Bandit Trail

This was my 3th ride with Panorama and second with Nacho. Always going alone but never feeling alone. What makes this trail unforgettable is the combination of nature, horses and people and I was very lucky with my group and my guide ...

This was my 3th ride with Panorama and second with Nacho. Always going alone but never feeling alone. What makes this trail unforgettable is the combination of nature, horses and people and I was very lucky with my group and my guide.

As for the communication before the ride, it was flawless, immediate response from Daniela to all my questions.

We stayed at some magical places and also at some simple ones. Usually it was possible to do some walking around or sitting on the terrace of our accommodation after the ride. Where do I sleep is not so important for me but I think that nobody had any issues. Very friendly staff everywhere we stayed.

As for the food, local food, colourful picnics made by Nacho, surprising lunches made by Dani and Manel, everybody loved the food.

This time I got another challenge from Nacho, the horse he suggested for me had some issues when grooming. I accepted and once the brushing was done he did everything perfectly, picking up foots, not moving when saddling and getting on. I was left with the best horse for riding, experienced, strong, forward going, not getting scared of anything. I got a lot of help from Nacho when grooming and never felt hurried. My horse kicked during first canter and was a bit nasty when the distance was too short but it stopped when I did what Nacho advised me. When we were in rain and my fingers were freezing it was my horse who just carried me to the destiny without much riding from my side :)

The riding is not so long, about 4-6 hours a day, we climbed a lot up and down, we walked leading horses which is nice to stretch legs and give horses some rest, we trotted and cantered, crossed rivers and villages. We had some exciting moments with cows running in front of us and a helicopter landing just few meters from us and then riding above our heads. I still can’t believe that the horses were able to tolerate this. We were all the time escaping from the rain thanks to Nachos previsions and planning and only got wet once but it was also interesting experience. I consider Nacho to be my friend and somebody I respect and I learned a lot from him about horses and about riding and about the country. He explains a lot and prepare us for different situations which may happen and how to act. I think some rules are absolutely necessary and together with good communication in group and passing out the message can help to avoid any problems like sudden stopping when cantering or getting hit by brunches etc. I personally like it that the horses ride in a line. It does not mean we can’t change position, just that we have to be careful when doing it. The line is like Nacho says ¨safety zone¨. About the difficulty I would say this, I am not an experienced rider, still learning, but I like to ride fast and I would hold on. If there is a moment I would like to ask to stop because my stirrups are out or after jump I am sitting on the neck I better bite my tong and get myself back to position, because if I do that of course we would stop but then the opportunity to canter for all group is over, so everybody should consider his skills and see the difficulty of the ride in description.

The country is incredible, much more beautiful than on the photographs, breath-taking views and small stony villages.

Lastly but not less important I want to say I really liked my group. 2 French, 2 Swiss, 2 Slovaks, 2 Germans and one Spanish guide :). I laugh so much during this trip. Everybody listened to Nacho. I felt being taken care of, people were helpful and thinking about the others, communication when riding was perfect.

So, thanks to everybody, it was a pleasure to meet you, see you in the next ride.... maybe :)