WHERE TO GO IN APRIL
It’s spring in Spain and the meadows are filled with wildflowers. It’s one of our favourite times to visit Segovia or Gredos.
In Namibia you can join the first Namib Desert ride of the year. This is their signature safari. It’s a fast one!
Now is the time to head to our beloved estancia’s in Argentina - Los Potreros with it’s old world Argentine charm and Don Joaquin, more modern and super social, are both incredible crowd pleasers with loads wonderful holidays had with the Begg and Solanet families.
In the Okavango Delta, Macatoo has lovely, clear and dry weather and few clouds. The nights tend to be cooler but the days are very temperate at 30°C/87°F.
SPAIN | FROM €1,450 FOR FOUR NIGHTS
Stunning mountain riding in Gredos near Madrid. April is a wonderful time to ride here when all the spring wildflowers are in bloom.
Stay in an iconic hotel, once a royal hunting lodge
Beautiful easy-to-ride Spanish horses
Very local feeling, you meet a lot of characters!
16 - 20 April 2025 Black Saddle Exclusive
FAIRY TALE SEGOVIA | SPAIN
4 Nights | €1,550 | Max 8 Riders | 4* Central Hotel Accommodation
May is an incredible time of year to visit Spain when the spring flowers are in bloom, the days are warm but not to long and the sun doesn’t set until late so you can make the most of your evenings.
An easy short-break for experienced riders in stunning Segovia in the heart of Spain. The walled city has a roman aqueduct, a medieval heart and renaissance castles. Even Disney was inspired and the Alcazar was a model for the famous Disney castle.
The riding is fast paced and sporty. You’ll canter and gallop in open fields - a joy for experienced and fit riders. The horses are well trained and forward. We love the combination of incredible views, history and fast riding.
30 April to 4th May 2025
10 Nights | From £6,200 | 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.
April is still warm and you can expect hot days and warm nights. There may be a little rain but it won’t stick around long. You’ll tan will be topped up. Don’t forget your sunscreen!
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.
11 - 21 April 2025 Namib Desert
ESTANCIA LOS POTREROS | ARGENTINA
From three nights | US$600 per person per night | Max 12 Guests | Dreamy 6,500 Angus beef ranch stay
April marks the end of Los Pots season. Get in now for moody, misty mornings in the Sierra Chicas mountain range.
‘Los Pots’ is a 6,000 acre working Black Angus cattle farm that has been in the Begg family for four generations. The landscape feels like Dartmoor in the UK, misty, moody with vast grassy hills and rocky outcrops.
One of the major draw cards of a visit to Los Pots is the varied riding. You’ll ride out twice a day, once on the local criollos and once on the very flashy gaited paso horses. Riding a paso is a highlight for many of our riders.
You’ll be accommodated in beautiful converted farmhouses. Each room as it’s own bathroom and fireplace. There is no internet in the rooms but you can get online at the main house.
Minimum three nights
Discounts for stays of 7 nights +
MACATOO | OKAVANGO DELTA | BOTSWANA
7 Nights | From US$6,580 | Max 7 Riders | Luxury Tented Fixed Camp
April has lovely, clear and dry weather and few clouds. The nights tend to be cooler but the days are very temperate at 30°C/87°F. This is the start of the shoulder season. The floods haven’t yet arrived which makes for fast riding and the weather is perfect
The wildlife viewing is always good in the Delta. A visit during December means you will be there when all the baby animals are being born. If you’d like to travel at prime time during the iconic floods visit August.
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
SHOULDER SEASON: 1 APR – 14 JUN & 15 OCT – 30 NOV £820 per person per night sharing, £5,740 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).
CASTLE LESLIE | IRELAND
3, 4 or 5 Nights | From €1,455 per person sharing | Cross Country or Hacking Holidays
In April you can expect average temperatures of 13°C with some rain expected on 16 days out of 30. Incredibly popular Castle Leslie rides in all weather. They have an indoor arena for lessons if things get very cold and wet. Why not hone your jumping position and warm up with a hot drink at one of the two onsite restaurants afterwards.
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 riders on the sport programme 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.
Good availability in April 2025
ESTANCIA DON JOAQUIN| ARGENTINA
From 4 days | From $210 per person per day | Estancia based stay
April is a brilliant time to visit Don Joaquin in north of Argentina in Esquina. Temperatures range from from 24°C to 27°C, rarely falling below 19°C or exceeding 32°C. Typically around 8 days of rainfall is expected but it rarely lasts long.
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 adventure 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.
April not right for you? View the full year here
Ride in Namibia on their first safari of the year in March or join the first Celestial Mountains ride of the year in June.
