Chianti Castles and Wine Tasting - Italy

Meraney who has been on 23 In The Saddle rides. A perfect mix combining centre based riding with a private villa vibe | It was a very hot week so we were glad to ride early and finish early with time for a swim and a siesta before exploring a corner of Tuscany we had not seen before. The horses were fit, well schooled and well cared for. Donatella took care to match us all with suitable horses that we liked and offered us the opportunity to try different horses during the week if we wanted to.
The riding itself was in the surrounding hills and was all on tracks and paths with some steep up and down sections affording beautiful vistas of old castles, vineyards and olive groves. There were opportunities for trots and short canters but the pace was mainly walk and we were in single file due to the terrain.
[Olwen from In The Saddle - Thank you for your feedback and I am glad that you enjoyed this lovely holiday in Tuscany]

Do you have any comments about the accommodation and food?

The accommodation was comfortable with high ceiling rooms in a shady old building with a lot of communal living space, it had the feel of a private villa with freedom to hangout at the pool or on the veranda or in the lounge with no one else using those facilities.

The food was really excellent, lovely to have home cooking with fresh ingredients. There was home made bread every day, vegetarians were well catered for as Donatella and Sadio are vegetarian although the meals were mostly meat based reflecting local tradition. We always had salads, pasta or risotto and plenty of wine. It was plentiful and healthy food

How could we improve the quality of pre-holiday information that we send?

Nothing else needed

Do you have any other feedback for us?

Donatella had saddle bags on request for water bottles but didn’t take them out as a matter of course as we only did short rides, however if we had done the all day riding I’d have wanted a water bottle holder on the saddle.

Donatella and Sadio were very flexible and super attentive to ensure we had a good time, I really enjoyed the holiday, it was a like having our own private catered villa with added riding in the mornings