5 Day Fantastic Horse Riding on an Italian Ranch in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Facilities

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.

Oak Wood Ranch is located on the mountains in the beautiful town of Toano in the province of Reggio Emilia located in a dominant position in the countryside. All the trail rides demands one or two times that you will need to walk the horses for a few minutes. In Cerredolo (Toano), there are great trails, beautiful nature, and spectacular panoramic views ready to be explored and appreciated.

Moreover, Oak Wood Ranch is also located about an hour from Bologna and Modena and 30 minutes from Sassuolo. The nearest small town is Cerredolo, reachable in about eight minutes with car. There, you can find restaurants, bars pharmacy, and many shops. At two hours distance by car, it's possible to reach famous Italian cities such as Venice, Milan, and Lucca (Tuscany).

Distances

• Bologna - 1 hour
• Cerredolo - 8 minutes by car
• Modena - 1 hour
• Sassuolo - 30 minutes

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You will get daily breakfast, lunch, dinner, and wine / water to the lunch / dinner. There will be a rich breakfast buffet and picnic lunch at Pieve Romanica. All the food is homemade and only local products and wines are served. Oak Wood Ranch loves a good food and good wine and they believe that any holiday needs to be satisfying in a gastronomical aspect. Oak Wood Ranch serves the guests home-cooked traditional Italian food as well as tasty American barbecue meals. Johan has been cooking for the guests over the last eight years and is a highly appreciated chef. In Emilia Romagna, another famous city is Parma which is well-known for both the prosciutto ham and the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

• Additional horse riding lesson (35 EUR per hour)
• Hydromassage
• Jogging
• Mountain biking
• Trekking
• Visiting Ferrari Museum in Maranello

• 3 days of horse riding (4 to 5 hours per day) with a visit to Caseficio La Collina where the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is produced
• Winetasting at Enoteca il Cantinone
• Use of the spa Jacuzzi
• All meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner including picnic lunch at Pieve Romanica) and wine / water to the lunch / dinner)
• 4 nights' accommodation

• Additional drinks and wine (besides served to the meals)
• Additional horseback riding

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 50% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.