We look for long term partnerships with owner-operators. We take care when listing new rides on our website and the process can take up to a year. We will visit with a photographer and experience the booking process, transfers, accommodation, ride, local culture for ourselves and then begin to share your ride.

It is an investment of time and finances for us to find the right rides and not every ride is aligned to our agency.

GUIDELINES

We believe that the guide is the most important element of a riding safari - even more important than the landscapes and the horses. For that reason we partner with owner-operated outfits where the guide is the person that owns or selects the accommodation, bred the horses and manages the herd, found the trails - literally eats, sleeps and breathes this way of life. Our rides are sporty, include as much cantering as possible, limited nose-to-tail, they have a focus on aesthetics (minimal / no plastic), have incredible menus, and guides stay with their guests the entire trail, sharing meals and evenings together.

Hallmarks of a great partner:

• One price for all agents and direct bookings with a clear rate sheet & never any unexpected extras.

• Guides and booking agents have fluent english.

• Professional response times (within 24 hours).

• Itineraries are set and clearly defined.

• Groups are small (less than 10).

• Stable of 10+ horses with at least 50% of the max group size available as spare i.e. group size of 6 should have at least 3 spare.

• Mindset to work with an agent. We find new operators would prefer not to use an agent. A sign we should wait until you’re more established.

• Horses are riding fit, well schooled, highly groomed with no open sores. Most of your horses should be ridden in a snaffle or similar light bit. All horses must be shod, and all must be a healthy weight with good muscle condition.

• Vets the riders on set departures so that we don’t send our experienced riders on a trip with beginners.

• Is happy to share details of other riders in the group (age, group size, nationality, language) so that our solo riders feel more comfortable with their travel companions. We aim to avoid adding solo riders to groups of friends and families or to groups where everyone else speaks another language.

• Has thoughtful rainy day alternatives. Most safaris run in all weather but for those that simply can’t we appreciate when we see efforts to entertain off of the horse. 

• Separate bookings from guiding when large enough so that there is always someone available to assist with bookings. The guide should not be taking bookings if they are offline while on safari and unable to answer our questions on other bookings.

• Finally, our favourite partners have a generous spirit and freely invite us on familiarisation rides, share stories and the history of their rides freely, share jokes and have fun with us! That’s what it’s all about!

We do not usually work with new rides unless we know you personally, i.e. you know Emma from Black Saddle personally or you have worked as a back up guide at one of our rides. We prefer to see your itinerary work through a season. This is usually the minimum time needed to fully realise all of our principals above. We are also concerned with the solvency of new operations.

In return we will:

• Highly vet the riders we send to you for riding experience

• Share rider forms at the time of confirmation so that you know everyone’s diet and riding history well in advance. 

• Communicate effectively (24 hour response times)

• Adapt to your processes, we will change rider forms, deposit rates, prices etc to whatever framework works for you.

• Match the rider personality to the personality of your ride. Social butterflies will be matched to the most elegant rides and our go-get-em riders will be matched to the endurance rides. 

• Fully prepare the riders for any areas of physical or mental toughness

• Pay you on time. Our preferred practice is to send your payment 45 days before the start of the ride. 

• Minimise questions over time.

• Minimise cancellations because we match the personalities to the ride.

• Work to quickly fill saddles for you if you have any cancellations.

• Work consistently to tell your story and promote you to our 2 million social media followers to raise your profile. 

We want you to look forward to a Black Saddle group arriving just like we want our guests to be excited to ride with a Black Saddle Partner. 

We’re so proud of every ride we publish on our website. It’s a honour to partner with the best of the best. 

If you’re interested in partnering with us please email rides@black-saddle.com and share:

• A link or PDF of your itinerary

• A rate sheet

• A link to a photo drive

Please note we will not start the conversation without an itinerary or rate sheet.