With over three decades of experience, Offbeat Riding Safaris remains an established name in Kenyan horseback safaris, known for fast-paced, big-game riding across the Masai Mara and Laikipia. These are proper point-to-point journeys, covering up to 200 kilometres a week, where riders can gallop alongside wildebeest and zebra before finding themselves, moments later, within close range of lion, elephant, and buffalo. Groups are deliberately small—typically no more than a dozen experienced riders—allowing for a responsive style of guiding that follows wildlife rather than a fixed route.
A mobile camp moves ahead of the group, ready each evening—in Laikipia, Sosian Lodge offers a different pace, with over 30 well-schooled horses and the option of shorter rides and overnight fly camps, making it one of the few operations able to accommodate mixed groups while maintaining a serious standard of riding.
Conservation is built into the structure of the experience. Around $200 per guest, per day, from their mobile safaris is channelled into conservancy fees, protecting key habitats from agricultural encroachment, often by providing local landowners with an alternative source of income. At Sosian, additional contributions go towards everything from women’s health programs and local clinics to teacher salaries and school scholarships.
Horizon Horseback
Photo: Courtesy of Horizon Horseback
Operating across South Africa and Botswana, Horizon Horseback offers one of the most adaptable riding portfolios on the continent, with a rare ability to cater to both first-time riders and those looking for something faster, longer, and more technically demanding. Their Signature Safari in South Africa’s Waterberg is built around flexibility, with riders grouped by ability and days shaped accordingly—whether that means relaxed bush rides along sandy tracks or extended canters, swimming with horses, and polocrosse sessions woven into the week.
At the other end of the spectrum, their Tuli Safari in Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve is an exceptionally exhilarating ride: a seven-night journey covering more than 200 kilometres between a series of camps, on bush-wise horses that are as comfortable among wildlife as they are at speed. With resident game year-round, encounters with elephants, giraffes, and predators are consistent, and the riding—fast, varied, and often across wide, open terrain—matches it.
