV experience.

I am a 75 year old lightweight without a dressage background but would urge anyone considering this experience, to give it a try. The jacuzzi is waiting!

Kristin who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Safari on horseback | Steady, good horses well acquainted with the terrain, and they knew what was expected of them.

Jane who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Another magical time | Beach ride was as amazing as I’d remembered.