Thailand: spectacular horse riding adventure on the beach
Travelling around South-East Asia with three of my closest friends was one of the best times that I have ever had. We travelled for around five weeks starting in Malaysia then travelling to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. This was in our final year of medical school during the ‘elective’ period where it is customary to go travelling after exams, usually to do some medical work abroad and experience a different culture. We spent the start of our trip in a gastroenterology department in a private hospital in Malaysia, where we learnt more about the cultural influences of the varying Malaysian diets, demographics and lifestyle factors that influence stomach and gut health.
For me, the experience was of course incomplete without equestrian interjection. Due to the jam-packed nature of our trip, it was hard to fit in much equine activity however, I did have two fantastic experiences riding in Phuket, Thailand as well as in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
An equestrian magazine in the hospital shop. Always on the lookout..
After our time in Malaysia we travelled to Thailand and started off in Phuket. It was brilliant, with white sands and delicious seafood, and also we were all still euphoric on just receiving the news that we had passed our finals and were ‘officially doctors’. In retrospect, the reality of what that meant for us hadn’t quite set in, but the end of university is always a time to be celebrated and we were enjoying the freedom of not revising.
13th May 2018
On the 13th May, 2018, I left my friends at the resort in Phuket and was picked up by a car outside the hotel lobby. The journey took around an hour. This was included with the trip and was definitely essential as I wouldn’t have been able to find the place on my own.
I had seen this advertisement in the hotel in Phuket and got in contact with them via the hotel, which is always reassuring, especially in a new place and also since we had a little experience of people trying to sell everything to us for double the price. (Petaling market is my absolute favourite place in Malaysia).
When I arrived, the people were very friendly and allowed me to try on some riding boots and a hat to borrow for the ride. In the meantime they got the horses ready and I signed the paperwork. It ended up just being me on the trek as nobody else had signed up that day. The 2 hour trip costs 1,350 Baht which is around £29, which is very reasonable overall but probably an appropriate price when compared to the cost of other things in Thailand.
As I only had one suitcase for the 5 week trip I had brought only essentials which unfortunately didn’t include my boots or hat, so it was useful to have them available there. I got myself ready and we rode in the arena to warm up. The place was beautiful, and although it was off the main road the area felt secluded and far away from hustle and bustle.
Getting the horses tacked up and ready.
I really liked the schooling arena and I thought that the tack was in reasonable condition as well.
Warming up in the arena was good, I always prefer having a chance to get comfortable and make sure the tack is all fitting correctly before heading out on a hack. I’ve found that adjusting the girth and stirrup length is much easier in a controlled environment than out in an unpredictable setting on a trail.
We started the hack by going through some of the jungle/forest areas which were stunning. My horse felt comfortable and relaxed, and quite well cared for. I have read some other reviews on Trip Advisor that suggested that some people were concerned about the quality of the riding club, however at the time of my review I can definitely say my horse was clean, had good muscle bulk and seemed comfortable throughout the trip, and the tack was in usable condition.
We headed out through this jungle track towards the beach way. It was nice that they had two guides with me for the ride, one in front and one behind. They were absolutely tiny though, as you can see from the photos, the ponies were probably only about 12 hands. Even my horse was slim built and shorter than average, but that is the natural shape of the Thai horses.
We continued along the track and ended up on the beach. There was some wonderful canters along the water. The beach was fairly quiet and the temperature was just right for a ride. I had my friend Aleena’s GoPro attached to my front with a sort of harness which I thought was pretty stable. She had lent it to me for the day trip and we had ‘tested’ it in the hotel room before I left, which involved me running back and forth across the hotel room pretending to be a horse so that we could make sure it wouldn’t fall off.
It was fantastic cantering up the beach, it was almost deserted and the horses seemed to love it. I have to say that I think my horse did start to get a bit tired at some points, and he was huffing and puffing by the end, which made me wonder about how fit they kept them, but to be fair the hot weather makes a big difference to how they are feeling as well.
You can see a few people fishing and throwing out nets in this photo.
As we were starting our journey back towards the stables, I suddenly realised that the GoPro was no longer there! I was just wearing an empty harness…We spent a short while riding up and down the beach, looking for any sign of the GoPro in the sand or water. Alas nothing. The guides were really kind and helped me look for it, I thought that I would have noticed it flying off and splashing into the sea, but maybe I was just having too much fun on the canters.
Riding back to the stables, we passed through another foresty area. The sun was starting to go down and it felt so magical, it was a stunning day.
We headed back to the stables along the road, and I wondered what I was going to say to Aleena when I got back to the hotel, without her GoPro which had some of the footage from our trip on it.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Phuket Riding Club, it is a real gem tucked away on a very clean and quiet beach. Suitable for beginners and up, my horse was polite and well behaved. However, do not expect a varied trek, as the main attraction is the long and quiet beach which is where the majority of the ride takes place. Nevertheless, it definitely offers a lot and you do get to pass through a little bit of different terrain (jungle/beach) and the experience is unforgettable. Additionally, the period at the beginning where you can warm up in the arena is useful and can help you feel a bit more confident before setting out.
Saying ขอบคุณ - ‘khop kun kha’, which is Thai for ‘thank you’.
On the way back to the resort in Phuket, I turned my mobile data on and found a shopping centre with an electronics store that was still open. It was getting dark and I think it was nearly 8pm. I asked the driver to stop there and made the quickest purchase of my life, of a new GoPro for my Aleena. It was definitely worth the trip but I have learnt my lesson when it comes to trying to record your ride!
Luckily, I did take a few videos on my phone, but as I mention in my other post, this is definitely not something I would recommend doing, even if you are a confident rider. I need to invest in a GoPro so that I can avoid doing this.
Overall, a really enjoyable trip. As mentioned before, some of the older reviews on TripAdvisor are negative, however for the past couple of years they have been getting consistently better, now mostly higher rated reviews. I am not sure why there has been an improvement, although I did note that they had changed location at some point, so may be related to that. One thing to note is that the Thai horses are quite slim built so if you are used to a solid cob type horse (like I am) then it can be a bit of a strange feeling, and although they are slim, they still retain good muscle bulk, but if you are slightly heavier you may feel a bit less supported than usual.
