We are pleased to present another dressage gem in Portugal. Welcome to a large farm with a rich history and tradition. Around this expansive family farm, relatives have chosen to settle, and now the entire village is more or less a family legacy, complete with its own beautiful church in the center.

Rui, the owner and operator of the large farm, is the third generation, and he is passionate about managing and further developing his heritage. In addition, he is an architect and a skilled rider who takes the reins of several horses each day. When he met your trainer, Pedro (who previously managed one of our other highly popular dressage destinations), they decided to open their doors to riders from other countries. Fantastic horses were already on-site, along with an indoor school, a swimming pool, and a talented chef, so one of the many buildings was quickly renovated into comfortable guest rooms.

You can choose between evolving lessons in classical dressage or the increasingly popular discipline of working equitation (WE). The horses are Lusitanos, trained up to Grand Prix movements with a calm and good temperament. Most often, Rui and Pedro join you at mealtimes, contributing to the feeling of being a welcomed guest.

If you want to enhance your riding skills through private lessons on first-class horses in a warm and rustic farm environment, this is the right place for you.

Working Equitation

Working Equitation became a competitive sport in 1996. The sport tests the horse and rider's partnership and ability to manoeuvre obstacles.
There are four different levels of Working Equitation: Novice, Intermediate, Junior and Advanced. At advanced level, the rider must ride with just one hand.
Competition are in three or four parts, in this order:

Dressage, in which the horse and rider perform obligatory movements in a freestyle dressage test to music within a specified time scale.

Ease of Handling Trial, an event in which horses must overcome obstacles similar to those likely to appear in the field, such as bridges and gates. The obstacle course is designed to show the partnership between horse and rider.

Speed, where similar obstacles must be overcome, but against time.

Cow (only for team competitions), in which the four team members separate a specific numbered cow from a group.

Riding

Classical Dressage, Working Equitation & Hacking

Here you can tailor your lessons to fit your needs and wishes. It is possible to only have Classical Dressage lessons or Working Equitation lessons and, of course, it is also possible to choose a well-balanced combination of the two, together with trail rides in the beautiful surroundings.
Riders from all levels and ambitions are warmly welcome — the level of the lessons will be adapted to your level of experience. Even more novice riders will have the chance to try advanced movements such as piaffe, passage and flying changes on the well-schooled horses.
The lessons are given in the indoor arena, or outdoors, in accordance with your wishes and, of course, the weather. To ensure that you have high-quality riding experiences, there will only be private lessons.
You ride in a comfortable dressage saddle and use double bridle.

Program

You can choose from the following programs:

Week Program
Dressage or WE basic: Includes one lesson a day. A total of 5 lessons over a week.
Dressage or WE intensive: Includes two lessons per day. A total of 10 lessons,

Weekend Program
Dressage or WE basic: Consists of a lesson a day. A total of 3 lessons over a weekend.
Dressage or WE intensive: Two lessons per day. A total of 5 lessons over a weekend.

Accommodation & Food

Guests stay in newly renovated double or single rooms with bathrooms. There are a total of 9 rooms.
Meals are plentiful and you eat at a shared large dining table.. For breakfast, freshly squeezed orange juice, freshly baked bread, yogurt and homemade marmalade are served. Lunch and dinner are three courses, often with a soup as a starter, and fish or meat as the main course and to finish, a fruit or a delicious dessert. To the meals, guests are offered a good wine. Most of what you are offered is made from organically sourced local products, even from the nearest village.
Vegetarians and vegans are warmly welcome and will be fed and very well cared for. And if there is any food you can't tolerate, just inform horsexplore when booking and it will be taken into account. At the indoor school there is a bar where you can provide yourself between meals and sign up on your room. There is also a large swimming pool open from April to September.

Horses

The horses are from the Portuguese breed, PS Lusitano. The Lusitano is known for its braveness, its easiness for collection, and its focus on and willingness to work together with its rider.
There are 27 horses, 8 horses can do various GP movements. Other horses are trained to serve the process of teaching/preparing clients towards GP-movements.
-8 horses are between 10-13 years, the rest are between 5-8 years
-The intructor Pedro trains all the horses himself and the horses are handpicked directly from the breeders, so Pedro knows and can tell their whole life story.
The horses are chosen for their character, physique, level of education and their ability to give good lessons.
The height is from 150 cm to 170 cm.
Together with the highly educated schoolmaster horses, you will have the opportunity to work on all the lateral movements, piaffe, passage, Spanish walk, flying changes and canter pirouettes—and try a full Working Equitation course. There are also horses suitable for a nice hack out.
The tack used is English.
To ensure that you have high-quality riding experiences, there will only be private lessons.

Travel Information

Ability Description: Dressage level 1-5

Included in the price:
Weekly program: 6 nights, 5 days riding (5-10 private lessons), full board, wine for lunch and dinner
Weekendprogram : 3 nights, 3 days riding (3-5 private lessons), full board, wine for lunch and dinner

Not included: Travel to and from Portugal, transfer

Travel: Fly to Lisbon.

Transfers: Book in advance with HorseXplore and pay on spot. Transfer from Lisbon Airport is:
1 person 100,00€ / one-way / car.
- 2 people 120,00€ / one-way / car.
- For each person sharing the transfer, increases 10,00€ to this value
4 people 140,00€ / one-way / car.
6 people 160,00€ / one-way / car.
8 people 180,00€/ one-way / car.
Transfer costs payable in cash to the driver. The journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Meetingpoint: Starbucks café in the arrivalhall

Train: From Lisbon Oriente to Santa Cita, when arriving a short ride, around 5 min. (7-10 EUR) to the riding center. Tickets can be purchased from an automatic kiosk at the station. You can see train timetable at www.cp.pt
Inform horseXplore which train you plan to take and also call the riding center when you are on the train and they may be able to pick you up at no extra cost.

Arrival / departure:
Weekly program: Arrival on Sundays before 8 pm in order to get dinner, departure the following Saturday after breakfast.
Weekend program: Arrival Thursday at 3pm the latest for your first lesson, departure on Sunday after breakfast. If you arrive in the evening on Thursday, you can ride the last lesson on Sunday morning instead.

Optional arrival/departure: You can choose another arrival and departure day, just mail us on info@horsexplore.se

Rental Car: If you want to explore the surroundings on your own, we recommend a rental car. It is approx. 130 km from Lisbon airport to the equestrian center.

Single rooms: Can be booked with a supplement. For price click on ”Book on request” under Dates & prices. If there is no one to share a room with, a single supplement will apply.

Group Size: Min. 1 and max. 10-12 riders. private lessons.

Max weight: No maxweight

Children: There are small horses for experienced young riders.

Credit card: No. Cash or bank transfer

Swimming pool: Open April-September, 12x5 meter.

Other: There is free Wi-Fi.

Date

Days

Name of trip

Price from

14/12/2023

Portugal, Santarem - Dressage or WE Bas, Weekend

Offer! 5% discount on the following price

EUR 645

Portugal, Santarem - Dressage & WE

Working Equitation

Riding

Classical Dressage, Working Equitation & Hacking

Program

Accommodation & Food

Horses

Travel Information

Feedback from our travellers

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Dates and prices

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