The following is a tried and tested formula for our 1 Week Riding Holiday, with a guaranteed minimum of 15 hours riding over 5 days.  To enjoy this holiday, you need to be riding fit and confident to canter in groups. The majority of our riding tracks are through beautiful country side and the only time you will be on tarmac is to cross a road to get to more stunning country side!  Wild Life is abundant and at various times you may see hoopoes or griffin vultures and sometimes eagles soar overhead.  There are partridge strutting around and sometimes a mongoose or wild boar crosses the track.  You may find swallows nest in the stables and at certain times they love to dive bomb horses and riders!

Itinerary

Day One – Arrive at Faro airport.  Transport available to our farmhouse but we do suggest car hire which is inexpensive and allows you time to look around when not riding.  Plenty of time to look around, meet the horses and dogs, have a swim or stroll around the valley.  Depending on your arrival time, we can fit in a one hour welcome hack in the afternoon.

Day Two – In the morning we ride up into the hills through the wonderful scented eucalyptus woods, emerging at the top by the old windmill from where you have the most stunning 360º view; south over Lagos to the sea, west to the village of Bensafrim and north and east over endless hills.  Continuing up and down through the hills you finally descend to the valley, riding through the backyard of an old tumbledown farmhouse only vacated after the 2003 fires, before the farm appears over the hill.  In the afternoon, choose between a lesson in the ‘picadeiro’ if you want a bit of ‘brushing up’ or a ride down Mad Valley.  This is a long winding roller coaster of a track.  Where the horses and riders enjoy a good canter.  We return along the winding contour tracks cleared years ago for the planting of the umbrella pines.

Day Three – We take a leisurely 2-hour ride through quite different countryside.  It’s a fast ride with plenty of tracks for trotting and ‘blasts’ up the hills.  We pass through Palm Tree Farm, a range of deserted buildings dominated by a lone Palm tree and surrounded by almond trees (see the confetti-like blossom in spring!) and fig trees (pick your own!).

Day Four – Restaurant Ride day.  We take the stunning ride up to the local restaurant called “Solar do Pincho” where cook Sandra will serve us some traditional Portuguese dishes such as duck rice, fish pie or even wild boar! The ride to the restaurant takes about 2 hours along the hills, with amazing views.  The horses have their own spot by the restaurant and will enjoy some lunch at the same time we do.  Luckily they get to carry us back and not the other way around!  The ride back home is through a valley with many river crossings and is the easy route home – ensuring you can enjoy lunch and a drink without worry!

Day Five – Rest day.  A day for you to discover the many delights of Lagos, a trip to the hills of Monchique or to ‘worlds end’ at Cape St Vincent. Let us know if you want to do something fun like a cave tour or an adventure activity!

Day Six – ‘Westward Ho!’ day.  Approx. 4 hours through the National Forest to the dramatic West Coast.  Apart from crossing the main road in Bensafrim you are unlikely to see or be seen by anyone until you emerge at the coast – don’t worry your guides do know the way!  A light lunch followed by plenty of time to ride on the beach.  Horses and riders stay in Carrapateira for the night.  Although out of the way there are several good restaurants worth visiting with the freshest of fish on the menu.

Day Seven – We have to make our way back to Bensafrim and our farm…!  The countryside is different yet again, this time mostly giant cork oaks shading the tracks.  The horses are always in a hurry to get home but are quite used to stopping for a refreshing drink on the way through the village.

The West Coast Ride has become our most popular riding holiday to date.  We take a maximum of 6 people on an adventure you won’t ever forget.  You will ride through and along the hills and valleys of Bensafrim, pine forests, cork tree valleys, rivers, sandy tracks, endless breathtaking views and last but certainly not least: Carrapateira beach!

Itinerary

Day 1:Arrival day. Meet the staff and our horses.

Day 2 (approx.  3 hours riding) – Restaurant Ride. After a leisurely breakfast you will tack up your chosen horse and set of for the two hour ride to the Restaurant Solar do Vale which is situated in the back of beyond in the most amazing location with Portuguese food at its very best. It could be wild boar stew or one of the many variations of cod fish pie. Remember to leave room for Sandra’s amazing desserts. All washed down with a glass of refreshing green wine and maybe to finish a glass of Medronho – the local fire water! You may walk for a bit with your your horse down the hill before getting back on and making your way back to the stables.

Day 3 (approx.  4 hours riding) – We aim to set off by 10.30.  Straight off you are in the hills behind the village of Bensafrim before dropping back down to cross the main road at the edge of the village.  Now you will truly set off westwards into the hills.  Lunch will be at “chicken foot crossing” before starting the decent through the 16 river crossings to Herdade de Beiçudo, the home of Henrique and Deborah Ferro.The horses will be staying here under the watchful eye of Deborah.  We will take you on down the track for 3kms to the village of Carrapateira, where you will stay in the friendly Pensão das Dunas which is situated between the dunes and the village.  A short stroll in either direction will take you to an excellent restaurant to round off the day.

Day 4 (approx. 5 hours riding) – This will be a long day in the saddle.  You start off with an amazing breakfast in the pensão before we collect you to go back to saddle up your horses.  Back through a few river crossing then head off south.  You will ride through the quaint village of Pedralva, up under the giant wind turbines and then south along the coastline to the village of Vila do Bispo.  Here you will tie the horses up in the village square in true cowboy style and eat in a local café. The return trip will be along a similar route.  Horses will be happy to return for their dinner and you will be well fed and entertained by Henrique and Deborah who provide wonderful home grown food – watch out for their home made “medronho”!

Day 5 (approx.  5 hours riding) – Depending on the tides, you may have to make a really early start to catch the beach with the tide out. It is a 3kms ride down to the beach, across the river and onto the amazing Carrapateirabeach. The horses know the deal once they get there! After the adrenalin calms down and you have walked on through the dunes you will arrive at the delightful village of Bordeira. Here you will tie up the horses, there will be water and food for them, and depending on the time of day you can relax for a bit with a snack or lunch. You will then start the trek back home through the pine and eucalyptus woods until you cross the road and ride through the village of Bensafrim and finally make it back to the stables.

The West Coast Stopover is our shortened version of the Four Day West Coast Ride.  It consists of two days of riding through magical countryside and a gallop along the beach!

Itinerary

Day 1 (approx. 4 hours riding) – Aim to leave around 10:30 after we have selected a suitable horse to fit your ability and preference.  We will ride through the hills behind the farm to the edge of Bensafrim where we cross the main road to start heading west.  After a couple of hours riding through the hills and pine forests we have a picnic lunch at what we call the “chicken foot crossing”.  Once recharged we start the descend down into the Valley of Rivers where we will cross the river 16 times before arriving at Herdade de Beiçudo – a lovely farm house owned by Deborah and Henrique Ferro.

The horses will be staying here under the watchful eye of Deborah.  We will take you on down the track for 3kms to the village of Carrapateira, where you will stay in the friendly Pensão das Dunas which is situated between the dunes and the village.  A short stroll in either direction will take you to an excellent restaurant to round off the day.

Day 2 (approx. 5 hours riding) – After an amazing breakfast we will collect you and head back to Beiçudo to saddle up the horses.  You will then head further west to Praia da Bordeira – also known as Carrapateira beach –  where we will cross the wide river to get onto the long stretch of sand (5km!) – the perfect location for a good beach gallop!  The horses love this part of the ride and will make sure you do too!  Once we have had enough wind and sea salt in our hair we will ride to the quaint village of Bordeira where you will have a light lunch before setting off up into the pine forests for the final stretch home.  When we arrive back at the farm, you are free to go for a swim in the pool and have a cold drink on the terrace.

**Please note our ability to do the beach gallop depends on the tides!  It will either be added on to the end of Day one or be the start of Day two.  Number of hours riding per day will change accordingly **

The beginners course was created after noting that many people don’t just want to learn how to ride, they also like to be involved in getting their horse brushed and tacked up.  The course runs for three consecutive mornings, during which you will learn how to get a horse in from a paddock or field, grooming and tacking up, general horse care including advice on do’s and don’ts around horses and a morning ride and/0r lesson.

Lessons will be one on one unless there are more in your group of the same level.  Depending on your starting level, lessons will most likely start on a lunge, where you will be able to work on your position and control of the horse, whilst having the safety of having your instructor in control of the horse.  We will then work on getting you to ride by yourself around the arena.  Rides will be through our beautiful country side on one of our quiet horses to allow you to fully enjoy the experience of riding outdoors.

Schedule:

10.00 – 13.00 daily. We run beginners courses throughout the year .