Well ... it is that time of the year again ... Christmas is coming and the New Year almost upon us.

Thanks to you all, we have had an extremely busy year, despite the dreadful, ongoing poor economic climate. This was the hottest summer here since records began but still so many of you braved the heat and came to ride ... some enjoying the shade of the pine trees while riding out towards the beach area or through the Ludo Valley.

We were lucky to have such a great team .at Pinetrees ... with Kate, Christian and Neide being joined by a number of happy, hard working students from all over Europe ... England, Scotland, Germany, Holland and Austria. We are sure that you would all agree that they helped to make your riding experience even more enjoyable and relaxing.

For those bigger and taller riders among you, you will be please to read all about our new horse, Bordeaux who came to us in October and is proving to be a great ride out.

We are lucky enough to be enjoying warm weather still ... even though we did have some terrible storms earlier in the month. So if you want to escape the cold, wet and windy weather in your part of the world, read
all about our Winter Breaks further down in this letter.

Following the busy summer came the calmness of the autumn which allowed us to organise a few trips out for friends, clients and colleagues.

Arte Equestre, Lisbon
On 5 November a group set off to Lisbon to see with the three Schools of Equestrian Art...Cadre Noir de Saumur -École Nationale (France), the Real Escuela Andaluza Del Arte Equestre (Spain ) and our Portuguese School of Equestrian Art at the Campo Pequeno.

We made a night of it by starting with dinner at the Jockey Club in Lisbon. The club is situated in the middle of Lisbon with stabling for some 200/3000 horses, mostly quality show jumpers. Many international competitions are held here and the restaurant is a favourite port of call when we are visiting the city. On this occasion they provided a super 3 course meal for a special price of €20, they looked after us extremely well and even presented the ladies in our group with a red rose on leaving!

The show was fantastic with horses from these three marvellous schools performing acts which you would not believe ... a real spectacle and one that we will all remember for a very long time!

Golegã ... The town of the horse

Later in the month, we took a three day trip to Golegã, the town of the horse, in Northern Portugal. Every year, around 11/12 November, the town hosts a Festival to commemorate São Martino, with lots of eating of chestnuts, drink wine and lots of merrymaking. But, the main event is the parades or horses throughout the town, with riders of all ages, many dressed in traditional costume, riding around the streets and in the main arena. There are also many horse competitions with dressage, jumping and carriage driving, and the working equitation... all of which demonstrate the beauty of Portuguese horse.

Perhaps you would like to join us next year if you are in Portugal!

SICAB, Seville

Finally, at the end of November, we went off for a day in Seville, to catch some of the city´s magnificent sights, do a bit of shopping and visit SICAB 2011.

We left early in the morning so that we could arrive in Seville in good time to be able to visit the amzing Cathedral and walk through the old Town before lunching in one of the many city Parks. We then visited the Plaza de España. And went on to SICAB ... the third most important social-economic event held in Seville, with more than 240,000 visitors. SICAB is dedicated exclusively to the Purebred Spanish Horse and demonstrating the versatility of the horses, through dressage, Doma Vaquera, carriage driving, etc.

Scarlett and Anna came to us at the beginning of September as work experience students and will stay with us for six months. Although from different backgrounds, Scarlett is English and Anna, Austrian, they have arleady become good friends and work extremely well together. They are both riders and have their own horses but have improved their skills immensely since they starting riding at Pinetrees.
As well as working hard at the stables, they are receiving riding training and have just passed the Sela 4 exams in Loulé.

We have just had a visit by two ladies from the Borders College near Edinburgh, Alison Robertson and Judy Morris, to assesses us for participation in a Leonardo DaVinci Mobility project which will be coordinated by the college.

The objective of the programme is to provide a transnational work placement to broaden the student experience, including skills development, and to enable them to gain a greater understanding of different work practices in other European
countries.

WINTER BREAKS

Why not think about taking a winter break and come and ride in a beautiful location in the warm winter sun.
Enjoy relaxed hacks out through the pinewoods to the sea or improve your riding techniques in our school. We have horses to suit all shapes, sizes and abilities ... from Lusitano schoolmasters to friendly ponies. Home cooking, Portuguese wines and a friendly team. You will be amazed how much you can achieve in just a weekend! And all for under €500. For further information, just call Beverley on 00351 289 394 369 or email at pinetrees.riding@world.net.pt

BORDEAUX

As we said at the beginning of this newsletter, we now have a new horse, particurly good for our bigger and taller riders.

Bordeaux is a 6 year old grey, Shire cross Sport horse.... still entire ...for the moment! He is a good 16 h.h. and has a great temperment and is already proving to be a good ride, especially when ridden out.

Well that´s all for now ... except to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.