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| Europe: Spain: Epona Equestrian Center |
| What: |
We are proud to be working with this fine equestrian center in southern Spain whose letters of approval range from the British Horse Society to the University of Wisconsin. It offers a wonderful hack and instruction program that we think is ideal for the all riders who might like to improve their equestrian skills but still enjoy a nice ride. All instruction, riding guides and surrounding you will be multi-lingual instructors. There will be a visit to Jerez Royal Andalucian School as well as city of Seville for a Flamenco Show. There are also four special weeks of intensive dressage with Olympic Silver Medalist Rafael Soto.
Riders who wish to improve their dressage efforts can substitute lessons for hacks by arrangement. |
| Dates and Rates: |
Train and Trail: Sunday afternoon to Saturday post breakfast offered year round. There ae 5 morning riding days/5 lessons in afternoon. $1835 US per person, based on double occupancy.
Single supplement: $360 US
Children under “12”: 25% off.
Included: Seville or train station transfers, all meals, accommodations, the program as presented in itinerary below, and visits to horse show in Jerez and visit to Seville Flamenco Show.
Intensive Dressage: Same as Train and Trail but lessons are substituted for morning rides. $2140 US
Ticket for Flamenco Show is 33 euros.
Ticket for Royal Andalusian School in Jerez is 23 euros. |
| Horsesense: |
Property maintains a herd of 60 horses varied by breed, size, temperament permitting a tight fit between riding needs and the horses available. Most are Andalucians but there is a good mix of warmbloods, Anglo Arabs, Thoroughbreds and others. Facilities on this large property are sophisticated and plentiful including floodlit covered school, outdoor school jumping manege, dressage arena and so on. The out-riding like the lessons are catered to the rider. |
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| WHAT TO EXPECT: |
| Getting There : |
are free transfers between Seville airport and train station and property between 3:30 pm and 8 pm. |
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| Room and Board: |
Guests will enjoy ensuite facilities and rooms for double occupancy furnished modestly but large and comfortable. Lounge and library/video rooms are convenient and of great comfort.
The main property is a 16 century hacienda. All but two meals will be enjoyed on the property. The two out meals are organized around visits to Jerez and Seville. |
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| Weather: |
| Temperatures in southern Spain are generally mild year round, with plenty of sun year round. |
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| ITINERARY |
Train and Trail: This is a six night, five day holiday designed for those who share our passion for horses. The combination of "trail and training" is ideal for riders who believe that trail riding is one of the best ways to have fun, make new friends, relax from the stress of modern-day lifestyles and see Spain from another angle, while devoting some time to improving your horse riding skills so that your confidence in, and enjoyment of horses, will increase greatly over the week. Your board and accommodation will be on site, in an impressive 16th Century Hacienda where the García family will make you feel totally at home. The programme includes visits to the nearby town of Carmona, Jerez de la Frontera (to see the famous Andalucians stallions performing the show "How the Andalucian Horses Dance") Doñana Natural Park and beach, and Seville on the last evening for a typical Flamenco Dancing Show. |
| Sunday: |
Guests arrive in the aftemoon (after 4.00 p.m.), earliest arrival time, either by pick-up in the airport or train station in Sevilla (10 - 20 minute drive) or by means of their own transport. A free transfer service is offered between 3.30 pm and 8.00 pm. After these hours the service will be charged.
Meet your hosts and get to know your way around. You may appreciate a dip in the private pool, or perhaps discover the pleasures of the Spanish afternoon "siesta" after a tiring journey. In the evening, you will be escorted to the nearby town of Carmona, one of the famous white villages of Andalucia. Carmona, is the oldest continually inhabited village in Europe and as you stroll through the narrow streets of the old town, inside the ancient fortified walls, you will feel and breathe the spirits of ancient cultures, Iberians, Visigoths, Phoenicians, Romans, Moors, in the innumerable examples of their architectural influence in the churches, towers, palaces and mansions as well as in the inherited customs.Later, possibly under an indigo sky or in the interior of a centuries-old olive oil mill, you will savour the delights of the local cuisine which still makes full use of ingredients which compose the famous healthy Mediterranean diet, olive oil, garlic, onions, vegetables and fruit. |
| Monday: |
OLD HACIENDAEL ROMERAL
Guests are welcome to join yardwork and grooming if they wish, or simple enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Mount up for the Old Hacienda Ride a relaxed hack around the immediate coutryside, through olive groves and eucalyptus trees. Dependng on the season, you could see fields of sunflowers, wheat and cotton, as well as melons and water melons in late summer. The ride takes you past impressive 16th and 17th century Haciendas and Cortijos, which have stood here since the days when Cervantes rode these same trails, collecting olive oil taxes. Return to Epona for lunch in our own cafeteria where you will have your first experience of typical Andalusian home cooking, courtesy of our resident cook and sample our excellent local house wine.
AFTERNOON can be spent by the pool, or if you are feeling in need of culture, take a bus into Carmona to explore the old streets, the archaelogical sites or the Roman Necropolis, the second largest in the World after Rome itself. Equitation lessons will take place in the late afternoon when life is a little cooler. It's a great chance to improve your school work, dressage or jumping.
EVENING: Dinner at Epona, followed by a glass of cool fino or wine over table games or TV in the lounge. |
| Tuesday: |
ROYAL ANDALUCIAN SCHOOL OF EQUESTRIAN ART
Early breakfast at 8.30 a.m., leaving at 9.00 a.m. for Jerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cádiz, one hour away by car. Jerez is intemationally renowned for its production of sherries and brandies and your trip will include a visit to a famous wine shop where you will be able to sample some of the different local varieties. However, the main attraction of the day will be the visit to the Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre, an equestrian performance titled, "How the Andalusian Horses Dance" (Ticket Price: 23 €). Here you will be privileged to see the magnificent Andalusian stallions at their best, at home in the breathtaking setting of their 18th Century palace and the riding hall. They will be performing piaffe, passage and the airs above the ground (courbette, capriole, etc) in a spectacle of light, music and colour, only to be compared with the famous Spanish Riding School of Vienna. Fernando knows many of the World famous riders and you might also have the chance to see his younger daughter Vivi in performance. She is one of an elite group to be selected, in her fourth year as a student in the school. Return for lunch at Epona, followed by lessons in the afternoon.
EVENING: Dinner at Epona. Collapse with a book or boardgame. |
| Wednesday: |
ROMAN BRIDGE
After breakfast saddle up and set off across country for the ROMAN BRIDGE. Depending on the time of the year you could be riding through fields of sunflowers, wheat, cotton, oranges or peaches, through olive groves with ancient trees still carefully tended and nurtured. It is a countryside where there are very few fences. A landscape rich with patchwork of different crops, still rotated year by year as they have always been, with wide headlands of uncultivated land separating one field from another and providing a natural bridleway across country. The variety of wild flowers, butterflies and birds, show this is a countryside where pesticides are seldom used. Along the way you may come across the river, full and flowing in spring, cool and shallow in summer, a natural heaven for wildlife, with abundant vegetation all year round. Splashing through the shallows, past water voles, terns and grebes, you'll emerge at an old Roman Bridge and shady eucalyptus grove. After a break and a few photographs, it is back home for a late lunch and a siesta. |
| Thursday: |
BEACH RIDE
Set off early to the seaside village of Matalascañas, where beautiful Spanish horses, most in Spanish tack, will be waiting to take you on the Beach Ride. The ride takes you on an unforgettable route through the Donaña Natural Park bordering the National Park of the same name, one of Europe's last true wilderness regions and one of the largest wildlife reservations in Spain. The ride will take you over the golden dunes, brushing through fragrant wild lavender, rosemary and thyme. The area is home to many protected species such as fallow deer, boar, fox, lynx, imperial eagles, kites, vultures, storks, flamingos and herons. Down to the beach and it's time for the horses to wet their legs and for those who want to, a canter through the surf. Then it's back to Epona for lunch and a "siesta" by the pool. Rest, enjoy a drink, TV, games room, or a swim before your early evening equestrian lessons followed by a traditional "paella campestre" under the stars, washed down with wonderful home-made |
| Friday: |
STUD FARM
We set off across open country for our last hack of the week, through olive and orange groves, past farmers working the land. How strange, in a region where there are no bridle paths the horse can wander anywhere as long as you have respect for the crop. In all our years here we have never had a farmer object to us crossing his land. On the contrary, they are always pleased to see us. In Andalucia everyone understands and loves the horse. Eventually we arrive at the fields of a top class Andalucian stud farm and if we're lucky get a chance to appreciate the noble and docile nature of the beautiful mares and foals grazing peacefully in the sunlight. We might even see some colts and magnificant stallions. Return to Epona for lunch. |
| Saturday: |
SAYING GOODBYE! Have a nice journey home, we hope you enjoyed your stay at Epona. We look forward to welcoming you back! |
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Intensive Dressage:
At Epona we have horses and Instructors prepared to cater for guests of all levels, from complete beginners to advanced riders. Groups are divided so as to keep the levels similar and these usually are of 3 or 4 riders (in some occasions the groups could be of 5, in which case, the duration of the lesson would be extended). Although we are more dressage oriented, we have over 10 jumping horses from schoolmasters for beginners to National C competition level.
The dressage work that you will be doing will mainly concentrate on riding your horse in a correct outline, straightness, balance, transitions, lateral movements, flying changes (depending on your ability) etc. High School work on the stallions for advanced riders will be paid separately as private lessons.
The excellent facilities including a large covered school will make your lessons more enjoyable. All our Instructors are British Horse Society qualified and speak fluent Spanish and English, so safety and knowledge are guaranteed, this way your lessons will always be fun, interesting and
Epona as a yard, specializes in Dressage tuition and training. We encourage guests to take advantage of the excellent instruction in this discipline and of the responsiveness of our horses, who have been trained lovingly and conscientiously at all levels and are second to none. Both of these are difficult to come by in other establishments, in any part of the world. We do, however, have also some excellent jumping horses, who are all kind and very honest. If guests wish to have some jumping lessons, either to replace the scheduled dressage lessons or as an extra, we can usually accommodate them with the following considerations: The weight limit for jumping is 75K (11 ½ stone). The rider will be assessed in flatwork, must be able to control and manoeuvre his mount in canter, and the instructor's decision will be final. Subject to the availability of instructors In extreme weather conditions such as rainy, windy or more likely, very hot and dry, when horses will suffer from jumping on the hard ground, these will not be available.
Basically the same programme as: Train & Trail. The difference is that trail rides or hacks are replaced for lessons, and that two lounging sessions will be added. The visit to the Royal Andalusian School in Jerez is included, not the beach ride. |
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