You stay can include a number of different riding instructions and hacking combinations.
You most likely have booked one of the following packages ... but these can alwasy be adjusted to your personal needs and wishes.
7 days/ 6 nights from Sunday to Saturday
Package A. 5 hrs group lessons and 10+ hrs trail rides
Package B. 5 hrs private lessons and 10+ hrs trail rides
Package C. 5 days of trail rides (15 to 20 hrs)
Package D. 10 hrs private instructions
... also available: Lunging lessons and Beginner lessons
Sample Itinerary
Sunday, Day 1: Arrival after 4:00 pm. Rest, relax and being introduced to the farm and its facilities. Dinner is at 8:00 pm
Monday, Day 2: After breakfast taken in the cottages, meeting at the horse part with the riding instructor and his team. Horse testing and Equitation lessons.( Starting at 9:00 a.m.) Lunch at about 1:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
trail ride into the surroundings of the farm. Visiting the highest point of the region with an exceptional overview. We ride to an old airfield built 100 years ago from an great uncle of your host. Ancient eucalyptus trees let their shade flow over the vast area, hiding stories of civil war and stormy times of the latest history of this country. Ruins of glorious times, long gone, new plantations of oak and pine trees which will give their value to next generations ( 2+ hours ).
Dinner at about 8:30 p.m.
Evening: a dinner with sweet surprises will wait for you. A lot of talking and exchanging of ideas and new impressions might take your attention. Or a check game for the more thoughtful, a snooker part for the never tired, a dreaming session in front of a fireplace or night walk for the romantic or a comfortable bed can also fulfill your evening-activities.
Tuesday, Day 3: After breakfast lessons (First lesson, starting at 9 a.m.)
Back for lunch at about 1:30 p.m.
The “Vale das Mòs”-Ride:
The ride may take you through secret pads, passing old water mills, hidden lakes with rare water birds. Small fertile valleys where people from the nearby village grow everything - they don't need to buy in supermarkets. The land is still ploughed with the help of mules or bulls. Storks and herons may search for their lunch on the fields. With a brief canter you might reach a white old village for a refreshing stop. Hills and valleys unexpectedly green, miles without seeing anybody and all of a sudden a rabbit, a wild boar or a partridge hen with her twelve babies...from horseback all this scenery almost looks like a movie, (ca. 4 hours ). Dinner at 8.30 p.m.
Wednesday, Day 4:
Morning: Today all the group lessons will take place in the morning, starting at 9:00 a.m. After lunch at the usual time of 1.30 p.m. you have the day off for relaxing or taking the chance to visit the famous state stud of the Royal Horses in Alter do Chão 40 Minutes away. Another option to visit are several medieval towns like Èvora, UNESCO world patrimony town, Estremoz, Castelo de Vide or Marvão. Your hosts will be glad to help you on your choice. Dinner at 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Day 5:
Vale do Arco Trail
The Ride may introduce you to hidden places where the time seems to have stood still. White painted cottages, cobbled streets, women who carry their load on the head, old mule wells and a lot of medieval phenomena still in use will surprise the riders on their way. You may stop for a drink in one of the little cafés and get acquaintance with the local folk who are known for their friendliness. ( ca. 3 hours )
Lunch at about 1.30 pm
Afternoon: group lessons, starting at 4 p.m.
Dinner at about 8:30 pm
Friday, Day 6: After breakfast at 9:00 a.m. lessons will start. Until the lunch at about 1:30 p.m. you may be ready with your lessons.
After a lazy lunch at about 3 p.m. - the trail of this last riding day may include long sandy ways for comfortable canters or smooth trotting over wildflower fields and vast valleys where sheep and goat herds having their siesta. Through orange or lemon groves you arrive to a white village for a drink. Your way back leads you through oak or pine tree forest. Being surprised by some pigs running in freedom in the forest or even meeting a fox who has lost his way, the guests will come back full of nature and its calmness. The word “stress” will not exist anymore, at least until reality will have you back, (ca. 3 hours ).
Dinner at about 8:30 pm
Saturday, Day 7: Depart – if your timetable allows you, after a nice lazy breakfast and a long farewell to Paradise.
Subject to change