Grange Pony Trekking

Overall we had a nice ride; the horses were great and the scenery is beautiful. For reasonably experienced or confident adults, this will be brilliant. However, for young children who are beginners this place is currently unsuitable and our ride was bordering on dangerous in places. Here's what we would have expected or what would need to change for it to be safe: - Children who are beginners should have supervision, either with one helper per child to ride next to them, or someone leading from the ground. (Or just don't take novice children). - There should be a brief time spent checking they are ok when they set off, rather than sending everyone up a very steep hill straight away (starting with slippery concrete) and hoping for the best (one of the horses slipped over on the concrete). - There should be back protectors for the young beginners. Also, one of the children was fitted with a hat that was cracked (i.e ineffective) - they threw it away when we pointed this out but should have noticed in the first place. - There should be a more balanced ratio of beginners to experienced riders, and if a group has too many beginners to do this, they shouldn't accept the booking. - We were told not to worry about kicking because the horses were used to riding nose to tail. One horse got kicked in the face, and another two kicked each other near the end (nearly kicking one of our group in the process). - If the horses need to be in a certain order to be happy, then not only should that order be somewhat enforced (leaving them to choose their own paths didn't work), but they should also make sure that the parent/person accompanying a child is on a horse that's happy to walk next to the child's horse. - The terrain makes a trek that long unsuitable for children under 12 if they're novices, especially on horses that are too big for them. At one point one of the horses carrying a 7 year old child rushed forward (trotted and cantered about 20m and hopped over a small stream) - she managed to cling on but then was very frightened afterwards. We still had around 45 minutes of riding, and she became terrified that it would happen again. One of the helpers was pretty much out of action because her horse was being naughty, so she could only focus on keeping her horse contained. I asked for someone to lead the child when she was in tears from fear (and offered to do it myself), and initially one of the staff tried to do this, but the horses played up because they weren't in their preferred order (again, this could have been prevented if a particular order was advised or enforced), which terrified her even more. They did then eventually lead her on foot the rest of the way home which solved the problem, but we shouldn't have needed to push for this - they should have been more on the ball. Had we known how difficult the terrain was we would never have booked her onto the ride, and again, they probably shouldn't have accepted the booking or should have been more upfront about what the ride would entail. She very very easily could have fallen off when her horse trotted forward and it was pure luck and good balance that kept her in the saddle. Falling onto rocks without a back protector could have been nasty. The horses were generally well behaved (apart from the one being ridden by a staff member) but it doesn't take much to unseat a novice, especially when the horse is quite big for them, and the staff didn't seem to be aware of the risk. So overall I'd say great for anyone confident over 12-ish (and the scenery really is phenomenal), but not suitable for novice children unless some tweaks are made.
Apr 16th, 2023

Bought as a gift for my granddaughters.. Very professional service and beautiful horses. What a fantastic experience it was for.them both. They said it was the most fun they'd ever had. Thank you
Apr 15th, 2023

Had the best 2 days here :) Did two half a day treks, beautiful views once you get to the top, it really is breathtaking! Stayed in the guesthouse for one night, and cant thank Jess enough for everything she done for me , lovely lady! All the staff were amazing to, and i will be back in the summer im sure! :)
Apr 13th, 2023

Had the best 4 hour ride with the Grange. I rode Kitty and would highly recommend these lovely friendly people and horses. Will be coming again in 2023. Perfect location, beautiful scenery regardless of the weather, brilliant escort and 5 star horses. Thank you
Dec 2nd, 2022

Surpassed our expectations. Stunning scenery, really good fun, great balance of challenge and relaxation. Highly recommend
Oct 27th, 2022