Wording Holidays with horses

The Programme
The programme is designed for commited, experienced riders and hard-working horse people, who would relish the opportunity to join our exclusive horse riding holidays company as a groom and back-up guide.

Requirements
You have to be an experienced and excellent rider. Our weight limit for students is 75kgs and minimum age of 21. You are expected to be generally fit, as well as riding fit, as days can be long. A minimum of 8 years continued riding is required and we would expect you to be currently riding every day in preparation for your stay with us; your riding ability will be tested before you are allowed to accompany any ride. We will prevent you from riding as back up if we do not feel that your abilities are sufficient, though obviously we are very reluctant to be in this position.
Our groups are multinational, mainly English and French speaking.
Driving licence is required.
Spanish is not required although some knowledge of Spanish will be very useful.

Duties
Our horse rides cater for groups of 4 to 8 reasonably experienced riders. For our guests it is a very special holiday and we work very hard to ensure that it exceeds their expectations. Our hospitality and our horses, are the main reasons why we have a lot of repeat guests coming back.
You will be dealing with clients regularly so it is important to us that you are well spoken and presented. An open, friendly nature and a natural affinity for people will help to make your stay and theirs more memorable.
We schedule rides every two weeks. Your duties will involve mainly two different routines: (a) during the rides and (b) in between rides

(a)

During the rides. You will help as a groom and as a catering person with the support vehicle, and as a back-up guide.
As a groom, you will help with the feeding, grooming, saddling and unsaddling and the usual care of the horses.
As a catering person you will accompany the ride in the support vehicle, helping with the luggage, setting the tables for the picnic lunches and overall helping with the meals and aperitifs, which are exquisite and up to high quality. You may occasionally have to drive the support vehicle so, as said above, driving license is required.
As a back-up guide, you will be assisting Emilio or María Elena, both owners and guides, in ensuring the safety of the group at all times. This means helping to keep an eye on everybody in the group, for example, assisting when a rider needs help or checking that canters go smoothly and that no riders have problems in handling their horses.

(b)

In between rides. You will help with the feeding of the horses at home and the daily duties around horses. Most of the horses are always in the fields, and are fed in the fields. Some of the foals/fillies could be in the stables. During this week you will muck out stables (always rather clean as no horses sleep inside), oil all the tack and shower the horses before the following ride.

The well being of our horses is of the greatest importance to us. We ensure they are maintained to the highest standards of veterinary care, grooming and stable duties. With 30 horses of all ages, sizes and temperaments it is usually more than enough to keep us busy. They are all lovely horses and with very good stable manners. You will love them .

Duration
There are two positions available at any time, which can be taken for ideally a minimum of 3 months. We recommend a longer stay to fully appreciate the experience.
Accommodation will be in an apartment in the village with individual rooms and a communal bathroom.
During the rides all meals and drinks (during the meals) are included. During the rides you will stay in the same hotels where the guests stay, which are very comfortable (there could be some exceptions if rooms were not available).
In between, you will live in your own apartment and cater for yourself - the apartment has cooking facilities, fridge, washing machine. TV - DVD (fully equipped). Shopping in the village is simple: just one supermarket, a butchers, a weekly market - very rural life!
For example, in a 4-month stay, you will share the back up of five/six week-rides with another student and then ride a little in between rides, depending on the training and work, and always with Emilio's guidance. At the beginning of the season, a whole month until the first ride starts is spent exercising the horses for the rides. So over this month there is more daily riding involved. The rides start the week of April 15.
In the weeks in between rides you will have 1 or 2 free days, to be agreed depending on the work, and alternating with the other student.

Options
In addition to the practical horse experience you will learn about the rural life in Spain, about this very little known part of Spain - out of the tourist sites, and learn or improve your Spanish (nobody can speak any English in the village).
During the weeks in between rides, when you have two days off, you will be able to visit around - Avila, Salamanca, Segovia, Madrid. Public transport from/to Navarredonda de Gredos is not very frequent. From Avila, train and bus communications are excellent.
This is a beautiful part of the world, in the mountains, with a lovely pristine river where to swim in the summer (there is a public swimming pool in the village too). An ideal area for walks in the pinewoods, in the mountains. In the summer the village is livelier with some local tourism and quite a few times in the summer there are "fiestas" with open-air bands playing in the main square of the village.
The team: we are María Elena and Emilio, owners and guides; we plan to have two students at any time during the season, sharing the apartment and alternating the duties; and then a local man helps with the horses left at home when we are gone for the week rides.

The Gredos
The Sierra of Gredos is one of the most characteristic regions of the Iberian Peninsula situated between the provinces of Avila, Caceres and Salamanca, and crossed by the Duero and Tajo rivers.
The Sierra de Gredos mountain range lies in central Spain within easy reach of Southwest of Madrid, and much of it has a Regional Park status. This majestic stretch of mountains lying across the centre of Spain like a titanic rampart reaches its highest point at the Pico Almanzor (2,592m/7,776 ft).
The landscapes are full of light and colour. Gredos has a very diverse display of flora and fauna through the Tormes, Corneja, Alberche and Tietar river valleys. The absence of population in the region of Gredos has contributed in keeping the nature of Gredos intact until the present. The villages were settled in the valleys and they still hold their uniqueness in their architecture and traditions.
We are about 2 hours Southwest of Madrid, one-hour drive from Ávila.
Our rides take place in the provinces of Toledo and Ávila, in the heart of Castilla.

Getting there
Flights to Madrid and then a train to Avila. Very easy connections.

2007 Dates
The offer this year is for the rides based in the Northern Gredos. Ideally periods such as
March - June
June - September
July - October
Stays can overlap.
If joining us a voluntary student for the whole season, the stay would be from mid-March until the end of October.

Sample Itinerary
mid-March - June
Weeks 1 - 4
These introductory weeks are spent exercising the horses and getting to know horses, learning about work dynamics, people, village, and way around.
At the beginning of the season most of the horses will be in our new property, about 45min drive from Navarredonda, with at the moment very basic facilities. It is there where most of the horses spend the winter.So there will be some driving back and forth, and duties will be organised between the two places.
Weeks 5 – end
Our first ride in the Northern Gredos is in April 15-22, so this would be the first week ride to join as a back up guide and groom.

Over a 4-month period 2 students usually back up 5/6 week-rides, alternating the duties as back-up guide and the escort duties for the ride.
Itineraries will slightly vary depending the time of the season

Please see our website for full information about the rides and some photos of our dear horses.
www.equiberia.com

Prices
What you will receive (4 month period)

Riding:
Back-up guide in 5/6 week rides, for full days or half days alternating the riding/escort duties with the other student. Beautiful rides in a very diverse landscape, real travel on horseback.
At the beginning of the season, March and April, riding nearly everyday, exercising the horses for the rides.

Accommodation:
Weeks in between the rides, accommodation in an apartment we rent in the village, with a private bedroom sharing a bathroom. Fully equipped apartment, with a fridge, washing machine, etc.
During the rides, accommodation in the same hotels where the guests stay, sharing the room with the other student.

All the meals and drinks during the rides (including alcoholic drinks during the meals)
Practical experience working with horses in a well-established and experienced riding holiday company
One or two free days per week in the weeks in between the rides
Transfers from/to Avila at the beginning/end of the programme

Excluded are the meals and other daily costs during the weeks in between the rides; the local trips and independent excursions, flights, insurance, visas, telephone calls.

Please bear in mind that life in rural Spain is very affordable. We usually have two week-rides each month, so you will only have to cater yourselves for the other two weeks. For the weeks in between rides, for food and basic expenses you could do with a very limited amount of money.

Costs
3 or 4 months - 12 to 16 Weeks:
300Euros /210GBP per month/ 4 weeks

Whole season 7 and 1/2 months:
One single payment of 900Euros/ 630GBP No costs other than the living costs in between the rides

(As a reference the price of our week holidays is 1600Euros / 1125GBP and above)

For the weeks in between the rides we estimate a basic budget of 100-120Euros per week (just for food and basics).

Contact us
If you are interested in joining us, please email María Elena at equiberia@equiberia.es and we will send you the application form.

Conditions and Cancellation Policies:

Medical and accident travel insurance is required. If from the EU, the European Health Insurance card is very convenient (previously E-111 Form) .

It is required that you sign an indemnity form on arrival, you cannot be permitted to ride before signing.

You will be briefed and trained for your duties during your programme.

We require a 50% deposit on the day you decide to join this program (non refundable).

The balance is due 21 days prior arrival.

Cancellations: The deposit is non-refundable. However, if you have a serious reason for a cancellation we might consider postponing your stay. If you drop out completely the whole amount will be held 21 days prior arrival.

Payment means. You can transfer the money into a Spanish account in Euros, GBP or US Dollars.

For inquiries and application forms (*) please contact María Elena at equiberia@equiberia.es

(*)You can get our Application Form direct from this page (see top right)

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EQUIBERIA
Equitravel Ltd (VAT # B-05159769)
05635 Navarredonda de Gredos - Avila - Spain
TEL.: +34 689 34 39 74 FAX +34 920 348355
E-mail:equiberia@equiberia.es