HEART OF TUSCANY - ITALY

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Situated in a peaceful, picturesque valley in the heart of Tuscany, guests really appreciate the quality of the tuition here and often comment on the good results they have with their own horses when back at home after a week of lessons.

Lessons are available for beginners onwards and are either private or semiprivate. When working in a class the group is limited to a maximum of three riders. All the instructors are very well qualified and work with calm, patience and real passion. Tuition can be combined with calm rides in the beautiful surrounding countryside.

In addition families enjoy their stay here immensly and often return. The combination of a beautiful setting, very comfortable accommodation, swimming pool, many other activities and combination of lessons and riding out for all levels of rider appeal to all members of the family.

Trip length 8 days / 7 nights Ride only price from £649, see below Departure dates Dates available throughout the year Approximate riding time per day 2 - 4 hours Riding ability required None, from beginner onwards Group size max 4 or 5 per lesson Meeting point (getting there) Florence Airport, Florence Station or Pisa Airport Transfer Return from: Florence Station - € 120, Florence Airport - €130, Pisa Airport - €220 Flight guide London - Florence return from £100 London - Pisa return from £60 with Ryanair Single supplement For single use of double room £165 per week

NOTES - HEART OF TUSCANY

Riding
Tuition and riding out is available, or a combination of both. The quality of the tuition is very high: instructors and guides are BHS, GEA, FISR UISP. Lessons are divided into groups, with a maximum of 4/5 riders in each. The rides out are calm and in most cases small country paths are followed through the tuscan countryside. Tuition can be offered from absolute beginners onwards and riding out is available for more confident riders. Please note that riding out cannot be guaranteed for children under 14. Once their riding has been assesed the riding out may be confirmed. There are five set programmes available with the option of adding further riding at a cost. The set programmes are:

Programme A
Lessons and riding out for beginners and novice riders - three days with 2 hours lessons per day, and three half days riding out.

Pogramme B
Dressage and riding out for riders and advanced riders - three days with 2 dressage lessons per day and three half days riding out.

Programme C
Lessons for absolute beginners - six days with 2 hours lessons per day.

Progamme D
Dressage for advanced riders - five days with 2 dressage lessons per day and 1 half day of riding.

Programme E
Riding out (not possible for absolute beginners) - six half days of riding out.

Horses
There are about 30 well trained horses available. They are Lusitanos, Anglo-arabs, Berber, Arabs, English Thoroughbred and Italian horses. They are ridden in English tack and are very well schooled and responsive.

Accommodation
Guests are hosted in the heart of Chianti in an 18th century country villa featuring terra-cotta floors, wooden beamed roofs and arched ceilings. The house has 8 guest rooms, all with bathrooms, each furnished simply and comfortably in the 19th century tuscan style. The Tower Room has six windows giving a wonderful panoramic view over the scenic landscape. Guests can use the swimming pool with glorious panoramic view over the Tuscan hills. There is also a small apartment (approx. 45 sq. m) inside the main house on the ground floor, which has 1 bedroom with ensuite bathroom, 1 sitting room with kitchenette and a double sofa bed. (2 to 4 guests).

Food
Four courses are served and a good Chianti wine is always at your disposal. The cuisine is traditional Tuscan and the products are genuine and fresh: olive oil directly produced from the farm is used. Vegetarians can be catered for upon request. There are specialties of more than 30 different types of Tuscan crostini-Pizze, focacce and pasta of any kind: particularly good is the lasagne al forno (also in vegetarian version) and the Tortelloni of Maremma. Pork, beef, wild boar, chicken cooked in many different ways and always accompanied by two different vegetable choices. Tirami su, panna cotta, torta della nonna, home made cantucci are some of our dessert specialities.

Activities
It is possible to organise riding out with wine tasting or full ride out with picnic. It is also possible to book additional lessons or rides out. This is a very good base for touring the area without changing accomodation: Florence and Siena, Colle Val d’Elsa, San Gimignano, Certaldo, Greve in Chianti, Pisa, Pienza,Volterra, Lucca are reachable by car. Generally the riding programmes leave riders plenty of time for touring the area and there are many nice places you can reach in less than half an hour.

Prices 2008:

Low Season
7 Jan - 14 March; 29 March - 19 April; 29 Sept - 20 Dec

High Season
1 Jan - 6 Jan; 15 March - 29 March; 19 April - 27 Sept; 20 Dec - 31 Dec

Other options:
Superior rooms or appartments - £115 per week
Double room for single use: £169

The weight limit for this ride is 13 st/187 lb/85 kg, please enquire if you are an experienced rider exceeding this weight.

WHAT IS INCLUDED
Accommodation, buffet breakfast and 4 course dinner, wine with dinner, riding as described in programe booked, English speaking guide or intructor.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Lunch, extra riding, additional items or excursions, items of a personal nature and gratuities.

FURTHER DETAILS
As we are specialists in our field we have extensive knowledge of all our products from details of accommodation and meals to number/size/type of horses to pace of riding ... and much more.

Should you wish to receive further details of this ride please click here.

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