Sundance Ranch Portugal encompasses roughly 50 hectars of land near the town of Odemira in the Alentejo region of Southwest Portugal. The region is well known for its unspoiled nature and its wonderful beaches on the wild Atlantic coast.
The ranch consists of pastures in the valley and forest on the hillside. The river Mira flows through the pastures and ends 20 kilometers away in the Atlantic. Twice a day the river rises and falls as much as a meter or two with the tide. Since we often cross the river on our trail rides, this sometimes gives us the opportunity for adventure, with the horses almost having to swim across.
We ride through our own forest on shady trails through a mixture of cork oak, eucalyptus, pine and medronho trees (the so-called strawberry tree, which carries fruit used for making strong brandy.) During the day, we encounter flocks of partridge, at night, when we ride under the full moon, sometimes from afar wild boar or foxes.
Our guests stay together in our typical Alentejo farm house in the midst of the ranch’s beautiful nature.
Activities on the Ranch
In our week-long courses we teach Western Riding for beginners and experienced riders, but also groundwork / natural horsemanship, as well as trail rides into the surrounding nature.
Guests stay in our ranchhouse and take part in our everyday activities, spending all day learning with us and our horses. We prepare our breakfast and dinner ourselves, whereas lunch is served by our staff.
If you cannot spare a whole week, we recommend a tailer-made course to learn more about dealing with horses in a natural way and about western riding.
We also take in horses for livery, with or without training.