FAQs

YES, although in Epona we have many upper level horses and a lot of our guests are intermediate and advanced riders, we also have a number of horses suitable for beginners and less confident riders.

Our instructors are patient and knowledgeable and have MANY years of experience teaching all levels of riders, including first-timers.

YES, in fact this is very frequent. Non-riders are more than welcome at Epona. Your non-riding partner will be able to join in with all the activities you are doing (except obviously the riding), spend the days exploring the area with it’s many interesting sights or doing a combination of both.

Please find the non-riding options on the page or contact us for further information.

YES. Though our programmes are designed for adult riders and we no longer have ponies available for small children. We do, however, have several small horses suitable for children over 10 that already know how to ride and are competent in walk, trot and canter and for less experienced children over 12.

Sometimes the programmes have to be adapted to ensure the full enjoyment for them and other adult riders. Please contact us for more information.

YES. Epona offers several programmes which run simultaneously most weeks, so it’s frequent that people travelling together will choose a different programme.

Also, if you are signing up on the same one, we split lessons according to riding level and also trail rides, if this is necessary.

YES, If you are in any of the training courses, you will be riding at your level and will not be pushed to canter if you do not wish too. If you are doing trail rides, we will either split the ride, with 2 guides, so those who don’t wish to can trot instead of cantering.

Or we will send you on a separate ride altogether where you can take it as steady as you wish to.

YES. It always depends a little on the rider’s ability, but Epona horses and instructors are very generous, so it is almost certain that you will, as long as you have a good understanding of basic equitation and an independent seat.

However, we suggest you sign up for the “Classical Dressage and High School Training” programme or the “Rafael Soto clinic”, as on busy weeks , we reserve the more advanced horses for riders on these programmes.

YES, we only take a two week holiday in August and 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year. The exact dates vary a little from year to year, so if you are planning a trip in August, late December or early January, contact us and we will let you know the exact dates when the centre is closed.

NO, We schedule specific dates in November, December, February and March. They are specified on our pricing and dates section. We do however organise custom date clinics if you can put together a group of 4 to 5 riders and depending on Rafael`s and our availability.

NO, it is not necessary. We offer complimentary pick-ups and drop-offs at pre-set times, and can organise a taxi service if these times don’t suit you. We do all the transfers from hotel to the farm which take 10min. approximately.

The Hotel in Carmona is right in the town centre, so anything you need, cafes, reastaurants, supermarket, pharmacy, cash points, shops and the tourist sights etc are within a very short walk.

Although it´s entirely not necessary , in fact the great majority of our guests don´t hire a car, some guests enjoy having one (especially non riders) so they can go off and explore the area in their free time or for other activities such as golfing.

YES, our wonderful cook can cater for the normal diets of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, low sodium etc. However, we do not cater for special diets like Halal or Kosher.

YES, as the Hotel we normally use does not have any single rooms and the standard price we offer is based on a double occupancy.

But, we do have the option of you staying at a different Hotel, within 2 or 3 minutes walking distance that does have single rooms so the single supplement can be avoided. Contact us to get more info about this option.

YES, a supplementary bed can be added. In this case , the hotel normally uses one of the larger standard rooms for this and so it’s still very ample and the
beds are equipped with proper, comfortable mattresses, so are not fold-up or camp beds.

YES, this is possible, but a nightly supplement is payable, according to the room type requested.

It is always best to bring your own as this will ensure the best fit, but if you prefer to travel light, we have plenty of riding hats to lend. We also have a variety of boots, chaps and jodhpurs , though not all sizes.

YES, if you have a group of a minimum of 5 riders, we can organize special programmes incorporating as much or little riding as you wish, as well as any other extra activities, sightseeing, and visits to places of interests such as horse breeding farms, olive oil mills, wine cellars, etc.

We also can organize day trips to the Ferias of Jerez, Sevilla and other towns.

YES. Check our “short stays” programmes on our website and contact us if you need any further information.

YES. We give you the option of exchanging one of your lessons for a trail ride or adding a trail ride as an extra if you do not wish to miss any of your lessons.

YES. We give you the option of exchanging one of your lessons for a trail ride or adding a trail ride as an extra if you do not wish to miss any of your lessons.

YES.

YES. We think a week at Epona would be very beneficial. Many riders visit us precisely for this reason.

YES, we can organize Flamenco lessons, Spanish guitar lessons and Spanish language lessons. We also have a lovely private swimming pool which guests are welcome to use (between the months of April to October).

NO. Most of our guests are dressage enthusiasts or even professionals. Others don’t ride dressage at home but enjoy schooling on the flat to improve themselves and their horse. Others come to Epona to try it out for the first time and usually become passionate about it as a result!

However, if you don’t wish to ride dressage on this trip, we offer only trail programmes with no arena work.

To make a reservation you can click here. The number of participants in a holiday is limited , so advanced booking will allow you to select the date of your choice. To secure your spot we will require a deposit of a 20% of the total cost. Payment can be made by credit card, Paypal or by bank transfer.

It is not compulsory to tip in Spain, so tips are not expected but they are, obviously, very much appreciated. In Restaurants a 10% is the normal amount and should be given in cash to the waiter as restaurants don’t accept credit card tipping.

For the Epona staff and Instructors, tipping is also very much appreciated. Guests can either offer tips to individual staff members directly or give a total sum to owners Jane or Fernando for them to hand out among all the staff or specified staff members.

Some groups of guests like to put together a collective tip from all the participants which is then divided amongst the staff.

Riding horses is an activity that always poses some risk. An incident could occur even in your backyard. At Epona, being a British Horse Society approved centre, safety is in prime consideration.

With excellent horses and staff, every measure has been taken to maximize your safety during the holiday. However, we strongly recommend that you should have medical/accident insurance and a travel protection insurance which should also cover for cancellations and loss or damage of luggage.

Yes. For riding we suggest you bring your usual riding gear, we don´t have a dress code. You should ride in what you feel comfortable in and what you use at home, as long as the usual safety standards are met.

The use of a riding hard hat is compulsory for all level riders (we have hats to lend if needed), so is the use of riding boots ,short or long. The use of proper breeches or jodhpurs is STRONGLY recommended though not compulsory as we understand that many trail riders and western riders prefer the use of jeans. We don’t recommend the use of tank tops as shoulders can burn easily in the summer months and they are uncomfortable for lessons as straps often slip down making it distracting for riders having to continually stop or take reins in to one hand to pull them up.

It doesn´t rain much in this part of Spain, we usually have lovely weather, but it will obviously rain from time to time, especially between the months of October to April, the weather can also get a little colder from mid November to early April, though still very mild compared to most European and North American climates. We suggest you check the weather forecast right before travel and pack a rain coat or a warm jacket accordingly. In case of unpredicted rain or colder weather, we have plenty rain coats and warm jackets to lend.

Advanced and strong intermediate riders might appreciate the help of a small spur for the dressage lessons, especially to define the aid when working towards the more advanced movements. Riders will always be assessed by instructors for at least one or two rides before introducing the use of the spurs. Spurs must be rounded or blunt and the neck should not measure more than 2.5cm. Our horses are not used to serrated, coin shaped or star shaped wheel spurs, so these types are not permitted. We have several spurs to lend.

Other advisable things to pack:

• Insect repellent which in occasions is needed for the Doñana National park ride.
• Electricity adapters for your phone charger and other electronic devices.
• Swimming suits. Many people don’t realise that we have a lovely private pool at Epona .which you can use between or after rides (open from April to October) There is also a lovely salt water pool at the Hotel.