More About The Founder
A life-long horse enthusiast, I set up Cotswold Horse Tours based upon this passion, a lot of travel experience and a keen interest in history, heritage and the British countryside. I take immense pleasure in sharing the gorgeous Cotswold Hills and my love of horses with others. The background team also love the charm and diversity of this small part of the world, and, fortunately from my point of view, they enjoy doing the things that I find boring. That is what makes us a team.
Over the decades, on five continents, I have been on numerous equestrian vacations, trips and rides. Often these have been fantastic adventures in remote places, with dramatic landscapes and bountiful wildlife, that involved sitting on a horse for several days at a time, or the organizers catered for their market and, by staying in smart hotels, we remained in a safe bubble of familiarity. I found I missed the chance to meet local people, learn something of regional culture and traditions, to chat in a cafe with a cup of coffee and even go shopping. And, with the passing of those many decades, less time in the saddle is becoming more appealing to me. Cotswold Horse Tours offers a balance of equestrian activities and wider engagement with the local 'culture' since that is what interests me.
Cirencester, our home town, has been identified by Horse & Hound, the leading UK equestrian magazine, as the most horsey town in Britain. So it seemed like a good idea to share it with other horse enthusiasts.
Group size is kept small to ensure you can do more, see more and hear more without getting lost in a crowd. When out hacking, more than five riders may require additional staff, for reasons of safety, and this may limit opportunities. For equestrian tuition, more than five riders in a class is not effective. Your accommodation is arranged in small, local inns and hotels and, particularly at peak times such the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Royal International Air Tattoo, availability may be limited. To be as flexible as possible, transport is organised with local taxi firms and most have six seater vehicles. And of course, getting even five people to go in the same direction at the same time can be a challenge.
Cotswold Horse Tours Horse are happy to arrange whatever suits you, either on your own or in a group. Horse enthusiasts tend to enjoy the company of other such people and together they will talk about horses endlessly so being a singleton is never a problem. Prices do tend to be lower when costs are split between a group. A Cotswold Horse Tour might be a chance to meet new people with very similar interests so please contact us to discuss your options.
Horse welfare is always, absolutely the priority. When riding, all the stables are known to us from personal experience and they keep happy, healthy and sane horses who will greet you with pricked ears and bright eyes even though sometimes they may be a bit muddy from living out in a field.
This does mean that there is an upper weight limit for riders. If you are more than 89 kg (196 lbs, 14 stone) please say so when discussing your tour options. Some yards do allow heavier riders because of the horses available.
If a client does something that might compromise the welfare of a horse then we reserve the right to stop that client from participating in the activity.
We work with local equestrian businesses, who are generally small and independent, and with equestrian professionals, who are not habitually involved in tourism, to provide the varied activities we curate as Cotswold Horse Tours. We know them from personal experience. They offer unique, interesting, enjoyable activities and services that are consistently of high quality and professionalism. Together they encompass many elements of the English horse tradition and so give you authentic experience of the culture and lifestyle.
Cirencester is a small town and ii is not a tourist hotspot so there is a fairly limited amount of accommodation but, across the wider Cotswold region, there is plenty of choice, from grand Country House Hotels, to charming coaching inns, to small B&Bs, individual AirBnBs and self-catering cottages, such as those offered by Bolthole Retreats who have several beautiful and historic properties available close to Cirencester. One point to note is that the search algorithms ensure that during peak demand, such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Royal International Air Tattoo or randomly busy summer weekends, all available accommodation costs the same. Cotswold Horse Tours is very happy to offer suggestions and to help you find something or to book it on your behalf. Another point to note is that the Cotswolds is a rural area and Public Transport is very limited so a vehicle is necessary if you chose an isolated cottage. We also really believe that a large part of the experience of a Cotswold Horse Tour is exploring Cirencester, or one of the other market towns such as Stow-on-the-Wold or Moreton-in-the-Marsh (yup, they really are that cute) at your leisure, enjoying the architecture of the stone buildings, the parish church standing at the centre, the history and legends told by people you meet as you wander around or just enjoy an open fire whilst relaxing with a beer in a pub.
Food is a major element in a successful holiday and there is plenty of seriously good food to be found in the Cotswolds, from tea shops to country pubs to restaurants serving award-winning gourmand performance food. Whilst breakfast is easy to arrange with your accommodation, choosing where to eat lunch and dinner is deliberately left as flexible as possible. One day there might be a ride before a pub lunch, or a picnic watching polo in the Park, another day everyone might be too full of a cream tea consumed during a garden visit to manage any dinner at all.
We can easily arrange for you to be picked up at an airport or railway station. London Heathrow and Birmingham airport are both about 90 minutes away. Bristol is closer but has only limited European flights. From Kemble station, London Paddington is about 75 minutes by rail. There is national car hire available in Cirencester.
There is a lot to be seen in the Cotswolds and not much public transport so your own vehicle is best. Car hire is available should you need it. We also have links with cycling hire firms. For convenience, Cotswold Horse Tours may employ a vehicle with a driver for a day as this can work out the cheapest option. Do discuss transport with us during the booking process.
Entirely up to you. Every day if you want, all day, part of a day - or no riding at all as we offer many activities that don't require it. There is really so much to do that some decisions will have to be made. We will help you in picking out what you would like to do from our available options and also offer suggestions. Exploring a Neolithic stone circle can be as much fun as a hack.
We offer you a genuine experience of the diverse English horse tradition so, in addition to the riding activities, we have several options to enjoy horses in other ways, such observing horses being trained, enjoying a carriage ride or having 'a flutter' at the races. Obviously, our various mounted activities demand different levels of riding competence so we will always try to match your riding skill to the most appropriate riding stables. It is miserable being scared on a horse and not much fun being bored as you just plod along. This is why a conversation with us will make a big difference. If you have never ridden, unfortunately our insurance will not permit us to offer you any mounted activities. Our insurance broker plays polo and "knows of what she speaks".
There is no upper age limit if you are sufficiently fit and active. Cotswold Horse Tours are bespoke so we can probably make adjustments to cope with many physical limitations. At the other end of the scale, we don't think Cotswold Horse Tours are suitable for the very youngest horse enthusiasts for reasons of safety. Interested teenagers could have a lot of fun as hacks are in open country and may involve long canters.
Any time! Each season has its charms and the horse world runs all year round in a cycle of activities and events and shows. A day at the races in a summer dress is as much fun as jump races in a winter coat and boots. Hacking is wonderful in any season. Tuition carries on. On the other hand, the UK does have very changeable weather. A day of continuous rain is unusual, but a winter day may be sunny or a summer one grey and wet. Temperatures are generally mild, rarely very cold or very hot - which is why we have such lovely grass for our horses to eat. One great advantage of a Cotswold Horse Tour is that you can avoid peak season travel prices and summer crowds.
Cotswold Horse Tours are bespoke so you can choose what to do. Discuss all your ideas with us. The Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), for example, is held in Birmingham over four days in October and we can easily arrange a day there if you wish. The Royal Windsor Horse Show, one of the very best outdoor shows, lasts for three days in May in a fantastic parkland setting under the castle and is a quik trip up the motorway. We are within reach of many Welsh shows to see the native ponies in their home environment or the Dartmoor and Exmoor ponies living on the moors to the south. However, there is so much available within the Cotswolds - with no long drives and time for a quick morning hack - that we do usually focus on local shows and activities.
Whilst Cotswold Horse Tours and all our suppliers run professional businesses with the requisite insurance, it is still important to ensure you are personally covered for travel, health and, most particularly, any sporting activity you wish to do. While 'horseback riding' is often included in ordinary vacation insurance other activities, such as foxhunting or polo, are unlikely to be covered as standard. It may be necessary to arrange specific cover. Currently, the arrangements for EU citizens to receive health care in the UK post-Brexit remain unclear. Other nationalities are charged for health care in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Insurance offers peace of mind and appropriate insurence is a booking requirement. .
Cotswold Horse Tours is a bespoke service, offering a high degree of personal service in organising and guiding a tour that meets your particular equestrian interests. However, we also know that people lead very busy lives. We propose to offer fixed date tours in the future, incorporating one of the major horse trials. It is is always worth contacting us to discuss your ideas.