Seville Countryside: Horseback Ride with Local Ranch Visit

4.66

(35 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I was nervous about the whole horse riding thing — last time I’d been on a horse was at some birthday party as a kid, and that didn’t go well (I slid off, but that’s another story). But our guide, Marta, just grinned and handed me a helmet like she’d seen it all before. The stables were quieter than I expected, just the soft clop of hooves and this faint smell of hay mixed with something sweet — maybe the wildflowers? There was an old man brushing one of the horses; he nodded at us but didn’t say much. I liked that.

We started inside the ranch to get used to the horses — mine was called Luna, and she had these ridiculously long eyelashes. Marta explained how Andalusian horses are kind of celebrities around here. She showed us how to hold the reins gently (“not like you’re holding onto your phone for dear life,” she joked). After a few wobbly laps, we headed out into the countryside. The air felt cooler under the pine trees, and there was this moment where everything went quiet except for birds and the sound of hooves on soft earth. It’s weirdly calming.

I kept thinking I’d be sore or embarrassed (I mean, my posture isn’t exactly royal), but honestly? It just felt good to be moving through those trails outside Seville, seeing flashes of sunlight through branches. At one point Marta pointed out some wild herbs growing along the path — she picked one and crushed it between her fingers so we could smell it. Kind of peppery. We passed another group from the ranch who waved at us; everyone seemed to know each other here. The ride wasn’t rushed at all — we stopped whenever someone needed a break or wanted to take photos (my phone is full of blurry horse ears now). I still think about Luna’s steady pace when city life gets too loud.