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Clients Write
Recent Letters
"Just a note to say we miss being at Morgado. It was
such a wonderful vacation, you took such good care of us. We are telling
everybody we know about Morgado and be sure, we will be back….miss
riding those wonderful horses, please give a kiss to Zanzibar and Que
Fito….my favorites, but don’t tell the other horses" N.Larsen
3/2011
"Just wanted to say a huge thank you for you and the rest of the team at
Morgado for our recent visit. Jo and Imogen had the holiday of a
lifetime! (as did I)."
A. Gibson 3/2011
"Je tiens a vous remercier de l'excellent accueil que vous m'avez
temoigner, lors de mon passage dans votre proprieté fin fevrier.
L'harmonie de ce lieu, et l'ambiance transmise par la presence de Paulo
Sergio, nous donne envie d'apprendre et surtout
de revenir." D.
Chezeaux 3/2011
"I hope you are well and that the weather is warmer than when we were
there! Susan and I really enjoyed our week at Morgado in February. I
thought you might enjoy some photos I took while we were there. Thanks
for your great hospitality."
J. La bella 2/11
"Thank you for a wonderful stay at Morgado. You wer all so kind to me,
and took excellent care of me. Everything, from the accommodation,
food, wine and of course the horses were perfect. It is funny to look at
the
pictures Petra took at my first riding lesson and at my last lesson –
you can actually see that I have improved and learned a lot. I did
not get the opportunity to say thanks and goodbye to Marie and Julia –
could you please do that for me? Having lessons with both Rodrigo and
Marie made everything much clearer, and way much easier to put thing
into action. Give my best to everyone. I will be back."
T. Hegerstrom
2/2011
I have no idea how to say thank you, not
just to you but to everyone - the students, Daisy and her helpers,
whoever cleaned my room (ghost? I never saw anyone doing it!), all the
other guests all the beautiful and patient horses, and of course Rodrigo
and the owners of Morgado for providing such a wonderful venue for us to
enjoy. I really don't have the right words to express how much I enjoyed
myself nor to say how much I learned. It truly was a perfect holiday,
where the most arduous thing I did for a week was walk back up the hill
from the indoor school. I was able to see how to change the way I ride
and to experience a totally different feeling as a result. My poor
horse! He has lots to undo and lots to redo hopefully better!
Your organization appears effortless and I am so grateful especially to
you for your kindness and help - beyond the call of duty at 1 o'clock in
the morning. With your warm welcome to Morgado's guests it would be hard
not to arrive looking forward to having a good time. Without a doubt I
shall be asking to come back probably in the spring for
another week. Until then, thank you so much to the entire team but
especially to you and Rodrigo. You all made my time at Morgado very
special and I look forward so much to coming again.
Very best wishes (from sunny! North Wales)
Mo 12/10
Thank you so much for everything in last
week. The three days that we spent there were so nice. The horses,
of course, were beautiful and very very nice to ride and the
teaching was good. What was most important to me was the service
and food and both were very very good!
My friend appreciated that they were relaxed after that holiday. Ok, we
are now back to Finland (its so cold here now -4), and we already
waiting for our next holiday in Morgado.
S Mustonen 6/10
Dear Morgado,
I wanted to let you know that we had
an amazing time at during our stay. What a wonderful experience. We learned so
much and thoroughly enjoyed the people, the place
and of course the horses. Morgado offers a truly unique experience to ride incredibly
well trained, sensitive and generous school-masters. With the expert
guidance and encouragement from Rodrigo and Charlotte we learned so
much and was given the rare opportunity to feel how things should be,
when they are done correctly. I felt incredibly privileged to ride
these fine Lusitanos and was able to transfer much of what I felt to
my riding at home. Also, the staff at Morgado is incredibly kind and
attentive. No wonder that they have so many clients who return time
after time. We hope to do the same.
Susan
W. 11/2007
Dear Morgado,
My recent trip to Portugal was nothing short of AMAZING! The experience
I had at Morgado Lusitano was both exciting and exhilarating. The
Lusitano stallions are absolutely magnificent and s-o-o-o beautiful. It
was an absolute thrill of a lifetime and an honor to ride astride this
exquisite breed and receive top-notch quality instruction. I loved
all the horses I rode at Morgado and learned important lessons from each
one. My rides on Hercules felt magical, and almost put me into a
dreamlike state. Morgado Lusitano was a joyful and fun experience and in
just six short days, I felt I was becoming a softer and more elegant
rider. I can also honestly state that I have never been anywhere,
in all my travels, that is so accommodating to the clients. Everyone I
encountered was just great. I also thoroughly enjoyed the old world
European charm and accommodations at Morgado.
Thank You All!
Karen
S. New Hampshire 10/2007
Dear Morgado,
Just to say a big thank you for such a wonderful weekend at Morgado. The
facilities/horses absolutely superb. Your hospitality, the atmosphere
warm and friendly, the ambience of the lovely old house, comfortable,
tastefully furnished rooms, and every attention to detail for guests-
fantastic!
In Rodrigo and Charlotte, you have two lovely people who believe 200% in
what you are doing. Rodrigo's quiet and stylish riding, his position as
a rider with the Escola, and Charlotte having had such good training
with Luis Valenca, you are fortunate indeed to have them, but they know
they are equally fortunate to have the opportunity to bring Morgado to
it's rightful place as probably the leading classical training facility
for visiting riders, anywhere in Europe. I have been looking for a long
time, and haven't found anywhere that comes close.
I wish you every success in this very ambitious project, and will
recommend it very highly.
With all best wishes,
Heather M.
England, 5/2007
Dear Morgado,
Superlatives aren't enough! I cannot think of enough good things
to say about Morgado Lusitano. I loved everything about it and
will be back with my friends in tow. Thanks for everything,.
It was all you said and more. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Sue W.
Washington 3/2007
Dear Morgado,
I wanted to let you know that I
survived myself!! Morgado was absolutely wonderful and was the most
perfect way for me to reenter the living world. I had gotten into
such a state of worry about going, riding, etc. how silly...what a
terrific place for relatively inexperienced riders and much more
talented folks. The horses were excellent, the staff incredible,
ambiance very sympatico, and the training was great. Rodrigo and
Charlotte are really good complements to each other. Their styles of
teaching completely different - where Charlotte is more cautious and
detailed, Rodrigo is firm but also willing to push you slightly outside
your comfort zone so you can experience more classical movements. He has
the patience of a saint as do the horses who mostly give you gifts and
pack you well. He also was very attentive to my level of energy and knew
before I did, that perhaps I should take a break for a few. Loved it!
This whole trip has given me impetus to really get in good physical
condition, work harder at understanding lateral movement....ok, and
learn my left from my right....so I can return.
Thanks again for your help in organizing this!
Carolyn Q.
6/2006
Dear
Morgado,
Please forward my congratulations to your manager Joao. He has put
together an excellent team at Morgado. Everyone was extremely helpful
and pleasant - from the gentle Ricardo, talented Miquel, hard working
students Vanessa and Rhea, and the focused and professional instructors,
Isabelle and Rodrigo. Joseph's enthusiasm and excellent web site got us
involved in the first place. And Ana you were always there for us and
your generosity and attention were beyond the call of duty. Having
someone like you on staff provides the client with a level of personal
service and security that makes the Morgado experience so wonderful. We
were also very impressed by the excellent food served at the restaurant.
We didn't expect gourmet food on top of everything else!
The horses, of course, were amazing. Under the kind instruction of
Rodrigo I got to experience dressage moves (passage and two tempi
changes) that my young mare at home will take years to do. It was very
thrilling and I feel I have a better base for schooling my horse. I hope
to return to Morgado in the future and in the meantime I will promote
the facility amongst the equestrian community here.
Thank you again for providing Pat and I with a unique and wonderful
riding experience.
Marcia
G, Canada 11/2005
Dear Morgado,
Now that I've had time to savor my week at Morgado, I can say that was
completely marvelous. The horses
were amazing ( I rotated between 6 different stallions): it was the
thrill of my life to experience advanced movements like passage and
piaffe from the masters! Rodrigo is a kind, patient and
enthusiastic instructor, and I really benefited from his ever-present
attitude that I should and could expect more from both the horses and
myself! The food was tasty and the lodging beautiful and restful.
Ana Teresa was a hard-working and creative guide. It was a
glorious retreat, over all and I am already starting to scheme ways of
returning. Please see enclosed photo of myself, my husband Jon, and the
wonderful Regente.
Sincerely,
Jenny S-B,
California 11-2005
Dear Morgado,
After many years of learning basics with one instructor and a tiny taste
of upper level work here and there, I
decided to visit Morgado Lusitano. The wonderful logical
instruction, and beautifully trained horses allowed me to finally begin
to learn flying changes and passage. The experience at
Morgado helped me to become much stronger and more consistent. The
vacation provided me with a much better understanding of what's
happening intellectually, its all starting to come together. My
friend Sheryl who accompanied me, came from a western style riding
background. She received a terrific grounding in the principles
and feels of classical riding, and has been inspired to continue with
the work. The people of Morgado Lusitano, the horses, and the
delicious meals were all wonderful. I plan to return. Hope you are doing
well, again thank you for the experience at Morgado.
Cheers,
Paula
Z, California, 8/2005
Dear Morgado,
Just wanted to thank you for helping me to arrange the trip for my
students to Morgado. Everyone had a terrific time. The facilities
are great, the people are lovely, and the instructors are
excellent. I worked in hand on the ground with Rodrigo with one of
the young horses, and I learned an enormous amount of techniques which I
have been able to use immediately with my horses at home with positive
results. All of my students who went with me came home chomping at
the bit to get into working their own horses more seriously. All
were ready to jump to the next level of horsemanship. They all
want to go back again and are willing to work to improving themselves so
they will be able to go back and move along further next time. The
new facilities are going to be fantastic. I wish them a lot of luck with
that endeavor. Ana-Teresa is a wonderful gal. She went way out of
her way to see that everyone was happy, and that we got to see a lot of
different things while we were there. All in all I would rate this
facility as a five star establishment. Thanks again for helping
steer me in this direction..
Regards,
Gail
H. New York 5/2005
Dear Morgado,
THANK YOU for such a very, very wonderful time at Morgado. It was such a
joy to meet all of you and to
experience
the horses of Morgado and all of the lovely traditions you uphold there.
The riding was a great learning experience! Where can you go to
have the opportunity to learn from such beautifully trained, exceptional horses with the help
of such classically correct and very patient instructors? It was a
lifetime dreamed fulfilled but now it can be built upon! I hope
very much to visit you again, next time in your new and gorgeous home!
It is so exciting to be a part of the dream for the future of Morgado.
David and I were so honored that you wanted to show us the new home!
Our fingers are crossed that things move forward swiftly!
Thank you so much for your warm hospitality, for making us feel so
welcome, and for helping to make our first (of many, we hope) trips to
Portugal a DREAM! Hope you can open this photo of the sweet and
handsome Senhor!
Our warmest regards,
David and
Naomi P. Florida 4/2005
Dear
Morgado,
Thank you again for your sincere and attentive care
of us during our stay at Morgado Lusitano last week.
We have arrived home after MANY hours of travel, and are enjoying a
beautiful, sunny, but windy day in
Florida. Please convey to the staff, the riders and instructors
again my sincere thanks and praise for their
patience and kind instruction...and if the horses could understand, to
them as well.
Portugal is a lovely, friendly country with a proud and
impressive history. The horses were certainly
well trained and taught me more than I could have learned here in the
states in the same amount of time.
Add to that the experience of travel and my husband's ability to play
golf in another setting and you have
the perfect vacation.
I have already started to talk to my fellow riders about
making a rider -only pilgrimage back to Lisbon as soon
as we can justify that much time off and organize the trip.
Linda
K. Florida 3/2005
We recently completed a visit from a client from Canada and this was what she wrote before and
after her visit. Her e
is here request for information.
Dear Morgado,
I am considering coming to Portugal in the first two weeks of
November. My husband is going to Portugal on a golf trip and
suggested I join him and find a riding school to take lessons at while
he is golfing. We arrive in Lisbon and are booked initially at the Hotel
Munial. I'll confirm the address when I have it. Can you pick us up
there? I would like to start my stay with you early the next day, which could give me time to unpack and settle in a bit before the first lesson. Also, I may have a friend joining me. She is checking if her travel points can pay for her flight and the stay with you perhaps. Could she and I share a room? May I describe my riding to you so I am assigned a suitable horse? Firstly, I am very tall so need a saddle with long stirrups and perhaps one of the bigger horses. I have been riding dressage most of my life (I'm 52 years now) and trained my recent Hanoverian
gelding to do tempi changes up to twos, half passes, reasonable pirouettes and a little passage. The piaffe was only a modest beginning and the tempi changes every stride didn't get very far! I would LOVE to have the chance to feel the one time tempis, the piaffe and a good passage and pirouettes if possible, and have some training in the aids in and out of these movements.
I studied dressage with Deitrich von Hopfgarten, mainly, and several other clinicians including Col Christian Carde from Saumur. I have also studied many books, on your list and others, and have studied Centered Riding and Alexander Technique. I teach riding on a part time basis, don't go to shows, just enjoy and love riding and training. I'm starting on a 5 year old Oldenburg and hope to make less mistakes than I did on the last one!! If there is any other information you need at the moment
please let me know.
Our flights are booked and I am really looking forward to my visit to your farm!
Sincerely, Kathy J.
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Subject: Thanks!
Dear Morgado,
Just want to thank you again for such a wonderful experience at Morgado. You were so very kind and helpful....we felt completely at home and welcome. It was a
real privilege to be your only guests and to have an intensive riding and watching experience with someone so talented as Rodrigo. He and the staff were such a
pleasure to be around. He was patient, yet firm in his approach and Ruth and I both felt we learned a lot with him. I hope you take time to care for yourself, as I think you give your all to everyone else! Best regards from Victoria and again thanks for a
memorable experience!
Kathy J.
Canada
11/2004
PS I miss all the lovely fish dishes and the Morgado special sauce!
Dear Morgado,
I am having a wonderful time here at Morgado Lusitano. Beautiful
horses to ride, a country full of history, culture, friendly people,
flying changes and a never ending stream of red wine! What more
could one want from life?! Talk to you soon.
Sabine
C. California,
October 2004
Dear Morgado,
I just returned from three weeks at Morgado and upon reviewing your
website I want to tell you not to change a thing! I had a great
time and look forward to learning from Rodrigo again soon.
Darlena
L. Guatemala
Dear Morgado,
My experience at Morgado was to put it quite simply.... my best travel
experience to date. I would go back there in a minute. The people
(Anna Teresa, Joao, Rodrigo and ALL the staff at Morgado) were amazing.
They made us feel right at home like part of the extended family.
The riding experience was everything I had anticipated and then some. I
was able to ride upper level movements never attempted before such as
tempis, piaffe and passage. It was like a dream come true!!! The horses
(especially Hercules) were fabulous.
The food and the lodging were also superb. I can't wait to go back. It
was everything you said it would be. Portugal is a definite hidden
treasure. Thank-you soo much!!!!!
Lisa
D. Canada
Dear Morgado,
It was nice to hear from you yesterday. Yes, I had a wonderful time. The
staff was so warm and friendly, and extremely helpful. Ana Teresa meet
us as we arrived and took us out for dinner, and told us all the things
one would want to know. She made sure we had great meals, and were
entertained each day. Bill and I enjoyed where we stayed. Our hostess
was friendly and very happy to serve us breakfast when ever we wanted.
My husband enjoyed the pool and the highlight of his day was walking down for
lunch at the restaurant.
Of course the riding for me was the highlight of my stay. Even though I
truly did enjoy the wonderful lunches. In fact, the food at Morgado was
the best food we found all over Portugal, and we ate in Posadas most of
the time. I had all the riding I could handle. I did have my two lessons
a day, and was offered any horse I wanted to ride, which of course I
took advantage of.
The horses were all very well trained, and I was able to do FEI work on
many of the older ones, and practice training methods on the younger
ones. My next horse will definitely be a Lusitano, as I found that they
are so easy to ride, so smart, so gentle, and so beautiful!
In short, my Morgado trip was every bit all that was advertised, and
more. I would surely recommend the adventure to anyone, serious or
casual horseman, as well as anyone who is not riding, there are scores
of things to do during the week.
I hope this helps give you some information to use for the web page. Let
me know if you ever have Rodrigo over to your place, I'd love to drive
up and participate in an event.
Sharon
M. California
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RideinPortugal.com Last modified:
November 06, 2014
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