Gaz, not sure if this will help but, if you scroll down to horse riding there is a phone number in panaji, they maybe able to point you in the right direction LOOK HERE

merged to a thread which should help I've certainly heard of the horse riding at Peace Valley

I have seen horses in Goa, but only from the bus on the way into Margao it looked like were being used to pull carts and not very healthy! Other than that none at all, but would be interested in trecking as OH is v horsey (just finished mucking out)
Al

Thanks for that Guys I will phone the gymkhana at Panjim and see where that gets us
Gaz

There are still horses at Peace Valley and they are indeed imported from Rajasthan - as is the lad who looks after them.

They have a stallion and at least two mares and a foal.

I had a day riding with them through the hills around Quepem last week - an interesting experience.

They've had the horses for some years but they don't get a lot of use by the residents of the Peace Valley development as far as I could ascertain - mostly short outings near the complex. The day long ride I went on was something of an experiment I think.

The horses were rather skittish at first (especially the stallion), the tack not in the best of condition and being asked to mount up outside reception on a (steep) tarmac road wasn't the best way to start a ride!

They ride Western style though not with Western saddles. My horse responded well to being ridden in the English style and once the nerves were overcome and I got used to her skittish behaviour, she proved to be a good ride. The riding instructor/groom was there at all times.

No hard hats were provided so you need to be competent and aware of the clauses in your travel insurance.

Much of the time we walked but had plenty of trotting and cantering as well.

We rode for a couple of hours then rested the horses for an hour or more whilst food was ferried out to us in a 4x4. We then rode back to Peace Valley including a section on a public road - which was a nerve wracking experience given Indian drivers use of the horn!

The route largely followed the water pipeline from the Selaulim Dam.

By the end I was in tune with my horse and thoroughly enjoyed the trip though was pretty tired at the end (being a fairly new occasional rider). The horses did well too when you think the temperatures were in the mid nineties.

It seems the new sales manager at the Peace Valley complex is looking to promote horse riding there. The package we got was amazing value for money, including transport in an a/c jeep from North Goa and back again afterwards.
There is potential there though, but as I explained to them, they need to improve the way guests are received and introduced to the horses, and supply hard hats for those who want them. As things stand, it's not a trip for inexperienced or nervous riders but that could be remedied.

I'm glad I went and did the ride through an area of Goa that few people see. it certainly gave pause for thought at one point on rounding a corner to be told by my guide that he'd encountered a "small tiger" at that point on a previous occasion - not a riding hazard encountered in the UK!

Horses are indeed a rarity in the Goa - my guide explained that when mystified local people ask him what animal he's riding, he finds it easiest to tell them it's an American cow!