Our Volunteer Program
We are a horse farm situated in the heart of the Winelands, just 50 minutes from Cape Town. We have over 60 horses, including some retired ones, livery horses, foals, and yearlings.
We have a vast variety of horses on the farm, we respect their personalities and try to adapt what we ask of them to it. It means that there will be calm and relaxed horses for beginners as well as feisty and fast ones for advanced riders. As we also breed our own horses there are always a couple of youngsters that just start working (we only start really working with them after they turn 5-6 years old.)
We offer a unique opportunity to join our team for the period of 2-12 weeks and participate in our paid volunteer program. Learn the workings of a horse farm while also exploring the Western Cape!
To learn about the prices please write us a message!
What you will learn
- What it feels like to have a busy horse farm with 60+ horses. You will learn what farm work is all about and what care the horses need and receive every day.
- How to individually care for each horse, including choosing what work it does, how and which food it gets etc.
- Administering medicines to the horses in all possible ways.
- If you are lucky, you can also be there for the birth of new foals and you can learn how to care for them.
- How to adapt your riding style to a variety of horses each with their own temperament. It improves your riding skills drastically and helps you gain a lot of confidence.
- Riding outside with cars, farm machinery, people etc around. Also includes (only if you are up for it) running really fast and enjoying it together with the horse as we do not push them, and they run only if they want it and we allow it.
- Special way of dealing with horses on the ground based on respect for their characters and their natural habits.
- How to lead rides with total beginners as well as other types of riders, keep calm in all the circumstances, support, and care for people. It is a unique possibility that will help you with any job in the future that includes dealing with people. You will get more confident not only in riding but also in people skills.
- Work independently and take responsibility.
- Meet new people and make friends.
- Care for yourself – get independent.
- You will get to know South Africa, which is a unique country with rich history.
What should volunteers be prepared for?
- Working 6 days a week: 7:30-10:00 and 15:00-17:00.
- 1 day off a week, when you can either go explore on your own or join our 1 group activity provided. What this activity will be depends on the majority of the volunteers staying at that time.
- We are a big farm, which means a lot of horses and quite a bit of work involving the day-to-day care (feeding, treating the sick ones, work with foals etc).
- Helping with outrides. You are free to choose how you spend the middle of your day. You can help us with outrides, joining them as back up riders, untacking after etc. Or you can go explore the area, chill by the pool or jus enjoy interacting with horses. Please note that our high season is December-March and during this time we have lots of outrides and it does get very busy.
- If you stay longer than 4 weeks, you are encouraged to lead your own rides after you’ve gained your confidence and learnt the routes.
- You are also always welcome to school young or new horses in the arena if you are able to. Also groundwork would help us a lot as we have lots of youngsters on the farm.
- Living on a farm with lots of animals around.
We do not have set times for outrides and we do accept last minute bookings so no day is exactly like the other one. We are always there to help and guide and teach you the ropes.
What does free time look like?
- A volunteer work day is 7:30-10:00 and then 15:00-17:00. These times are mainly allocated to feeding and grooming of the horses.
- You have all the middle of the day and 1 full day off every week. Only at our location you have the possibility to Uber to the best places around Cape Town. You can go and explore the city or just drive to one of the wine farms in the area and chill there. You will never be bored and will have a choice between city life and farm life.
- 1 day off a week is always reserved for an activity (from the list we offer). We will provide transfers and ideas and will support you. For stays of more than 4 weeks there are a lot of guided activities included as well. If you stay for less than 4 weeks but the long stay volunteers have their activity while you are there, of course you’ll be welcome to join.
- We go out quite often for dinners, as we have lots of restaurants in the area.
- We also have fires and braais that we can comfortably sit by in the evenings.
- For hot months our favourite spot is a plunge pool with a view of the sunset – best way to relax after work. Also swimming with the horses is always a possibility and a lot of fun!
- You will have an opportunity to join at least 1 full day ride with winetasting and lunch at one of the best wine farms in the area. Doing it on horseback is unique and the best way!
Weekly activities
As a volunteer you can choose from 1 activity per week (the project staff will organize the excursion and show you around, but if you choose to enter national parks etc, you will need to pay an entry fee):
- Cape Point Drive: Cape Point, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Penguins at Boulder Beach, Simons Town, Kalk Bay, Muizenberg (available for stays of 4 weeks or more) – it’s our absolute favourite road trip.
- Table Mountain hike: the best not known to tourists hike up combined with the visit to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – unforgettable.
- Franschhoek Wine tram: visiting up to 6 wine farms in a day – for the tough hearted.
- Beach ride (fee for the ride payable, free for volunteers staying for more than 4 weeks) – also can be combined with a small safari ride.
- Cape Town day: explore the city and maybe even hike up the Lion’s head on sunset – the best views ever guaranteed.
- Tour to the Aquila Safari Resort (for stays of more than 4 weeks) – see the wild animals of South Africa in their natural habitat!
There are lots of other options: Cape Canopy Zip Line Tour, Segway tour in Stellenbosch, Cheetah experience in Wellington and others.
You’ll never get bored with us.
Accommodation
The volunteers have their own headquarters right next to the stables. You’ll have a twin room, a shared bathroom and kitchen, as well as a lounge area.
You also have an outside “coffee shop” where you can sit and enjoy the view of the horses and mountains.
Meals: meals are self-catered, but we are always there to drive you to the shops.
Facilities available: there is WiFi, a washing machine, lounge area, television. We also have a plunge pool to chill at in summer.
A typical day for a volunteer
All days are different as they depend on what rides we have that day etc, but this is an average summer day:
- 7:30 start work by feeding the horses. It involves bringing some horses from the field to eat, feeding horses in the stables etc. Then groom the horses in the stables (there are 13 of them) and take them out to the fields.
- 8:30 – 9:00 After the morning routine you’ll usually start preparing horses for the rides. If time allows there is a coffee break before. You will bring them up from the fields, groom and tack up.
- After 9:00 are the rides. There are different rides for guests: 1,2,3 hrs, wine-tasting, full day rides. Volunteers usually have a say in which rides they want to join. If you are confident enough, you can also lead some short rides.
- 10:00-15:00 You free time. You are welcome to join outrides, work with horses or just do your own thing.
- 15:00 – Afternoon routine, feeding the horses, bringing them in, grooming the stabled horses, dishing out feeds for the morning. Or doing the rides.
- 17:00-18:00 End of the day.
Internship Program
Cape Winelands Riding offers an internship for experienced riders who are willing to learn and work with horses and people, and can commit to 10 weeks or more.
There are no fees and we provide accommodation and transfers. You are expected to work full time as a guide (do what you are capable of), help with caring for volunteers etc.
This program is only available after a video interview. To apply, please contact us on info@tsptravel.com and tell us a bit about yourself and your experience. Thereafter we will schedule a live video interview.
