Photo: LATEST CLIENT TESTIMONY!! From the moment I contacted Clare, things went smoothly and efficiently. I originally planned to come with my partner and our friends but they couldn’t come due to other commitments so I emailed Clare and she was very creative and threw some ideas (and prices) at me and I decided to go alone. As soon as I arrived at Malaga airport, Clive was there to collect me. He was friendly and accommodating and the journey didn’t take long at all. Arriving at the finca, Clare was at the door to meet us and was, like Clive very friendly and welcoming. She showed me to my room which was lovely and she suggested that I ‘settle in’ before coming through for lunch which she had already prepared. I put my bags down and had a wash then went straight out to the pool and had my lunch in the glorious sunshine. It was here that Jessica the dog introduced herself to me and she sat very calmly at my feet whilst I ate a beautifully presented lunch with a glass of Rioja that Clare got in especially for me. Not only did the food look fabulous, it tasted fabulous too! Lovely fresh, home-made and (mostly) home-grown food which balanced being very healthy with also some more indulgent tasty courses too. The food throughout was of the same standard and I could tell that Clare takes great pride, care and consideration in what she prepares. She balanced attentiveness with the time and space to enjoy the food that she had thoughtfully prepared for me. Her attention to detail prior to me arriving paid dividends, as she already knew my likes and dislikes from the questionnaire I had completed previously. I decided not to take a dip in the pool after lunch and decided to head out straight away and get into the saddle! Clare had (once again) previously assessed my requirements and ability and had decided that Valentino was to be the horse for me and she was not wrong. He was a treat! A handsome looking, 10 year old, grey, Pure-Bred Spanish gelding. We spent a little time in the school to get a ‘feel’ for each other and he was immediately a responsive and willing buddy. Then we headed out for a trek. He was ‘fit as a flea’ with plenty of character and boy could he move! He had stamina, fitness, was very sure-footed over lots of different terrain and a lovely, kind and spirited personality. I decided that my relationship with him was sealed and we spent the whole holiday together. The scenery is so breath taking and the weather was lovely. November and I was still lay by the pool at 5pm sunbathing after a refreshing dip in the bracingly refreshing pool with crystal clear water! Clare tailor-made the rides to suit me and we rode a mixture of terrains at different gaits with lots of opportunities for flat-out gallops. Nothing was written in stone and we adapted our schedule as we went along. We covered miles of ground in what amounted to around 15 hours in the saddle over four days. We stopped at a nice tapas bar and had a bite to eat and some sangria while the horses happily grazed. We cantered through rivers, up (and down!) beautiful mountains and sometimes just ambled quietly through the most amazing scenery. Her knowledge of the indigenous wildlife was quite impressive too (although I’m sceptical about the python story! Clare is a very confident, knowledgeable and able rider and this, along with a brilliant geographical knowledge of the area instilled me with much confidence. She is also very friendly and intelligent and is as happy just being quiet as she is chatting about the ‘meaning of life’. We had a few giggles along the way and her sense of humour and down-to-earth attitude shone through and put me at complete ease! Overall I have had the most amazing few days here at Rio Grande and that amazing experience has been down to Clare and Clive for inviting me into their lovely home and allowing me to experience such a wonderful life experience that I will never forget. Thank you to both of you for making me feel so welcome and for allowing me to get lots of exercise and excitement with the horses whilst also spending some time relaxing and just doing my own thing, be it reading, watching tv, eating, sunbathing by the pool, swimming and/or drinking wine/sangria (!) I’m a professional person and I appreciate that it is a difficult task to balance professionalism with warmth and humour. I think that Clare and Clive balanced those things perfectly and I believe that Ride Rio Grande will go from strength to strength and only build upon its existing excellent reputation. Thank you once again! Thom Fairclough
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 08:27:47 +0000
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