Ride Lusitano Horses - Luxury horse riding holidays

Day One:
Arrive at Lisbon or Faro airport where you will be met and transferred to the Equestrian Centre. You will initially be given a short tour around the facilities and shown to your beautiful, newly renovated room with en-suite facilities. The Equestrian Centre is set in breath-taking surroundings nestled in picturesque pasture land punctuated by cork and olive trees. At dinner, the chief instructor Nuno Baptista, both a national judge and a member of the national dressage team in Portugal, will talk to you in order to understand more about which horses you will be best suited to for the course of your stay.

Day Two:
After breakfast today you will be heading off on a trail ride around the park where the cattle are kept and you can spend some time relaxing getting to know your horse. If you prefer to try your hand at carriage driving, Nuno is also an expert carriage driver and you can choose to enjoy learning a new art. As I discovered, it really is thrilling driving a powerful Lusitano through this beautiful scenery and down to the natural lake. Lunch is provided back at the equestrian centre and after time for a snooze in the shade you will be ready to learn some technical work on expertly trained horses under the watchful eye of Nuno.

Day Three:
Breakfast, then more riding with Nuno in the fantastic facilities, which include an immaculate indoor arena with a gallery and an Olympic size outdoor arena. Nuno will work on any difficulties that you may have found when riding your own horses at home. His skill and patience with his horses is evident in every corner of this wonderful farm and he will make your experience here one you will cherish for a lifetime. The breaks in between the lessons can be spent resting in the gardens with a good glass of Portuguese wine and enjoying the sun, going for walks or biking where Nuno's dogs will be happy to accompany you. The food is a delight and both at lunchtime and in the evening the cook prepares splendid local cuisine featuring the very best of Alentejo’s renowned gastronomy.

Day Four:
Breakfast, then an opportunity for a wonderful trail ride in the beautiful countryside along miles and miles of tracks where you will hardly meet a single vehicle or carriage. Driving or riding through the cork and olive trees whilst taking in the beautiful centenary trees, fragrances, colours and sounds of this region is an experience to cherish. There will be a chance to relax before the afternoon's equitation lessons or it is possible to do other activities such as an archery lesson, canoeing or fishing making the farm suitable for non-riders and families. The swimming pool at the equestrian centre is currently under construction but Nuno will be happy to take you to the local swimming baths if you fancy a break in the afternoon.

Day Five:
Breakfast, then an equitation lesson on the skillfully trained horses to enable you to experience amongst other movements shoulder-in, half pass, pirouette, passage, piaffe, flying changes and tempi changes. The horses include Satelite, a 9 year old, grey who is the main sire at the farm and competes at Grand Prix level, also, Ulisses, a 7 year old and Palaciano, a 13 year old who both work at Medium level and on the farm do the cattle work. Xogum, a 5 year old and Saleiro, a 9 year old, among others, will be taken out on the trail rides and used for carriage driving. Dinner will be served in the farm house this evening.

Day Six:
Breakfast, then the programme will follow a similar format to the previous day's. Make the most of this opportunity to draw as much knowledge as possible from your vastly experienced chief instructor. There are a number of lounges where you can relax in the evening, or maybe you would prefer to sip a glass of wine in the gardens as you listen to the crickets singing their evening chorus.

Day Seven:
Breakfast, then you will set off on a trail ride across open country for the last hack of the week through the olive groves and the vast expanse of picturesque pasture land in the Southern Alentejo region that is home to the pure bred Lusitano horses. You may like to have a last lesson with Nuno before you leave or maybe you would prefer to sit back and relax with a glass of wine and admire the beautiful surroundings.

Day Eight:
Breakfast, then time to say your goodbye's to your new found friends and horses before being taken to Lisbon or Faro airport where you will depart.

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