Overview
HORIZON HORSEBACK’s Signature Safari offers an incredibly varied horse riding experience for all levels of rider: outrides, game viewing, cattle mustering, swimming with your horse, polocrosse, Western games and cross country jumping.
The focus at Horizon Horseback is on horses and quality riding. With a herd of over 80 horses, we are able to ensure that riders of any ability are well matched and have the chance to ride several suitable horses during their holiday. There are two outrides or riding activities a day. Morning rides last 3-4 hours (or less if requested) and afternoon rides are somewhat shorter. During your stay we try to ensure that you have the opportunity to experience all our riding options: outrides through the bush and across vast open plains, cattle mustering, game viewing on horseback, swimming on horseback, polocrosse and Western games. Jumping is also available on request.
Rides are tailormade to suit the needs of our guests and we try to be as flexible as possible. Horizon Horseback is renowned not only for its great horses and riding, but also for its quality service and relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Over 17 years of operation it has developed tremendous customer loyalty with many guests returning time after time.
Itinerary
DAY 1:
Transfer to Horizon Signature Safari lodge (approx. 2.5hrs) for lunch. That afternoon enjoy an introductory ride in the game reserve, with sundowners served at one of our picturesque hippo dams.
DAY 2:
Ride to the original farm homestead and main African village, view the quaint hand decorated houses, call in at the historic Baber family homestead for tea, and a visit the farm crèche for some delightful entertainment. Ride back to the lodge for a cooling swim in the lake with your horse before lunch. Later, during the heat of the day, relax by the pool or take a siesta. In the afternoon, ride out into the game area to encounter game on horseback and learn the signs of the wild and medicinal values of the native bushes and trees.
DAY 3:
An outride in the game reserve whilst enjoying the excellent going on the vast network of sandy tracks. After lunch, go on a shopping trip to the local town of Vaalwater for some retail therapy bush style. That afternoon enjoy an introduction to polocrosse, an amalgam of polo and lacrosse, an invigorating sport that will soon have you addicted.
DAY 4:
We can start the day with an outride, or another polocrosse session, this time hopefully following some of the rules of the game. That afternoon we set off for Camp Davidson, a wonderful tented camp that overlooks the Melk valley. This is camping with a difference, beds with duvets and cotton sheets, bathrooms with flushing toilets and tables laid with crisp white linen. That evening, enjoy sundowners on our camp deck and dinner under the stars with the sound of jackal, zebra, hippo and the neighbouring lions serenading your evening.
DAY 5:
Enjoy a full morning of riding in the game reserve with possible encounters with giraffe, eland, wildebeest, waterbuck, impala, hartebeest or zebra. Lunch is taken en route at one of the neighbouring dams, where a cooling swim on the horses can be enjoyed. Return to the camp in the late afternoon for sundowner drinks and another starlight dinner.
DAY 6:
Depart for the ride back to Horizon in time for lunch. In the afternoon the saddle weary can visit Beadle, the local farm community-linked project and shop, where locals hand make exquisite beaded leather products, including browbands and made-to-measure riding chaps. Alternatively, go on a gentle outride to discover new parts of this beautiful property or to find the hippo.
DAY 7:
After many hours in the saddle you may opt to take a break and enjoy an outing and game drive at a local ‘big five’ reserve with the possibility of close encounters with lion, elephant or buffalo. Return to Horizon for lunch. After another indulgent afternoon tea enjoy an outride or try your skills over the challenging cross-country fences.
DAY 8:
Experience a morning of mustering and cutting some of the ranch’s magnificent Bonsmara stud cattle, a non-aggressive breed adapted to local conditions. After bringing a herd in from pasture, take turns to move one cow or youngster away from the group. This activity pits you and your mount against the animal’s herding instinct and will test your riding ability to the full. Follow the action with a refreshing swim with your horse. That afternoon tea is followed by yet another new challenge in the form of western games (gymkhana for adults) where your riding skills and competitive edge can once again be pushed to the limits.
DAY 9:
In the morning enjoy an exhilarating fast ride to one of the furthest points of the property, utilizing literally kilometres of clear sandy tracks. Back at the lodge enjoy a quick swim and a late lunch. Afternoon tea is followed by an outride in the game reserve for one last photo opportunity with game followed by a final sundowner on a high rock overlooking the tranquil Waterberg landscape.
