Bring Your Own Horse on Holiday to Devon

Holwell is the most awesome place to come and enjoy a riding holiday from; even the horses can enjoy the same 5 star standards of accommodation and that is before you venture out into the stunning scenery of the area.

You can ride from any point of the compass from Holwell and not see another soul or hit a road all day.  Located between the famous landmarks of Hay Tor, Hound Tor and Widecombe in the Moor, the riding is unsurpassed.

Adjoining the farm is Holwell Lawn; a cross country course owned and managed by the South Devon Hunt Pony Club.  Please ask for a calendar of events for 2009.  The South Devon Foxhounds also meet in the area regularly and we can arrange hirelings from £60 a day.  There is usually a Lawn Meet at Holwell once a year which we can notify you of nearer the time.

Holwell Farm breeds pedigree and non pedigree Dartmoor Ponies and there is always a wide selection of ponies to buy - their temperaments make them ideal first ponies for children, excellent companions and efficient, low maintenance conservation graziers.  They start at just £100 for a non-pedigree handled youngster.

There are 12 spacious loose boxes located in a gated yard with tack and feed room.  We can supply straw for bedding and our own hay and hayledge; we suggest you bring your own hard feed.  There are numerous secure fields near the yard for turnout.

You will never suffer from lack of choice of where to ride to on Dartmoor.  If you are not bringing a horses but would still love to ride when you come to us we can arrange riding from Shilstone Rocks Stables in the village of Widecombe itself.

 Latest Testimonial ... June 2011

“We have just returned from the most amazing riding holiday at Holwell.  I was surfing the net looking for places to stay with horses on Dartmoor and as soon as I came across Holwell, I knew I just had to go!

Although we were really looking forward to our holiday and it all sounded so perfect, I was worried that it may not live up to our expectations.  I needn’t have worried.  Not only is Holwell a rider’s paradise but from the moment we arrived, we felt so welcome and Philippa and Sebastian were so accommodating to our needs, helping out in any way they could to make us as happy as possible.  I had a slow puncture and they sorted everything out for me, contacting the local garage and sorting it all out.

On arrival, our horses were put in a lovely field, right by the super smart stable yard with everything you could want.  We didn’t need the stables as it was summer and ours are living out but if you did want a stable, they are first class.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get better, our accommodation in Hay Tor was even better than it looks in the pictures on the web site and had everything you could possibly want; really comfortable beds, comfy sofas, well equipped kitchen and power showers, but the best bit was, as we are completely horse mad, the Stable Door (!) out on to the terrace, where we enjoyed breakfast and early evening drinks soaking up the incredible views and planning our ride for the next day.

If you are looking for a truly perfect riding holiday, then Holwell is the place to go.  The riding is unsurpassed and not hard to find your way around as the Tors help you keep your bearings.  We took a photocopy of the OS map which I had marked in advance (Philippa was very kind and helped us plan our routes) and we didn’t get lost once (mainly down to Lilli’s great map reading skills – I was in a trance most of the time, not believing we were actually doing this!).  

The best thing about the riding from Holwell is that there is such diversity, one minute you are on the Moor, then you are in magical woods, or along picturesque bridleways that seem to go on forever.  We took picnics on every ride and would have ridden all day, every day but we only took one horse each!  We rode at all different times of the day and wherever we went it was quiet, even on the very small stretches of Devon country lanes.  It was so peaceful.  It was perfect”.  POLLY &LILLI