WHERE TO GO IN SEPTEMBER
The weather is cooling in Europe and our Spanish partners George Scott and Kukutana open their doors to guests once more.
Ride from castle to castle in the Loire Valley staying at Relais and Chateau hotels on our luxury itinerary.
September is a great time to head to Africa. The Great Migration has bought millions of wildebeest and zebra to the Masai Mara in Kenya. Namibia is the perfect temperature for fast riding in the now-cooled desert. The floods are still high in the Delta though levels have dropped revealing sandy pathways for fast riding.
September is a wonderful time ride at Castle Leslie in Ireland, just after the busy period, the Estate will be a little less busy but the riding is still ideal.
We are developing a wild horse photography long weekend in Bosnia. You don’t need to ride to join us photograph these beautiful, truly wild horses in beautiful Livno.
LUXURY LOIRE CASTLES | FRANCE
6 Nights | €3,410 | Max 8 Riders | Relais and Chateau hotel accommodation
You deserve the royal treatment and you will get it on our luxury version of the Loire Chateau ride. This progressive ride has you staying two nights each in some of the finest hotels in the Loire, sometimes on the properties of the castles themselves.
Stay in Relais de Chambord*****, Relais des trois châteaux ****, Hotel Le Choiseul****, and Domaine des Thomeaux***.
You’ll visit Chambord, Beauregard, Cheverny, Chaumont sur Loire, Fougères sur Bièvre, Chateau d'Amboise, Château de Chenonceau and Clos Lucé.
Perfect for history buffs and lovers of french cuisine. We have just one departure for our riders in 2024.
15 to 21 September 2024 - Black Saddle Exclusive
MACATOO | OKAVANGO DELTA | BOTSWANA
7 Nights | US$6,580 | Max 7 Riders | Luxury Tented Fixed Camp
September is an excellent time visit the Delta. The flood water levels may have decreased a bit, opening up sandy pathways perfect for fast riding. The delta is alive and electric, teeming with loads of animals in all directions. If the water levels are high enough you can enjoy boat safaris - you may even be picked up from the airport in one. Now is the time to travel to Botswana!
Botswana is one of if not the best place in the world to see a wide array of wildlife. There is no better way to savour the Okavango Delta and experience its unparalleled wildlife population than on horseback.
Accommodation is in a lovely luxury tented camps with real flushing loos and wonderful hot showers. The ideal wildlife safari for someone who isn’t keen on camping. This is an excellent honeymoon destination. Non-riders very welcome.
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights
DRY SEASON: £940 per person per night sharing, £6,580 for 7 nights
Discounts on the charter flight transfers for long stays (7 nights is 50% off and get free transfers when staying 10 nights).
KUKUTANA | SPAIN
Minimum Three Nights | From €900 per person per night | Max 12 Guests and 6 Riders
Having been closed for the heat of summer, Kukutana is open once more! This beautiful cortijo, a Spanish country house, is available for private hire for groups of one to twelve people. You will have exclusive use of the house and its six ensuite bedrooms, swimming pool, stable of horses and excellent kitchen.
Kukutana is situated within the Donana National Park, once a hunting park for the Spanish royal family. The town of El Rocio is within riding distance, and all of our rides include a visit to the town built for horses with sand streets and ride up cafes with hitching posts out front. Just 45 minutes from Seville, this is sherry wine country and you will have multiple opportunitites to try the local fare!
Non-riders welcome. Up to six riders per group, intermediate and above. Perfect for groups of friends or family get-togethers.
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights
GEORGE SCOTT | SEVILLE | SPAIN
3 or 5 Nights | €2,500 to €4,500 | Max 10 Riders | Bohemian Villas or Rajasthani Tents
September is the start of the autumn season with George Scott in his Sierra Morena mountains. September has comfortable temperaatures and very low rainfall. The sun is almost guaranteed to shine, making the going even more dreamy and those long shady siestas after lunch even more enjoyable. George is in a class of his own, sharing the most entertaining, charming, romantic rides in the glorious Spanish countryside.
Not only does he ride beautifully but he has incredible taste that’s evident in everything around you from the table-scapes, to the mind-blowing meals to the excellent tunes he plays on the piano or Spanish guitar until late into the evening. A real treasure of a ride.
Three Nights
12th - 15th or 19th - 22nd September 2024
Five Nights
15th - 20th or 24th - 29th September 2024
NAMIBIA
9 - 10 Nights | From £5,800 | Max 12 Riders | Mobile Speed Safari
Is this the best safari in the world for fast riding? Andrew Gillies is the horseman in Southern Africa and has perfected the art of the safari. With one of the highest rebook rates of any safari worldwide this should be on everyone’s bucketlist. The horses are athletic and a joy to ride, the going is fast and varied, the scenery changes moment to moment.
September is generally perfect, characterized by high temperatures and almost no rainfall. The Namib ‘winter’ has arrived making the temperatures cool enough for comfortable sleeping. Temperatures often hover around 25°C. However, as the sun sets and evening approaches, there's a noticeable cool-down, with temperatures gently dropping to a more temperate 11°C.
Gallop across the Namib Desert on a fast horse, kicking up dust behind you, sleep under the stars, indulge in incredible food (often featuring local game) cooked up by the two chefs and immerse yourself in an old school adventure style progressive ride that dramatically finishes at the Skeleton Coast. Thrilling, life affirming riding and one of our all time favourites.
04 - 14 September 2024 - Elephant Damara (fully booked)
25 September - 5 October 2024 - Namib Desert (fully booked)
10 - 20 September 2025 - Elephant Damara (fully booked)
Fill in a rider form and we will notify you of any cancellations.
OFFBEAT | MASAI MARA | KENYA
7 Nights | US$9,870 | Max 12 Riders | Mobile Canvas Wildlife Safari
The Great Migration is in full swing in September. Large herds of wildebeest and zebra arrive from Tanzania in pursuit of the best grass. The wildlife sightings are excellent all year around in the Mara and being on the equator you’re likely to have great temperate weather almost all year too.
One of the original riding safaris and very highly regarded in the industry. We know you’ll have the time of your life with world-class guiding and more close calls with wildlife than you can crack a stock whip at. Offbeat is known for adventurous riding, there will be many fast and free gallops across the Mara, you’ll get very close to lions on horseback, and if you come across a tree pushed over by an itchy elephant, you’re free to pop your horse over it. Many of the horses are evented before they become safari horse so are exceptionally well schooled and capable.
A bucket list safari.
7 - 14 September 2024
14 - 21 September 2024
13 - 20 September 2025
20 - 27 September 2025
KILIMANJARO ELEPHANT SAFARI| ARUSHA | TANZANIA
7 Nights | US$6,550 | Max 10 Riders | Mobile Canvas Safari + one night at a lodge
Gallop with herds of zebra and giraffe with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. Catch the end of the season in September on this incredible wildlife safari. The riding is sporty and guide Jo is a force. She will get you close to game and will be the last woman standing at (or on) the dinner table sharing drinks and swapping stories.
As a newer safari this is excellent value and significantly more affordable than a Masai Mara safari just over the border in Kenya. No compromise on experience or service though, you’re wow’d every day by the stunning national park, your amazing camp and the incredible wildlife.
Jo also owns a polo club so keen polo players come early and play a few chukkas before heading off to see the wildlife. There’s also incredible kite-surfing and turquoise beaches on the island of Zanzibar to escape to after your ride. Tanzania is a real adrenaline junkies paradise.
04 - 11 September 2024
18 - 15 September 2024
10 - 20 September 2025
20 - 30 September 2025
CASTLE LESLIE | IRELAND
3 or 5 Nights | From €1,200 | Cross Country or Hacking Holidays
Incredibly popular Castle Leslie is slightly quieter in September though the riding is still excellent. The hotel is stunningly beautiful, you’re accommodated in a stone mansion with the stable just next door. The Irish horses live up to the reputation being sporty and forward with a few school masters in the mix. The riding is adapted to all levels with the bravest riders popping over the 300 jumps on the 1000 acre estate, the pleasure riders enjoying gorgeous hacks at great pace and you can even learn to ride here.
Something for everyone - even your non-riding companion is welcome. There’s plenty for them to do, just ask us!
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights.
Some availability in September 2024
September 2025 bookings now open
ANTS SAFARIS| SOUTH AFRICA
From 3 Nights | From £350 per person per night | Lodge based wildlife safaris
Only a 3 hour drive from Johannesburg, you’ll find twin properties, Ants Hill and Ants Nest. Situated on a private game reserve in the spectacular, malaria-free Waterberg region of South Africa, created by Ant Barber, who built the properties and still calls the Nest home. This is one of the best places to see rhino from horseback. Add three nights here onto the end of your safari in Botswana to guarantee another Big Five sighting.
The weather in September is generally perfect, with high temperatures and low rainfall. Anticipate daytime temperatures around 29°C, while night temperatures can drop to 13°C making September is a fantastic time to visit Ants.
Ants is the perfect base to learn to ride, they will take you from whoa to canter.
Experienced riders will have fun galloping up and down the reserve dirt roads and relaxing with a G&T at one of the many viewpoints for sundowners.
The villas are excellent for honeymooners with private locations, heated pools and romantic outlooks.
Arrive any time for a minimum of three nights. Choose between entire villas at glamorous Ants Hill or lovely rooms or suites ranging from cute to grand at Ants Nest.
September 2024 has good availability at Ants Hill in a villa.
September 2025 bookings now open
ESTANCIA DON JOAQUIN| ARGENTINA
From 4 days | From $210 per person per night | Estancia based stay
September is wonderful in north of Argentina in Esquina. The days are warm, 25°C (77°F) highs / 11°C (52°F), and the riding excellent.
Visit equestrian shop, Arandu, in Buenos Aires on your way up north and you’ll pick up incredibly stylish, well made gaucho riding kit to make you feel like you’re the real deal. A wetland, with flamingoes, capybara and loads of birds to view, there is a wildlife safari feeling here though most people come for the great weather, gaucho culture and splashy canters. It’s not just Botswana that has amazing fast riding through wetlands
Angie, Diego and Josefina - your hosts - are so welcoming. Don Joaquin is very social, warm and has a cosy feeling. The rooms are excellent, recently refurbished to a high standard, meals are authentically argentine and meat heavy (though vegetarians you are welcome too).
This is a great place to learn to ride, they’ll have you cantering on day one. The saddles are deeply cushioned so you have great stickability. Don Joaquin is excellent for riders of all levels and you will be taken out with riders of a similar ability.
Arrive any time for a minimum of four days. Getting there is quirky, you take a luxury, lie flat overnight bus from Buenos Aires. It’s a bit of an adventure, like travelling business class on a plane.
WILD HORSES PHOTO TOUR| BOSNIA
3 Nights | Cost TBC | Hotel based stay
We are developing a brand new tour - and it doesn’t involve riding. Visit the wild horses of Livno, spending two day photographing them and half a day exploring the town of Livno by quad bike.
Our accommodation will be in a newly developed mountain eco lodge.
No riding experience necessary.
Arrive to and depart from Split, Croatia.
You can express your interest here. We will email you once the details are finalised.
