50 years of Pegasus – a reason to celebrate! Appropriately, on horseback. So, at the beginning of October, I set off for the Northern Vosges, where riding guide Alice and some Pegasus guests have already gathered in the cosy Reiterstübchen. After champagne and pumpkin soup, we head in high spirits to the horses waiting for us in the open stable. As a flyweight, I am assigned a cute little Irish Cob mare who has had a foal this year. Little ‘Mona Lisa’ is super cuddly and quickly wins our hearts. But she has to stay at home for the ride. Alice mainly has Irish Cobs, as she really appreciates the breed for its coolness. Indeed, they are very sweet and totally safe horses that will give us a great weekend. On Thursday afternoon, we spend two hours riding through the surrounding beech forest, along old sunken paths that were once used to drive pigs into the forest, and along wonderful narrow trails. The ground is nice and sandy, so it's not slippery at all. We already suspect that we have landed in a real horse riding paradise. The Northern Vosges are connected to the Palatinate Forest, a single huge horse riding paradise! When we return, a large, delicious salad buffet has already been set up for us and an inviting fire is burning in the courtyard, where we sit together after dinner.

AThe next day, we set off on a two-day ride. Saturday is a particularly long and beautiful day of riding. First, we ride through the forest, past a small and a large wartime bunker located on an important defensive line, the Maginot Line. Even more impressive than the bunkers, in my opinion, is a whole series of curved iron posts that were rammed metres deep into the ground to defend against tanks and soldiers. Not a pleasant thought... Today, the area is extremely peaceful. We ride across idyllic orchards, through beautiful, tranquil half-timbered villages, through the forest and finally past Falkenstein Castle and imposing sandstone cliffs that suddenly rise metres high out of the forest. On the way, we enjoy a delicious picnic in the forest with cheese, salami and red wine. However, this was nothing compared to what awaited us at our destination. We stable the horses at a riding stable in an open stable. In the barn next door, the owners conjure up a magnificent champagne reception with salami, hearty Gugelhupf cake, etc. The warm hosts create a great atmosphere and we later head to the local hotel in high spirits. The hotel is very comfortable and the dinner is of the highest quality. After all the feasting, we sleep soundly in the comfortable beds.
The next day, another new horse awaits me, brought in by trailer. It is a small 5-year-old grey. Despite his age, he is deeply relaxed, even as we ride through a slightly larger town where, for once, there is some traffic. As we ride through the forest near the German border, we discover more castles and pure nature all around us. After a few gallops, we reach an idyllic river valley, which we follow. After a final picnic on a meadow, we ride through the forest back to the stable.



Link zum Programm: www.equitour.com/alista.htm