Latest News and Special Offers - 5th Feb 12
Booking now for Winter fun and 2012!
We wish all our clients old and new a very happy New Year!
We love RIDE AND SKI SEASON !! We always have something special to offer and can put together a great package just for you. We have some super new ride/ski destinations offering a selection of delightful Alpine holidays for all ages and abilities from specialist family venues to luxurious snowy retreats for adults who deserve a special treat.
Just let us know exactly what you are looking for and let the team assist you in finding a riding holiday that fits the bill.
Solo travellers: If you are on your own, or riding with a friend, you may like to join one of our tours for solo travellers:. Alpine Fitness week at the Lamm in the Italian Alps with a week of ski-ing, riding and then relaxing in the indoor pool and Spa!. 3-10th March with guided snow-shoe walks, cross country and alpine skiing, ski touring and horse riding for all ages and abilities. This promises to be a great fun, sociable week.
Ride and Relax week at the Post Tolderhof in the Italian Dolomites: Sunday 18-25th March.Or if you fancy some Spring sunshine, book now for our March trip to Menorca. Places are limited and our Autumn trip filled up very quickly. 4* boutique hotel with Menorcan stallions. We have a Riding Company trip also planned for our new centre in Sardinia over the UK bank holiday 5-12th May.
Following our successful guided dressage week in the Autumn, we are returning in the Spring to our Dressage centre in Portugal (see below). Plus we have 2 special weeks in Andalucia on small, intimate trips, one for more novice riders, Shepherds and Smugglers 17-20 April and one for intermediates upwards, Sweet Chestnut and Wild Lavender 23-26 May. 10% discount off of the prices for these two tours!
We have a special offer on African Safaris for 2012, £100 off the listed price if booked by January 28th
Ride & Ski
Gallop in the snow in the mornings and swish down the slopes in the afternoon!
Fantastic ski-ing in Austria and Italy. All sorts of playtime-in-the-snow possibilities for singles, groups and families, accommodation in traditional 3* chalet hotels to 5* pampering luxury. Most of our venues combine lots of different winter sports' activities, not just riding: snow trekking, ski touring, ice-climbing, ski-joering and free-riding (off piste skiing), even carriage driving in the snow. More details. Join one of our popular Riding Company Ride & Ski chalet parties - 3-10th March at the Lamm Alpine Active hotel in Italy. Short breaks of 5 nights also available.
Half term and Easter family breaks
Take a family Half Term break at one of our fantastic family venues:
Stay at the Hotel Atzinger close to Innsbruck with skiing in the fabulous Stubai Valley and a children's riding club: Prices for a family of 4 from £1,566 in a Premium Family Room and £2,053 in a large suite including 3/4 board and transfers. Super spa and pool and a delightful family atmosphere. Excellent riding centre offering lessons in an impressive architect-designed indoor sandschool.Riding Kindergarten with free daily pony rides from 4yrs old, horse-whispering and acrobatics courses for kids from age 6. Teen programme and adult riding. Pool, Spa. Excellent skiing at international ski resort Stubai Glacier and at Schlick 2000.
The Martinerhof: relaxed 4* traditional family hotel close to Salzburg, Austria, making this a great ride and ski venue for the whole family. Sleigh ride excursions (half day with panorama picnic stop), pool and spa. Cross-country skiing taster session for all the family. Free shuttle to the excellent ski resort of Dachstein West. Local ski run with good ski school for kids. Kids’ club. Winter rides out on the coloured horses on extensive bridle paths. Horsewhispering courses for kids and adults. Great value for money.Ellmauhof Family Hotel: Stylish 4* family hotel with riding kindergarten for 3-6 yr olds and lessons for all ages and abilities. Excellent skiing as the hotel is on the slopes of the Saalbach Hinterglemm ski resort, Austria. Indoor petting zoo, free kids club, indoor pools and spa. Sleigh rides. This manages to work brilliantly as a perfect place for kids (teens too) but also provides a stylish grown-up environment for adults with separate activities (whilst kids are being expertly supervised). Superb wine bar, cuisine and interiors designed in natural colours with an original flair.Kroller 4* family hotel and Western Ranch: Perched in small village on a high pass in spectacular landscape. Daily rides out into the deep snow on Criollos, Quarter Horses and Paint Horses equipped with special winter shoes. Children (11+) can join treks. Younger kids ride at the hotel. Kids' paradise including all day kids' activity club (indoor and outdoor). Western saloon bar with live music. Indoor pool and spa. Connected to the huge Zillertal ski area. Own ski school, own ski and toboggan slope and ski hire shop.
Sleigh Rides
What could be more romantic than a ride in a sleigh, wrapped in fur blankets through the snow in a beautiful Alpine valley, through winter forests, along the rivers, through villages all lit up with twinkling white lights. Stop for a warming mulled wine then head back to the roaring fire of your hotel. Most of our Ride & Ski hotels offer sleigh rides but at these three you can also take the reins yourself and learn how to drive a sleigh. These sleigh driving courses are for complete beginners (no need to know how to ride) or for experience drivers who want to learn the special techniques of driving in the snow.
Germany: The 3* Fiakerhof in the Bavarian Alps. 3 night and 7 night driving courses are offered in this traditional Alpine chalet-hotel in the famous ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Zugsptze). Courses throughout the year. Winter driving in the snow. Small groups, complete beginners to advanced
Italy: Post Hotel in the Italian Dolomites: The 4* Hotel Post lies in the heart of a popular mountain village in the Dolomites. It has a lovely indoor pool, sauna and steam grotto in the new 900m2 spa and offers various massages, aromatherapy soaks and beauty treatments. The restaurant offers delicious gourmet food from the Alpe-adria region. The stud farm is the largest horse-riding and driving centre in South Tyrol and it is waiting for you with 30 horses, warmbloods and Haflingers, a riding arena, a brightly-lit sandschool, professional riding and driving instructors. Three-time Italian driving champion Hannes Weilaner skilfully manages the stud farm as well as running the carriage-driving course
The Achenkirch 5* Reiter's Resort in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria. Fantasy-inducing setting with dream spa, fitness and sporting facilities. Beautiful stylish cosy interior. Rides out and dressage on Lipizzaners. Extensive programme of yoga and spiritual fitness, downhill and cross country skiing. Romantic sleigh rides in stunning winter landscape. No children under 14. A winter holiday doesn't get any better or more luxurious than this.
Offers at Quinta da Fe
Immerse yourself in the art of dressage in the Alentejo region of Portugal. A unique riding school, dedicated to dressage, to excite all standards of rider. Quinta da Fe is the ultimate holiday destination for the dressage enthusiast. The cosy, five-bedroom farmhouse will become your shared home while the adjoining stable yard and sand schools set within orange groves and vineyards is a veritable sanctuary to the soul. Instruction is led by two exceptional and experienced riders and trainers who are equally gifted in communicating their riding philosophy – using video lessons, lunge lessons, individual and small group lessons and with riding sessions set to music.
2012: For holidays in January, February and March: A discount of £135 per person choosing a 1 week stay on full board with Riding Programme A. In April, May, June, September and November: A discount of £85 per person choosing a 1 week stay on full board with Riding Programme A. In July, August and December: A discount of £135 per person choosing a 1 week stay on full board with Riding Programme A
Early booking conditions for for 2012 until January: February and March 2012 : discount 160 euros per person choosing 1 week stay in full board and riding program A (10 lessons dressage), April, May, June, September, October and November 2012 : discount 100 euros per person choosing 1 week stay in full board and riding program A (10 lessons dressage). July, August and December 2012 : discount 160 euros per person choosing 1 week stay in full board and riding program A (10 lessons dressage)
Pony clubs and riding clubs: We also have a special deal for groups of five or six riders - one goes free!
See our blog for a day-by-day account of a dressage holiday at Quinta da Fe!
Gallops for Gourmets and MORE!
New price £1,835 for the full 7 Days: Spend a spectacular week-long break combining guided mountain horse trekking with a unique insight into the ancient cuisine of this fascinating region. Ride comfortable, ongoing horses through the breathtaking scenery of the ‘Serrania de Ronda’. Follow in the hoof prints of smugglers and bandits as you gaze down at the Mediterranean and Africa beyond or up to the rocky crags that surround the legendary city of Ronda. Ride through orange and avocado groves and on to beautiful, historic ‘white villages’. Feast on local delicacies while out and about and relax at home with your very own private chef who will lead you through a series of themed cooking classes and excursions revealing the best of traditional and modern Andalucian cuisine. Riders and cooks from novice to advanced welcome. Non riders also welcome. Very luxurious accommodation in a magnificent cortijo built around a Moorish-style courtyard leading to a terraced garden and a spectacular pool. This is a once in a lifetime, exclusive holiday for discerning travellers. More details...
Next departures: 10th and 17th March 2012
Ride to Machu Picchu, Peru
**National Geographic Adventure - "World's 25 Best New Trips' 2009** National Geographic Traveler - "Top 50 Tours of a Lifetime**
Ride on one of these beautiful Quarter horses, staying in luxury lodges along the way. Discover the Incas the comfortable way, away from the crowds. Great company and stunning scenery as you ride over the Andes through a high altitude pass between two sacred mountains, over the Salkantay Glacier, passing through 15 different bio-zones. Enjoy this breathtaking 7 - day trip and experience culture, adventure, and the mysticism Machu Picchu. For intermediate to experienced riders. Extend your stay with a few days in Cusco, the vibrant ancient Inca capital.
This is a trip for people who want an amazing adventure, in a spectacular location, but don't want to 'rough it'.
Read an in-depth article in the excellent Local Rider Magazine which includes lots of photos by the editor (who personally went on the trip) and includes lots of information about the Incas, local traditions and a separate piece about the magical Inca city of Cusco (where our ride start and finish). Read the full article here
Availability: some places left for the last trip of the season departing 18th December. Book now to get the great 2011 price.
Responsible tourism: The Riding Company is proud to be associated with Yanapana Peru, the charity founded by the owner of the Machu Picchu riding centre, which is striving to reduce poverty along the Salkantay route to Machu Picchu (where the lodges are situated) , through sustainable community development. Get in touch to find out ways in which you too can be a part of this during your trip. See a video about the various projects: http://www.greenlivingproject.com/south-america-projects/mountain-lodges-of-peru/
Machu Picchu Lodge to Lodge Program More details
'Peru leaves me with amazing recollections; It’s a land of extremes, from Glacial Mountain Passes to Rain Forest and Amazon Tributaries. With local coffee growers and villages living in very primitive conditions, Inca ruins scattered across the hundreds of Inca Trails, which spread throughout all the mountains of this truly memorable country. But perhaps the most remarkable memories of all were the Horses we rode - to my mind more amazing than Machu Picchu itself.' Stephen and Jeanette
Big 5 Safari on Horseback
Philip and Gerti look forward to welcoming you to their private game reserve in South Africa, one of the few places in the world where you can see cheetahs, elephants, lions and other wildlife if their natural environment from the back of a horse. Together they operate highly professional fast paced horse safaris with luxury eco-lodge accommodation. Small groups of just 7 riders. Experienced riders only.
This is a perfect trip if you are on your own and want to join in a fun group of good experienced riders. Price £2520 per person including food, accommodation, riding but not flights and transfers (these can be arranged on your behalf). Fly to Johannesburg. More details
Riding Company Safari Week Spring bank holiday Saturday 2-9th June 2012 .We have a special offer on African Safaris for 2012, £100 off the listed price if booked by December 15th 2011. No single supplement if happy to share a room. Shared transfers
Book soon as it's filling up fast! The Riding Company are pleased to offer £100 off all 2012 safari prices if booked before 10th December.
NEW!! Gerti gives flatwork lessons to prepare you for going on safari: How do you make a horse stand in front of a lion without running away? Learn how to gain your horses trust. During the mornings you have theoretical or practical lessons in the riding arena or on the cross country course, then ride out in the afternoons with the chance of seeing the Big Five from horseback. The aim of this course is to learn the methods of riding your horse in a supple, submissive and relaxed manner. Gerti teaches according to the German Training Scale, which starts with rhythm, looseness and works towards riding the horse on the bit. We want you to understand how to have fun with your horse whatever you do: dressage, showjumping, eventing or just enjoy your horse as a lovely hack. Each group is between 4-7 people all following the same itinerary. Good riding skills are essential. The aim of this course is to learn the methods of riding your horse in a supple, submissive and relaxed manner that this might be a nice way of introducing horse safaris to people that are a bit nervous about the idea of animals and horses and riding in the bush. Available from June-September.
Andrea Moffatt from Horse & Rider magazine has just returned from a visit to Wait A Little and describes her first encounter with a lion
'It is the horses that first alert you to the presence of lions. ..(My mount) Joe took a sharp intake of air, nostrils flared and I could feel his heart beating harder. The horses were all alert now, ears pricked, moving slowly, we were close. Breathing quietly is so hard when you concentrate on it, especially when at the sight of a magnificent male lion, all you want to do is squeal with delight or fear or both. The lion shook his full, thick mane defiantly and yawned, displaying a fine set of incisors, a reminder of why he ruled the bush. Then he rose to his feet making every hair on the back of my neck stand up and I gasped at his sheer size. Our courageous horses stood their ground and the lion turned and walked off into the bush, no doubt to find a more private sleeping spot....
The hot afternoons were spent dozing, dipping in the infinity pool and sitting on the platform overlooking the river watching the hippos cooling off in the heat of the day, partially submerged and occasionally coming up for air, nostrils flared gasping a huge intake of air or yawning a wide-mouthed hippo yawn exposing ivory canines and a powerful jaw. We felt like we had stumbled across a piece of heaven. ...'
The full article appears in the Autumn issue of Horse & Rider magazine.
Polo holidays
Combine learning to play this exciting game with a few days in Buenos Aires.
La Sofia: First rate comfort in this Estancia run by a charming young German-Argentine couple.The polo club has two polofields always in perfect condition and they can guarantee play every day, throughout the year! Stick & Ball in the mornings after a hearty breakfast then polo games of 4 to 6 chukkers in the afternoons. For experienced players, polo tours are offered where you have the opportunity to play in numerous other clubs in the area. Although beginners are taught (you will be thrown in at the deep end and will most likely play your first chukkas on your very first day!) there is a lot to offer the experienced polo player here and there is a lot to do for accompanying non-riders. Owner, Marcos Antin, is a professional Argentine polo player and has worked in many polo schools around the world before setting up on his own with his polo-playing wife Silke. More details
4 days, 3 nights at La Sofia with full board and activities like daily trailriding, daily free shuttle to San Antonio de Areco to get into gaucho tradition, and one polo class for beginners … from £481 per person (Standard double room, double use, limited number of places available). We can arrange the rest of your stay, to learn polo or visit Buenos Aires. Get in touc.
The Brooke
The Riding Company is now supporting The Brooke - the UK's leading overseas equine welfare charity whose aim is to improve the lives of horses, donkeys and mules working in the poorest parts of the world. These animals form the backbone of the economy in many developing countries, supporting countless poor communities where many people earn less than a dollar a day.
We will be making a donation on your behalf - so your money will be helping the Brooke's mobile vet teams and community animal health workers, and their partner organisations worldwide, provide free treatment to animals and train animal owners, local healers, farriers, saddlers, feed sellers, harness and cart makers. The Brooke currently operate across nine countries in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Middle East. For more information visit www.thebrooke.org or see latest news round up on our blog. Due to unrest in the region we have cancelled the sponsored ride to Egypt for 2011 but will be setting up future sponsored rides in aid of the Brooke. For those of you interested in charitable causes, check the blog for details of Ossy, our Spanish rescue horse.
The Riding Company Blog
Check out our Riding Company Blog. Here we will keep you up to date you with all the latest news and hot tips from the equestrian world. We will also be featuring some special holidays offers and details of our regular competitions. Latest features have been on Sicily, Vienna and the Lipizzaners, winter riding in powder snow in Austria and Ossy the rescue horse in Spain, adopted by our Tarifa Beach hotel. Anna and Penny are our bloggers and they would be delighted to hear any of your comments and suggestions.
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