Adelante Abroad - Equine Summer Program in Scotland

This program was very structured and offered a lot to students. We spent a good deal of time interacting with horses. Many of the Anatomy lessons were hands on using the horses to learn where muscles, bones, etc. were placed. The weekends were spent at different locations throughout Scotland. The instructors were very friendly and incredibly helpful. We rode 2 or 3 days a week. I would have liked to have ridden more and the food left much to be desired. Overall, I definitely recommend this program to any horse enthusiast.

Critical Feedback:

Adelante needs to communicate more with SRUC and both entities need to communicate more with students. The food was pretty sub par and I would like a real shower.

Trip was great with a awesome staff and excellent planning for the weekends. Lots of encouragement to try things and experience Scotland. The various locations like the castle, the different loch, and all the celebrations that occurred while we were here made it so much better. Definitely not the last time in Scotland.

Critical Feedback:

It was sad that the sports center was closed cause our evenings were a little quiet, and taking a taxi to go to other places was expensive.

This program was excellent. The staff was very supportive and often drove us wherever we wanted to go. We went out quite a bit, and got to see a lot of Scotland. The courses were simple yet informative and the riding was fantastic. I would goose this program again in a heartbeat.

Critical Feedback:

I wish the courses had been more challenging.

I have to say, that this experience was one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I loved Scotland, and all of the people I met there. The equine classes were both very interesting and could be challenging at times. I feel like I learned a lot from this experience. The riding instruction was wonderful, though I wish I had been better prepared for it regarding appropriate attire. If you plan on going on this trip keep in mind that they do not allow you to wear clothes with hoods when working with horses, and you will want something warm to wear. I would also recommend half-chaps to keep from the saddle pinching your calves. The lessons themselves were wonderful; I felt like we each got individual advice even though we were in fairly large groups. If you love horses, then I would recommend this program for you. If you are not fond of rainy, cold weather, don't go to Scotland. Of course, once you get used to it, it's no big deal. ;)

Lots of fun activities for every one to do. The internet was not very great and we had Skype for a week before it was turned off even though we were told we could use it as a form of communication. The staff was very nice.

Scotland was such an amazing experience in many ways. The staff and faculty at Oatridge College were fantastic. Sharon and Louise, the teachers, were rich with knowledge and always willing to go the extra step for us. Sharon's anatomy class was indeed more of a review, but a well needed one. I have had more experience with physiology than anatomy so I had to step it up and learn some bones and muscles. Louise's fitness class was nothing like I have ever taken in the States, and it was very interesting. I had never put much thought into what goes in to getting a horse fit until this class, but now it will never leave me. Our riding instructors, Liz and Gillian, were phenomenal. Always willing to accommodate our riding styles and levels, they truly made it a great experience.

The housing at Oatridge is a bit outdated, but all in all was perfectly fine. You have your own room and bathroom, which can come in handy when you need to escape your fellow students. We had a bit of a problem with the water heater, but it got fixed quickly once the staff was notified.

Our only real issue with Oatridge was the internet. It kept blocking facebook and Skype, our two main modes of communication with family and friends back home. They "fixed" it several times, but it kept getting blocked again and again. It was not a huge inconvenience, but I would not call it reliable at any rate.

While Oatridge College was amazing, the company that organized the program, Adelante, was not. Prior to even leaving the States, I received multiple e-mails addressed to the wrong people. When I was called for my pre-departure orientation, they called an hour later than the specified time which resulted in me being late to work. My e-mail address was copied down wrong, so I was not put on the Adelante blog site until I e-mailed enquiring about it. Communication on the Adelante side was definitely lacking. Upon arriving in Scotland, Adelante had apparently set up a pick up time for us (a group of about 8 students) but failed to tell any of us. We ended up waiting at the airport, in a foreign country, for two hours before we were picked up. While waiting we attempted to call the phone numbers given to us by Adelante, but all were proven to be invalid. We even had some nice Scottish people making sure we were entering the phone numbers correctly. Also, I don't know if anyone from Adelante has even been to Scotland. They told us in our orientation packet that everyone wore black and dull colors, which is absolutely not true. Also, I feel like Adelante did not communicate very well with Oatridge (or anyone in general) When we went to ride we were told we weren't really supposed to wear jackets with hoods, and they had expected us to come with nicer riding attire (polo shirts and nice breeches). If we had been notified of this before, it wouldn't have been an issue. Even though we were not fully prepared, the staff at Oatridge was extremely accommodating and understanding of our situation.

Oatridge College was amazing, but I suggest they find another travel company to work with. I certainly will not book another abroad experience if Adelante is involved.

----Response from Adelante----
Thank you for your review and comments and for giving this program a 90% rating. Without Adelante this program would not exist - we created it!! Regarding pickup from the airport - Adelante was very clear that two buses were coming to pick up 16 people, all arriving at different times and that some of you may have to wait while others would have someone waiting for them. No specific time was given as students were arriving throughout the day. Edinburgh is a small, safe airport so it was a suitable place to wait for the bus to arrive. The phone number for Oatridge College on the Final Itinerary was correct. We value the feedback we receive and will update our Pre-Departure Packet with some of the details you gave about clothing.