Trail Riding, Wine & Lusitano Magic in Portugal
- Admin
- Nov 25, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 26, 2025
Written by Zara, visited October 2025
I am just back from an incredible short break in Portugal and absolutely buzzing — I’ve got to share this one with you. Portugal in autumn is a gift! I went with five lovely guests from Ireland (North and South), Scotland, and England in late October. We were all women (surprise!) and just fancied a short break away in the sunshine, riding nice horses and meeting new horsey hosts!
Easy to Get to This Gem of a Place
So easy with direct flights from most major airports to Lisbon, and from there our hosts picked us up and brought us to their farm about 60 minutes away. We slipped away Monday morning and arrived in time for lunch.
The farm, named Quinta dos Pinheiros, is home to some 60 Lusitano horses. Owners Kristin and Pedro are completely passionate about the Lusitano breed, as one would expect, and this is a proper owner-managed farm, which is what I personally love. Landing at the farm, we had a quick tour, were shown our rooms — cute, spotlessly clean rooms set under a little veranda. Newly tiled bathrooms made it all feel very, very comfortable. Opposite the veranda is a gorgeous little pool area where we sat making notes, reading, and some of us swimming in the late October warmth when we had some spare time — a glorious little spot. By the end of three short nights, we felt like old friends of Kristin and Pedro, and I certainly appreciated their generosity of time.
Then the stable tour — there are two barns with loose boxes and must be a couple of dozen horses in these. Uniquely, the horses here do dressage and equitation lessons and, for the most part, trail riding too. As a result, we riders get to ride probably the best-schooled trail horses of anywhere I’ve been to.
I don’t know about you, but I love to see other equestrian properties, and so it’s a joy to walk around the stables, the paddocks, and watch whilst the students and instructors are giving lessons. There is a small indoor, an outdoor, and a working equitation paddock.
Of course, I also love owner-managed places, and the Quinta is truly a family affair — and it feels it. Our first lunch we have is with Kristin (the warmest person and clearly so passionate about Lusitanos and giving guests a great time in equal measure) and Pedro (former European Equitation Champion, Portuguese, and hugely into the Portuguese equitation and bullfighting culture). Kristin runs the trail riding side of the business, and Pedro concentrates on the training side, which is mostly for local or long-term guests. When you dine here you will always have one of their instructors, guides or volunteer student or two joining you. We even had dinner with Kristin’s mum and dad a couple of times.
The Horses & The Riding
As we were on a short trip, we stayed for three nights in the farmhouse accommodation. The trail rides that many of our clients book (Atlantic and Lusitano Trails) move from Quinta to Quinta, often staying with Kristin’s friends — so we highly recommend these and I can’t wait to return and ride the Atlantic Trails.
Our first afternoon we were all mounted on well-matched, elegant Lusitanos. Mine was a gorgeous, kind, responsive grey called Alex. What can I say about Lusitanos for trail riding? They are compact, solid, yet beautifully balanced — naturally rounded with rocking-chair gaits. We all agreed these were the best-schooled horses we had ever ridden on a trail ride. Not only were they push-button but incredibly well-behaved — all geldings, and so adjustable. You could ride side by side at walk, trot, and that rocking-chair canter, and later in the week we even had a couple of gallops — and there was no racing or pulling. Honestly, a joy for me as a happy hacker, so I can only imagine how much more of a joy it is for an accomplished dressage diva out on trail.
Kristin explained they really try to have all the school horses (dressage and equitation) also go out on trails, as she believes it’s good for their heads — this is as well as lots of daily turnout… a breath of fresh air. We also learnt that the passion Kristin and Pedro have for Lusitanos is for their temperament. Of course, they have hand-selected their own herd and travel far and wide in Portugal to buy, as well as having a small-scale breeding program (2–3 foals a year). These horses are so kind, lovely, and forward but so safe and not fizzy — tuned but not overly sensitive — really perfect.
We all agreed that every horse we rode was perfection and fell a little bit in love. Although the riding isn’t fast — it’s leisurely hacking with some gorgeous rolling canters — you do have to be a good balanced rider. Perhaps the horses wouldn’t be so calm and responsive if they had someone banging about on their back or hanging on to the reins, I imagine.
Day 2 & Day 3 – Adventures Out and About
On day 2, we rode for three hours through forests, stubble fields, rural pathways, alongside vineyards, olive groves, lemon trees, and finally into a small village. What a joy to ride these horses through rural Portugal. At times it does feel a little like riding a rocking horse through a land of a bygone era… and I personally just love that Mediterranean smell.
Leaving the horses tied up in the yard of the village, we walk up the street and knock on a small, very inconspicuous door. A lovely young woman called Mariana answers. Behind that door lies the equivalent of Charlie’s Chocolate Factory — but for wine.
Owned for generations by Mariana’s family, this is a vineyard, winery, producer, and wholesaling small family business dealing in special wines. She explains the whole process from start to finish and brings us into the family museum, where all the old presses are on display, and then into their wine cellars, where there are tens of thousands of bottles at various stages of production.
Wow — it’s truly fascinating and inspiring how passionate Mariana is about the whole business and process. We all buy some bottles, of course, and vow to support small producers rather than Aldi and Tesco from now on.
Next up, Mariana treats us to a delicious three-course lunch paired with their wines. We linger a bit — it’s a very special experience — and we enjoy Mariana’s company enormously. Eventually, we must tear ourselves away and head back to the Quinta.
Owned for generations by Mariana’s family, this is a vineyard, winery, producer, and wholesaling small family business dealing in special wines. She explains the whole process from start to finish and brings us into the family museum, where all the old presses are on display, and then into their wine cellars, where there are tens of thousands of bottles at various stages of production.
Wow — it’s truly fascinating and inspiring how passionate Mariana is about the whole business and process. We all buy some bottles, of course, and vow to support small producers rather than Aldi and Tesco from now on.
Next up, Mariana treats us to a delicious three-course lunch paired with their wines. We linger a bit — it’s a very special experience — and we enjoy Mariana’s company enormously. Eventually, we must tear ourselves away and head back to the Quinta.
Back to the yard, a quick swim for the enthusiasts amongst us (there is a fab little pool area at the Quinta with some deck chairs perfect for reading a book), and then we watch Ellie, one of the dressage instructors run one of the stallions through his working equitation drill — this is fascinating, and Pedro talks us through what she is doing. They are all passionate to the core about their horsemanship.
Time for quick showers, and then it’s upstairs to the fabulous long dining room overlooking the indoor arena. Gins and wine aplenty, followed by the second delicious three-course meal of the day, and then it’s off to slumber in our lovely cute but fresh and recently renovated rooms with super comfy mattresses.
The next day
After a yummy breakfast of eggs, delicious hot breads, cheese, and meats washed down with copious cups of coffee, we watch the horses being loaded up in the truck and follow them down the road to Pedro’s friend’s breeding stud and cork farm.
As we drive in, Francesco meets us on his dancing, piaffing stallion — not sure if he’s showing off or if this is just what he does! He’s a great guy, it turns out, and super proud of his heritage and farm, which we ride around for the next three hours. Midway we are met by a golf buggy and two of his team with refreshing cider and snacks. As we stop, he shows us how they harvest the cork from the trees and explains it’s a long game — it takes 60-plus years for a tree to produce well — so owning the land here is not about financial gain as such, but about the privilege of passing it on to the next generation. We love his philosophy.
Riding back to base after visiting his fabulous herd of broodmares, we jump off the horses who are loaded up in the truck and brought home, while we head over to the veranda outside the main farmhouse and are treated to yet another sumptuous Portuguese luncheon — each dish paired with special local wines.
Post dessert, Frederico insists we try out some liqueurs and whiskies… so this turns out to be a very long and fun lunch! By the time we make it back to the Quinta, there is literally time for a shower, and then it’s more beers and dinner. Perhaps we should call this trip Eat, Eat, Ride & Eat!
The Final Morning
We have time to go and say goodbye to our lovely horses after breakfast, and most of us head back to Lisbon Airport — our heads full of joy and gratitude and that warm feeling you have after being welcomed and pampered by a dear friend. That’s the feeling you get coming here, we absolutely do not want to leave our horses and new found friends.
Two of our group don’t have to rush off, so they booked in for a dressage and working equitation lesson — something we promise ourselves we will try next time we return.
I can now see why the trail rides are booked out so far in advance — this is a magic little gem of a place you must visit if you enjoy fantastic horses, meeting interesting, passionate horsemen and women, and want a slice of authentic Portuguese laid-back horse life.
We can run the Ride & Wine short tours with small groups on request, and for the superb 5- and 6-night trail rides, please hop onto the itineraries here to check dates and contact us at info@zarasplanet.com or through our socials to book in — well in advance as they sell out fast!
Read more about our Portugal Trail rides on the website: The Atlantic Trail Ride and The Lusitano Trail Ride.
Of course any questions we are all here to answer…
Zara x
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