How to spot the good horse riding activities from the bad

You might think that when it comes to offering horse riding activities, one outfit is as good as the next. In which case you probably don’t know much about horse riding and have little experience in trying out the services of those offering horse riding activities. The truth is that some of these places can be a great big let-down – perhaps in terms of the facilities, which didn’t deliver on their promise, or in terms of the horses themselves, which might be in poor health or which actually don’t like people riding them and have developed bad manners, so to speak.

Of course nothing beats personal experience for sorting out the good venues for horse riding activities from the ordinary, boring and bad. But some of the places are far away, and ideally one wants to avoid wasting your time and your money if you can possibly avoid it. Word of mouth is a good way to avoid disappointment, and another is to visit a reputable website where there are various people and places offering horse riding activities, competing with each other for the attention of browsers.

Take SA Trails in Fourways/Lanseria as an example. This is a very social ranch where the whole family is encouraged to get involved in their horse riding activities. The horses are trained in the Western style of riding and there are plenty of outride routes with interesting fauna and flora to be enjoyed on the Northern Farm nature reserve. Water crossings, cantering stretches and cross country jumps – at SA Trails they pretty much have it all as regards horse riding activities, including horse riding lessons that involve a simulator to ensure that riders know how to sit properly on a horse and how to communicate with it before they get up onto the animal!

Magoebaskloof Adventures offers riding trails through the mountains, pine plantations and along the Broedestroom River. The Big Creek Guest Lodge facing the Magaliesburg Mountains is reliable to the point that you can believe them when they tell you that horse riding activities at the equestrian farm 25km away are excellent. And for something completely different, a unique experience, you could consider the Shafton Grange Guest House and Lipizzaner Stud outside Howick in KwaZulu-Natal. Lipizzaners? Yup, imagine riding one of these fully-schooled show horses…

Are the animals well cared for? What are their personalities like and do they have horses suited to your level of experience? Other questions you could pose to people advertising their horse riding activities include whether or not there will be an experienced guide to accompany you on your ride? Perhaps you need horse riding lessons? Or maybe you are an experienced rider and would prefer to go riding on your own? Do they have all the right gear, and is it in good condition? Presumably it’s okay to bring some of your kit? Are there any/many rules that one has to follow when making use of their horse riding activities?

Depending on how they respond to your enquiries, you’ll have a good idea of the calibre of people and the standard of the horse riding activities in question.