Month of visit: June
For me it was a no brainer that I had to do some horse riding during my travels around Indonesia. I had originally planned to do this on the island of Sumba, however, with further investigation it turned out that the resort (Nihiwatu) that offered this cost around 1000 USD / night and one has to stay in the resort to take part in the horse rides. This resort also offers a very clean surf break at 100 USD / day with the guarantee that only 10 people would be on it at once.
I discovered that there was a French stables down in Kuta Lombok and so I texted the owner to organise a ride for the following afternoon. The next day, at around 4pm, we jumped on our bike to go to the office where our rides were waiting. I was riding Steve and Kaili (my friend) was riding Blacky. We opted for the 1 hour and half ride with horse bathing at the end (650,000 IDR).
Off we went with our lovely local guide.
It was a fabulous experience, wandering across and alongside beautiful landscapes. There were a couple of exciting parts, where we walked through deep water and places where I could let Steve canter/gallop (including many opportunities to gallop along the beach). Kaili, who had only ridden a handful of times, was carefully looked after and watched by our guide. The horses were very calm and well behaved and so, she was absolutely fine with no lead rope.
The best bit was the end, when we got back to the first beach. We took off our leggings and the saddles and led the horses into the sea for bathing. I have always wanted to do this and so it was a dream come true. We paddled in quite deep and wandered up and down the beach. It was such an incredible experience!
I would 100% do this again, however, the horses were a tad on the thin side and I would love to see that change given that it is an expensive activity by Indonesia’s standards.
