Spain- Caballo Blanco Trekking, Lanjaron

Today I went riding with Sarah Vesey, a British woman who owns and runs Caballo Blanco Trekking outside of the spa town of Lanjaron in Southern Spain. My horse Megan, a nine-year-old Andalusian cross, was the perfect mount for the day. We rode out from the stables with a small group of four. The area where we were riding is the Alpujarras, a rural, mountainous part of Southern Spain. This part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is dotted with white washed towns, including Lanjaron. Many of the people that live in these mountains are organic farmers with self-sustaining farms. It is a very different way of life. Most people use solar power, as electricity is hard to get here and expensive. Sarah and her family live simply here. They rescue and rehabilitate horses and have a lot of dogs that they have taken in as well.

From where we started the ride, I could see a few towns in the distance, the ocean and mountains. We would end high in the mountains, with views of the snow capped Sierra Nevadas, pine forests, green mountainside, and only one farmhouse in sight.

Darley Newman is an equestrian travel expert and the host of the Public Television series Equitrekking®, which takes viewers on horseback riding vacations around the world. Purchase Equitrekking DVDs, the Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback book and horse gift itmes at ShopDarley.com

Learn more about horse riding in Spain at EquitrekkingTravel.com.