Caroline who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Incredible adventure of a lifetime | The riding is not for the feint hearted but if you’re up to it, it will blow your mind. Forward going ponies and so sure footed over the toughest terrain. Even galloping was exhilarating over the mountains. Everybody was carefully considered and matched perfectly to their pony.

Casey (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Absolutely amazing! | It was absolutely perfect for my riding ability and what we were looking for. I am an intermediate rider and was matched perfectly with the right horse for me (Flash) and found the pace to be very comfortable. If anything, it was a bit slow / too much walking which would be the feedback from my husband who is a more advanced rider. But overall it was an amazing experience, for both our first safari and riding holiday.
[In The Saddle - we are so pleased that you enjoyed your safari.]

Jamie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Phenomenal! | Excellent

Charlotte who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Amazing holiday - excellent riding, wonderful hosts, great tuition | The horses were outstanding as was the instruction. The facilities were excellent and I learnt a tremendous amount in a very short period of time. The horses and tuition were very well matched to my requirements but with the right amount of "stretch".

Ira who has been on 5 In The Saddle rides. Bottlenose trail - Brilliant holiday, well organised and fabulous riding | Yes as described.

Nicola who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Quinta Do Rol - Fantastic | The riding was fantastic. We were not the most experienced riders but the instructors never made us feel awkward about that. They were enthusiastic, encouraging and had a wealth of knowledge to impart. Our riding really developed during our stay and each lesson was the perfect mix of being challenging and fun. The riding centre itself is incredibly well run and the horses were amazing.

[Abbie from In The Saddle replies: We really appreciate your feedback, thank you. I am really pleased that you enjoyed your stay at Quinta do Rol.]

Lizzie who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous | The riding was fabulous with the good mix of walk trot and canter. The beach ride was really great and our guide Miguel was professional and good fun always making sure the horses were well cared for.

Jackie who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Bottlenose Trail Portugal - A brilliant week of horse riding, scenery, guiding support and fun with friends | Exceeded expectations. I was concerned that it wouldn’t be enough riding as we had chosen a trail of 4-6 hours per day. But actually it was more than enough time in the saddle. Must be getting older! Scenery more varied and remote than expected. I don’t think we met anyone on the whole trail and only very little roadwork connection tracks with some spectacular views.

[In The Saddle replies: We really appreciate your feedback and are so pleased that your holiday exceeded your expectations.]

Liz who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous - again! I’ll be back - again. | I rode the wonderful Mangas who suited me completely. Willing, able and with a great temperament. I also had three lessons on him in the open air ménage - with a great view down to mountain.

I am not able tack up the horses but this was done very willingly for me.

I was on the Sunny Rides programme which proved suitable and fun for an experienced rider of advancing (advanced!) years.

Sara Fevre (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Good

Gillian (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) A truly wonderful experience | Riding at Borana was absolutely wonderful. The horses were in excellent condition, well mannered, and forward going. Our guide Nicholas took us on a different ride every day (we rode for 7 days) . We saw different terrain , lots of animals and had some amazing long canters & fast gallops.

Olaug who has been on 13 In The Saddle rides. Ride, food, relax. Hospitality. Lovely hotel, room/food. | Excellent

Grethe who has been on 7 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful | A good selection of horses in a changing landscape.
Did different rides everyday and enjoyed the variety this offered.

Elisabeth who has been on 22 In The Saddle rides. Beautiful location and excellent service | The riding took place in small hill/mountain/field roads, with gravel or concrete or asphalt surface. Most of the riding was upwards or downwards with beautiful views and with short and some longer canters in the more relative smooth upward parts with gravel ground. The selection of horses is varied and will fit the unexperienced and the experienced rider. I got to ride 3 different horses and was very pleased with 2 of them. We were riding in one line with the same order within the same day. It was therefor a nice experience to change the horses some days to also get another place in the order, being in the back and also being in the front. It was difficult, some times, to get the information given by the guide when riding in the back. The guides were very helpful and nice in all respect.

Marianne who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. The horses were fantastic. Regarding riding level Red+, I expected a relatively calm ride with a lot of walk, but was pleasantly surprised by a quite fresh pace in both trot and especially canter. There was far more canters than I expected. A huge pleasure.

Joanna who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Great riding, great people, great accommodation and location | Riding was great, lovely horses - clearly well cared for. Enjoyed being able to help with grooming, tacking up etc.

Jane who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Memorable and great fun | As anticipated this ride was slow due to the terrain with quite a lot of on foot walking where terrain very steep.However some cantering days 2 and 3 and well worth the ride to cross the high Sierra Nevada. Horses sure footed , picnics delicious , views amazing and you really were off the beaten tracks. We keep talking about our Spanish adventure. We loved being in the mountains and the two villages, Bubion and Trevelez, were fascinating.The horses were well schooled so could relax and enjoy the countryside eg picked their way over rough terrain, you just gave them a long rein, in canter went into a rhythm and did not pull so can just sit still with light contact, when leading they walked behind and did not tread on you !

Pippa who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Quinta do Rol - Lovely place | The equestrian centre facilities were truly beautiful. The horses were very well turned out and cared for. Good quality tack that was cleaned after each ride. There were 3 trainers and it would have been more beneficial for me to swap about a bit more.

Janice (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Outstanding vacation !

Julie who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Exhilarating Unforgettable Ride | Vasco takes great care to match you well with your horse and Johan my horse was a dream. I loved every minute of the riding especially the fast walking and great fast canters and gallops. Such a thrilling ride.

Sarah who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Outstanding. | Horses were superbly looked after. Rachel had great insight and diplomacy, with all the riders. Unusually we were allowed to gallop on the beach day 1. (We only found out after they normally assess you first but seemed happy w us after we said we hunted regularly). There was not a single horse that misbehaved or put a foot out of line at any point in the week. Fantastic ratio of horses to riders to ensure adequate rest time between work. They all knew their job and are a great testament to Rachels investment into training over a long period. They were all well shod, sound and a delight to ride. I was given three greys through the week.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback, we are so pleased to hear you enjoyed your holiday at Los Alamos.]

Claire who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Beach and Forest riding | Definitely met expectations
Horse operation was excellent

Miquel (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Horseback riding safari in the Macatoo Paradise | All ridings were carefully cared about.
The guides were excellent.
All was specially prepared for Kate. All horseback riding endings were on a different location and we were always surprised and excited.
All the staff were really good.

Maxine who has been on 9 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous week of riding | I had an amazing week at Monte Velho, my riding improved so much with some great instruction and superb schoolmasters.

[In The Saddle replies: Thank you for your feedback on Monte Velho. We're so pleased that you enjoyed your return visit.]

Juliet who has been on 20 In The Saddle rides. Fantastic - as always | Super, well trained and willing horses. A great variety to suit all abilities.
I have had numerous trips here ( I’ve lost count!) and can always feel an improvement in my riding when I get back home. Emphasis on correct riding but also the opportunity to work on ‘the tricks’ too.

Rachel who has been on 29 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 6 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.

Magdalena who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful lodge and people and horses of course! | Very well schooled and very fit horses. I wanted to take home especialy one.

Sue who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. A wonderful experience at Kambuku, Namibia | The horses at Kambaku were lovely, calm, responsive and well behaved, and extremely well looked after. The staff seemed to have a knack of matching the right horse to rider. Most people, including myself, kept the same horse for every ride (8 rides over 6 days..)
I loved the fact that on stopping for sundowners (after most evening rides), the horses were untacked and allowed to make their own way home, sometimes quite a considerable distance.
However, I can't give full marks for the riding experience on a couple of counts:
The riding is on mainly sandy tracks through Acacia shrub. The ground is very flat, and terrain can all look a bit of the same after a while. But this did allow for some lovely long canters!
You have to like trotting! As a Western rider, there was too much trotting for my personal taste (and my back!)
I would have been a bit negative about the game viewing experience from horseback, had we not experienced a fabulous interaction with a number of giraffes!
Kabuku is a rare location in accommodating both Riders and Game Hunters. Whilst we had absolutely no problem with hunting (which is well managed, and kept completely separate), and the hunters staying were all lovely people, I think this did have an impact upon our game viewing experience. The Antelopes and Zebras appeared very wary and kept a good distance away from the horses. Only the Giraffes were curious, and we only got one good sighting of them in 8 rides.. That may be down to luck, as we did hear of guests being able to ride alongside Zebra the previous week. But when we saw Zebra, only once, and far away, they ran away still further.

Nicolette who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous; horses, scenery, riding and food! | The riding was excellent. Varied terrain, stunning scenery. Dallas Love, the leader was very experienced and her horses were well trained and lovely to ride. She took care to ensure we knew what lay ahead and ensured her horses were ok. The getting on and off for short periods of walking when the terrain was two steep or slippy to ride on helped to reduce stiffness. Lunches with a spot of merlot on the mountainside were delicious.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback. I'm so pleased to hear that you enjoyed riding with Dallas - she is a wonderful guide.]

Dawn who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. Fabulous trip never to be forgotten trip on great horses | The riding certainly met my expectations. The rides were challenging enough to be interesting and engaging. The best way to see rural Spain and some fabulous scenery. Confident that the horses were fit, up to the job and very well cared for. They enjoyed their work. Food And accommodation great too.
[Becky from In The Saddle replies: Thank you very much for your feedback and we are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your holiday in the Sierra Nevada Mountains]

Ebba who has been on 4 In The Saddle rides. The weather was impeccable - the horse super good and the terrain as I had imagined - so all in all a trip I would like to recommend to others. The fact that it also was an excellent group does not make the experience any worse!
Consideration was given to the work load on the horses going downhill, and they were given adequate rest when going uphill.