During the five days of this riding holiday, you will enjoy three days of horseback riding - approximately 3 to 5 hours per day (lessons and trail rides), get all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner included), and stay in a guest room with a bathroom. Specifically, you will have a half day trail ride with a visit to the location where the Parmigiano Reggiano is produced and enjoy a picnic. You will also have another half day trail ride to Pieve Romanica (a church from 800 century) and enjoy a picnic. Moreover, you will see a panoramic view of the mountains.
Massa di Toano
On this nice trail ride, you will start by passing a few very old farmhouses where people still live and work as farmers. You will ride through the woods down towards Cerredolo and then you will start climbing up towards Massa di Toano. You will pass many farmers keeping cows for the production of the famous Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. You will reach about 850 meters above the sea level and then ride downhill towards the ranch over beautiful fields and small paths in the forest.
- Duration: About 1.5 hours - suitable for both beginners and experienced / advanced riders
Montefiorino
You will ride through a very beautiful forest down towards the river Dolo. You will reach the river and ride through it with the horses. This will be a great opportunity for taking amazing pictures. Then, you will start climbing up towards a small very nice village called Rubbiano. You will ride through Rubbiano and very often, you might receive greetings and lots of appreciation from the people living there. You will be surprised for sure how well-kept the countryside is in this part of Italy. Both young and older people still active as farmers and keep the old traditions alive. You will ride through more small villages and along wonderful paths through the forest, almost reaching the small town, Montefiorino, located on top of the hills.
You will go towards Lago Alberto and by passing the lake, the view will be amazing. Then, you will reach Pieve Romanica - a very old and important church from 800 century. There, you will give the horses a nice break and a very nice picnic with a salad and wine will be served to the guests. After the picnic, you will start the way back to the ranch. You will pass another very lovely village called Chiosca and once again, you will be stunned about how the local people maintain the life that their old ancestors lived. You will ride through the forest and then reach again the river Dolo. You'll pass it and then start your climbing back up to the ranch.
- Duration: About 5 hours - suitable for both beginners and experienced / advanced riders
Cisana / Campocavo
On this really nice trail ride, you will ride downhill through the forest towards Cerredolo. You will pass this larger town from on top and the views are spectacular. For an hour, you will ride in something that could be called a postcard. You might enjoy a panoramic view during the whole time during this trail ride. You will cross open fields and beautiful forest and then you will reach Cisana and Campocavo small villages. You will start climbing up towards La Collina and that means you have reached about 900 meters above the sea level. The view is breathtaking.
Afterwards, you will ride through the small villages and finally reach Caseficio La Collina where they produce the famous Parmigiano Reggiano. Then, you will have a smaller picnic and the guests are welcome to shop in their very nice little store with only locally produced products. The horses then have to carry a few extra kilograms of cheese to home. You will ride back to the ranch and once again there will be breathtaking view as you will slowly climb downhill reaching the ranch at 550 meters above the sea level.
- Duration: About 4 hours - suitable for both beginners and experienced / advanced riders
Horses
All the horses are American Quarters and American Paints. They are all very well-educated, calm, friendly, responsive and highly suitable no matter if you are an experienced rider or a beginner. All the horses are kept outside in fields with both pasture and forest all year around. Oak Wood Ranch stays very true to a natural horsemanship. The horses should be very well-prepared and suitable for all kinds of riders. Moreover, all the horses are specially trained and chosen to be able to make your experience as great as possible.
