LONG WEEKEND RIDE

Explore the villages of Monticiano, Tocchi, Iesa and San Lorenzo a Merse. Also, see the mysteriously beautiful abbey San Galgano with its roof open to the sky. Stay in an ancient, gracefully restored Borgo, complete with a swimming pool, spectacular views and breathtaking sunsets.

Details of the Ride

Skill Level: Good for intermediate-strong intermediate riders, who are capable of being in the saddle for multiple hours a day. The pace of each trip is set according to the level of the riders.

Horses: Lipizzaners, Anglo-Arabs, Sicilians , Murgese and Maremmano. All horses are friendly, willing to please, fit and forward-moving. No bad habits allowed.

Training: Most of our horses are trained in both English and Western riding. Please request your preference when scheduling.

Tack & Equipment: We provide quality equipment and saddles, including: English saddles (comfortable endurance, all-purpose saddles of fine leather), Western saddles (high quality and comfortable), Australian saddles and some interesting traditional working saddles used by local cowboys.

Dates: On request

Rates:

VILLA FERRAIA
€1900,00 per person, double occupancy, minimum of 12 riders, €300,00 single occupancy supplement

CATELLO DI TOCCHI
€1500,00 per person, double occupancy, minimum of 4 riders, €300,00 single occupancy supplement

The price includes 3 days of riding plus 4 nights, Thursday to Monday morning. See complete itinerary below. All meals included, as well as transfer from Siena railway station on Thursday night and back to Siena station on Monday morning. We can also arrange for a taxi to the airport, for an additional fee.

Itinerary: Long Weekend Ride
(The daily itinerary may be subject to change in case of bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances.)

DAY ONE:
Settle into your suite at either Castello di Tocchi or Villa Ferraia. Relax with drink and dinner before retiring for the evening.

DAY TWO:
After proper introductions to the horses, we begin our ride from the stables, only a mile from your accommodations. We travel through the centuries-old cork forests of Tocchi, following the ancient road used by Pia dei Tolomei to reach her husband’s castle in Maremma. This aristocratic Sienese woman was accused of sleeping with her husband’s best friend and sentenced to death. This sad love story is told in Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia and still looms in the air.

We ride in the land of woodsmen and their mules, eventually reaching the village of Iesa. Nearby, we see the beautiful and ancient borgo of Palazzo a Merse. This remote area is rich with impressive medieval ruins of towers and farms.

Crossing the river Farma, we enter the Riserva Naturale del Belagaio, a government-protected, natural park filled with wild animals and forests. They also breed semi-wild Maremmano horses here. We can enjoy herds of mares and foals running through pastoral green fields. This is a great opportunity to view a very old Tuscan horse breed, used by local cowboys.

In the distance, we recognize the historic Sienese Castello del Belagaio. After we visit, we travel back to Iesa along a wider path, allowing nice trots and canters

We refuel after the long morning with a picnic lunch in an evergreen clearing, resting ourselves and the horses. After a one-hour ride, we return to the stables, leave the horses and travel by car to your accommodations. The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing before a shared dinner.

This day we cover 20-25 miles, over approximately 3-4 hours in the morning and an additional hour in the afternoon, depending on the pace we set.

DAY THREE:
We start the day cantering along a pine wood trail and then climb up the Monte Quoio, the area’s highest hill. Traveling along muletracks through the forest, we descend into the next valley. We are moving towards Monticiano, a lovely medieval hill town on the way towards the sea.

We follow an ancient road on the way to San Galgano, a magically silent place that echoes with historic battles. San Galgano, from a historical and architectural perspective, is one of the most important buildings of the Sienese area. The first example of Gothic architecture in Italy, it sits along the pilgrims’ road Via Frangicena that connects Rome and France.

Nearby, we find the Eremo di Montesiepi, a Romanesque church, where the knight Galgano Guidotti dedicated his life to God and set his sword in a rock. (Yes, this story is very similar to the English legend of King Arthur and Merlin!)

After a well-deserved visit to these historic treasures, we return to the horses and cross the Merse River to Monticiano. We enjoy a lovely lunch in a typical restaurant before returning to your accommodations. The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing before a shared dinner.

This day we cover around 25 miles.

DAY FOUR:
We start the day at the stables where the horses are ready for our ride. Along a trail through a chestnut tree forest, we travel toward the medieval hamlet San Lorenzo a Merse. Built high on the rocks, the village sits along the medieval farm Cerreto, where 800 acres of corn are still grown. The farm offers wide dirt roads, comfortable for riding.

Passing castles and farms, we reach the village of Orgia using the well-preserved Roman stone-paved roads. We enjoy the view of the Merse Valley and the Sienese skyline, as we travel along the top line of the hill.

Following the trail through the Museo del Bosco, we see a variety of trees and wild animal tracks. If we are lucky, we will even see the animals themselves – deer or wild boar. We enjoy a picnic lunch in a uniquely built hunters’ shelter. The shelter has a lovely stone bread oven where we can cook. After lunch, we return to the stables, which are near.

Today we cover about 20 miles.

DAY FIVE:
This itinerary ends with a Tuscan breakfast and trip to the Siena train station.

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