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Types of Skiing Explained: Alpine, Nordic, Touring & SkateNorway
Jul - Aug
Improve your riding and explore Norway’s oldest national park on your own Døle horse – forest trails, open mountain plateaus and glacier lakes
Improver
Moderate
Home Comforts
From
£1,649
(USD $2,588.93)
Build Your Riding Skills
Upgrade your riding with four days on the edge of the Rondane National Park on your own Norwegian Døle horse, riding forest trails, open mountain plateaus and around glacier lakes. You’ll learn more about grooming, tacking up and how to read your horse’s body language, as well as taking your rides from the arena to the forest trails. As long as you can trot, you can join!
Back at the mountain hotel, a sauna, yoga sessions and a very cold lake are waiting, as well as three-course dinners and cosy rooms – perfect for recharging after a day out at the stables.
An Active Agenda
No Hidden Costs
Arena lessons and guided trail rides through the Norwegian countryside
Feeding, grooming, tack maintenance and field turn-out
Stretch sessions by the lake, all levels welcome
Lake access and traditional Norwegian sauna sessions
Helmets, waist bags and all horse care equipment
Family-run mountain hotel with panoramic views
Breakfasts, lunches and three-course Norwegian dinners
Professional riding instructors and your Gutsy Girls host
Pick-up and drop-off at Ringebu train station
Activity Overview
You’ve got the basics, now take them into the mountains. Paired with your own Norwegian Døle horse from the start, this trip is structured to build your skills progressively, from arena sessions through to a three-hour mountain ride by day four. You’ll ride at walk and trot throughout, with the opportunity for canter if the group is ready. The horses are calm, sure-footed and bred for the mountains, making them the perfect partners for exploring the national park and building confidence.
Activity Overview
There’s more to this week than being in the saddle and time in the stables matters too – grooming, tacking up and learning to read your horse’s body language are all part of the experience. You’ll also help with feeding and turning the horses back out each evening, all under the watchful eye of our expert guides.
Activity Overview
Stretch out any saddle-sore muscles with yoga sessions designed for post-riding recovery. Three sessions help your body recover from long days in the saddle and at the stables. When weather allows, you’ll take your practice lakeside for mountain views to accompany your warrior pose. If not you’ll be in the yoga studio.
Activity Overview
Follow Norwegian tradition with sauna sessions and wild lake swimming – if you’re brave enough for mountain water that’ll wake every nerve ending.
The Destination
Your Adventure Starts Here
Transfer to the hotel, check in, meet your group over a three-course dinner and get the lowdown from your guides on what the week has in store.
Start with yoga before breakfast, then head to the stables. Before anyone gets in the saddle, you'll learn all about horse communication. Groom and tack up, then have your first riding lesson in the arena. Afterwards you’ll give your horse their lunch, then have yours.
After lunch it’s back out for a one hour ride in the National Park. Back at the stables you’ll untack and then take the horses to their paddocks for the evening.
Wild swim if there’s time, then enjoy a three-course dinner.
After breakfast, bring the horses in from the fields and get them ready for today’s ride. Walk and trot through the mountain paths.
Feed the horses, then have your own buffet lunch, followed by a short afternoon ride. Walk and trot as standard, with canter on the table if the whole group is up for it.
A post-ride yoga session to stretch everything out, then a three-course dinner.
Pack your lunch at breakfast and prepare for a day at the stables. Today's ride is the biggest of the week, approximately three hours out in the mountain area.
Picnic lunch at the stables, then more time with your horse, grooming, taking care of tack and learning more about essential horse care. Then say goodbye to your equine pal.
A dip in the lake is on offer, then enjoy your celebratory three-course dinner.
One last yoga session, breakfast, then it's time to pack up and head home.
Rest & Refuel
Stay in a family-run mountain hotel, with views for days over the mountain-strewn landscapes. Spacious basic rooms with ensuite, a yoga studio for morning stretches, a sauna to ease tired legs, and a lounge with an open fire. It's comfortable, welcoming, and exactly what you need after hours in the saddle.
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Enjoy a buffet breakfast and lunch, as well as three-course dinners - the food is unbeatable here. All dietary requirements are catered for, plus you’ll get the chance to taste test some local Norwegian dishes. If you have a severe food allergy though please get in touch before booking.
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Book now
The Essentials
| Accommodation |
Home Comforts A traditional mountainside hotel. The rooms are basic but spacious with en-suite bathrooms and there’s a yoga studio, sauna, bar and lounge with an open fire.
|
|---|---|
| Food & Drink |
All meals included. If you have a severe allergy, please contact us before booking.
|
| Fitness Level |
2
Moderate Three consecutive riding days, with up to three hours in the saddle at a time, and that’s before you factor in grooming, tacking up and horse care on either side. Expect to feel it, especially in your hips and core, although the yoga sessions will help. You'll Need To Be
|
| Skill level |
2
Moderate Confidence at walk and rising trot are essential before you arrive – canter is a bonus. If you’ve only ever been horse riding at walk in an arena or it’s been a while, start with our Beginners Horse Riding Adventure first. Not sure what level you are? Our Trip Rating Guide explains how we score fitness and skill. |
| Packing List |
Below is an indication of the specialist items you will need, and might have to invest in before your adventure! For a full list of what you’ll need to bring, check out the trip guide. We Provide
You’ll Need
|
| Travel |
The meeting point for this trip is Ringebu train station. Alternative routes and travel information are in our trip guide. |
| Not Included |
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| Trip Code |
NORVENHRSI |
The answers
This is an improvers trip so you need to be confident at walk and rising trot, know how to steer and stop, and be happy to try canter. If you’ve never ridden, or it’s been years since you last sat in a saddle, start with our Beginners Horse Riding Adventure first. For safety reasons, if you don’t have the required experience when you arrive, you won’t be able to join the trail rides.
The Døle horse is a breed native to the region and built for mountain terrain. Calm, sure-footed and sturdy, they give riders a real sense of security on uneven ground. You’ll be paired with your own horse at the start of the week and ride the same one throughout. They have a lot of personality, which you’ll get to know as the week goes on.
You’ll start each morning by bringing your horse in from the fields, grooming and tacking up before heading out. Day 2 includes an arena session and a one-hour national park ride. Day 3 is two trail rides, walk and trot as standard with canter on the table if the whole group is ready. Day 4 is the biggest, approximately three hours out in the mountain area with a picnic lunch at the stables.
Walk and trot for most rides, with the possibility to canter if everyone in the group is up for it.
The horses comfortably carry riders up to 100kg. If you’re over this weight, contact the bookings team before booking and we’ll check with the stables.
Slow and restorative, the yoga is designed around post-riding recovery. There’s three sessions across the week, done by the lake when the weather cooperates or in the hotel yoga studio when it doesn’t.
Fly into Oslo Gardermoen (OSL), then take the train to Ringebu station, approximately 2.5 hours away. We’ll then meet you at Ringebu station and drive you to the hotel (a 20-minute transfer). Book tickets via vy.no/en or sj.no. Tickets go on sale 60–90 days before travel and cost approximately £30 each way and are not included in the trip price.
Our transfer runs from Ringebu train station to your hotel on arrival and departure day. You are responsible for getting to Ringebu station – train tickets can be purchased 90-60 days in advance from vy.no/en.
Transfer timings:
You’ll stay at a family-run mountain lodge at the edge of Rondane National Park. It has cosy en-suite rooms with mountain views, a communal lounge with an open fire, bar, yoga studio, sauna and complimentary tea and coffee. The hotel is dog-friendly with two or three resident dogs (They stay out of bedrooms but you’ll see them in the lounge – worth knowing if you have allergies or aren’t a dog person.)
The food on this trip is traditional, homemade and a genuine highlight. There’s a generous breakfast buffet, a plentiful lunch buffet and a three-course set menu dinner each evening using quality local produce. All meals are included from arrival dinner to departure breakfast. Alcoholic drinks are not included.
Trousers without a rough or hard inside seam (jodhpurs are ideal, but any suitable trousers work although not jeans) and sturdy footwear with some grip that fits in a stirrup. A waterproof jacket and layers for changeable mountain weather are a good shout, as are gloves with a grippy palm. Riding clothes will get dirty at the stables, so pack a separate set of clothes for mornings, meal times and evenings at the hotel.
No. Cards are accepted everywhere on this trip. You won’t need Norwegian krone unless you’d like to tip your guide or host.
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