Horse Riding in Pembrokeshire

There is a long tradition of horses in this county. The Preseli hills carry free-roaming ponies, the Welsh Cob has its roots in this part of Wales, and the lanes and bridleways were laid out for animals rather than cars.

For visitors the offer is mainly trekking centres: an hour or two on a quiet horse matched to your experience, with a guide in front. Two very different landscapes are available.

The beach ride is the one people book. Cantering along wet sand is exactly as good as it sounds, and centres near the big western beaches run them. The important caveat is access: horses are not automatically permitted on every beach, restrictions apply in the main summer season on the busiest beaches, and the rules differ between council beaches, National Trust land and the National Park. Centres know precisely which beaches they can use and when, which is a good reason to book one rather than turn up with your own horse and a hopeful attitude.

The hills are the other option, and arguably the better one. The Preseli uplands are open, ancient country — bluestone outcrops, Bronze Age cairns, and views that run from Snowdonia to the Gower on the right day. Trekking up there from around Crymych, Rosebush or Maenclochog is very quiet; you can ride for an hour and see nobody. Carn Ingli above Newport is the same idea on a smaller scale, with the estuary below you.

Inland from there, the wooded Gwaun valley and the bridleway network around Narberth give sheltered riding when the tops are in cloud.

A first hack is usually an hour, mostly walking, with some trotting if the group can manage it. Centres will ask your height, weight and honest experience level before they allocate a horse, and they mean it — the question is about safety and about the horse's back, not about judging you. A half-day trek or a beach ride assumes you can rise to the trot and stay balanced at canter.

You can ride here in any month. Summer gives the beaches and the long evenings; autumn and spring give firmer going in the hills and far fewer people; winter riding happens but the ground gets heavy and the days are short. Beach rides are often easier to book outside the peak weeks precisely because of the seasonal restrictions.

What catches people out: the clothes. Jeans with a thick inside seam will rub raw over an hour, and walking boots with aggressive tread are the wrong footwear. Take a smooth-soled boot with a small heel. Second, the roads — almost every ride includes some lane work, the hedgebanks are high, and the sightlines are terrible. Third, how physical an hour of riding is if you have not done it for a decade; you will find muscles you had forgotten about, and you will find them the next morning rather than at the time.

Book ahead. Good centres are small, and the popular slots go early in the school holidays.