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Ghana — The Next Frontier for Horse Travel in Africa

Ghana — The Next Frontier for Horse Travel in Africa

By Marie, Founder of Horse Riding XP Ghana


If you have been searching for the next great horse travel destination in Africa — you have probably looked at Morocco. Maybe South Africa. Kenya. Ethiopia. Countries with established equestrian tourism industries, well mapped trails, and a growing international reputation for horse travel.

Ghana has not been on that list.

Until now.

What most people do not know about Ghana

Ghana is one of the most stable, accessible, and welcoming countries on the African continent. It has a thriving tourism industry, a growing expat community, and landscapes that range from coastal beaches to tropical forest to wide open river terrain.

What it has not had — until very recently — is horse travel.

Not because the conditions are not right. The terrain along the Volta river in the south east of the country is some of the most breathtaking riding landscape I have ever seen. Kilometre long stretches of red river sand. Palm groves. Wide open trails along one of West Africa’s most beautiful rivers. The kind of landscape that stops you mid-ride and makes you forget where you were going.

The trails have simply never been mapped. The infrastructure has never been built. Nobody has done it yet.

That is exactly what makes Ghana the next frontier.


The state of horse travel in Africa

Horse travel and equestrian tourism in Africa is growing. Morocco has built a thriving industry around horse trekking through the Atlas mountains and along its Atlantic coast. South Africa offers everything from wine country trail rides to bush safaris on horseback. Kenya has long been a destination for horse riding in the shadow of Kilimanjaro.

But West Africa has been largely left out of this conversation.

The region has horses. It has terrain. It has landscapes that would make any rider stop and stare. What it has lacked is the infrastructure, the welfare standards, and the people willing to build something from the ground up in an environment where very little exists to support them.

Horse Riding XP Ghana has spent years trying to change that — starting in Accra, expanding to the beach, and now moving into the Volta Region for what we believe is the first serious horse travel operation in West Africa.


Why the Volta Region

Sogakope sits on the Volta river in the heart of the Volta Region — about two hours from Accra. It is quiet, largely untouched, and staggeringly beautiful.

When I first walked the trails along the river I immediately knew this was a place that needed to be ridden. The sand is deep and red. The river is wide and calm. The palm trees line the banks for kilometres. On a horse at a canter this terrain is something most riders will never experience anywhere else in the world.

We are currently in the process of mapping those trails — the first time it has ever been done in the area. This summer our horses will be based in Sogakope for two months as we explore the terrain, establish the best routes, and build the foundation of what we believe will become one of the most exciting equestrian travel destinations in Africa.


Why now

Horse travel is expensive. A week of trail riding in Morocco, Portugal, or Costa Rica can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. A month in a premium equestrian destination can run to $10,000 or more. The barriers to entry for international horse travel are high — and they keep a lot of riders who would love the experience from ever having it.

Ghana changes that equation. The cost of living is lower. The terrain is extraordinary. And right now, at this moment, the experience is genuinely pioneer — raw, real, and unlike anything currently available on the continent.

We are not building a polished resort experience. We are building something honest. A place where riders come, live with the horses, explore terrain that nobody has ridden before, and be part of something that matters.

The people who come to Ghana for horse travel in the next few years will be the ones who discovered it first. That is always the best time to arrive somewhere.


What ethical horse travel looks like

One thing that has always concerned me about equestrian tourism — in Ghana and globally — is the gap between the experience sold and the reality lived by the horses providing it.

At Horse Riding XP Ghana the horses come first. Always. Our horses are well fed, well trained, and genuinely cared for. We do not push them past what they are ready for. We do not use them as props for tourist experiences. We build real relationships with them and we expect the people who ride them to do the same.

Horse travel done properly is not just good for the rider. It is good for the horse. When horses are exercised thoughtfully on varied terrain, given proper nutrition and rest, and handled by people who understand them — they thrive. That is what we are building in the Volta Region.

Ethical equestrian travel is not a niche. It is the future of the industry. And Ghana — because it is starting from scratch — has the opportunity to build it right from the beginning.



Come and be part of it

This summer we have one rider spot available for a month long pioneer trail riding experience in Sogakope. You ride every day. You help us map the trails. You live on the Volta river with the horses outside your door.

$1,200 for one month. Accommodation included.

This is not a price that will exist again after this summer. We are offering it because this is an absolute first — and the person who comes will be part of building something historic.

If Ghana is not yet on your horse travel list — it should be.

📩 +233 26 988 2134


Does this feel right?​​


 
 
 

I Wrote a 200 Page Beginner’s Guide to Horses. Here Is Why.


By Marie, Founder of Horse Riding XP Ghana


In Ghana, most people who work with horses every day are learning as they go.

Not because they are not capable. Not because they do not care. But because there is no school you can go to. No structured curriculum. No standardised training system. What exists instead is a collection of opinions, habits, and informal knowledge passed from person to person — and when it comes to horses, opinion is not enough.

Horses are governed by science. By biology. By behaviour that has been studied, documented, and understood over centuries. How they digest food. How they process stress. How they communicate before they react. How their bodies build muscle and lose condition. None of this is a matter of opinion. It is fact. And when people are making decisions about horse care based on what someone told them rather than what is actually true — the horses pay the price.

I have spent years working alongside people who are doing their absolute best with the information they have. And I decided it was time to give them better information.



What the guide is

The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Horses is a foundational guide created specifically for people working with horses in Ghana and similar environments where formal training, structured education, and reliable information are limited.

It covers what a horse is and how its body works. How horses think, communicate, and behave — naturally, in herds, and under human management. What they need to eat, how they need to move, and what good daily care actually looks like in practice. And crucially — the difference between how horses live naturally and how they are managed in working environments like stables and beach operations.

It is over 200 pages. Because horses deserve more than a paragraph. And the people caring for them deserve more than guesswork.


Who it is for

This guide is for stable workers, horse handlers, riders, grooms, riding school assistants, horse owners, and anyone directly involved in the daily care or use of horses — especially in environments where formal equine education is not available.

It is not written for people with access to veterinary schools, certified trainers, or structured riding programmes. It is written for people working in real conditions. Not ideal conditions. Not textbook conditions. The kind of conditions that actually exist in Ghana right now.

If you are learning on the job, figuring things out as you go, or simply trying to do better for the horses in your care — this guide is for you.


Why I wrote it

I did not write this because I have all the answers. I wrote it because I have seen what happens when people are working from the wrong ones.

Horses misread because nobody explained how they communicate before they react. Horses losing condition because the feeding decisions being made are based on habit rather than nutrition. People getting hurt because they did not understand what the horse was telling them before it moved. Preventable situations happening every day not out of cruelty but out of a gap between what people know and what they need to know.

In many parts of Ghana, horses are being cared for, handled, and worked with by people who are doing their best — but whose best is limited by the quality of information available to them. Most of what they know came from someone else who learned the same way. And somewhere along the line the science got lost.

This guide exists to bring it back.


What makes this different

This is not a guide written for European or American riding schools and transplanted to Ghana. The goal is not to import foreign ideals into a context where they do not fit.

The goal is to build a clear, honest baseline of understanding that fits the realities of horse work in Ghana. Where resources are limited. Where veterinary access is inconsistent. Where training systems are still developing. Where people are doing the best they can with what they have — and deserve better tools to do it with.

This guide meets people where they are. And it gives them somewhere to go from there.


Why this matters

At Horse Riding XP Ghana we have always believed that education is welfare. That you cannot ask someone to do better if you have never shown them what better looks like. That the horses suffering on beaches and in stables across Ghana are not suffering because people do not care — they are suffering because the information and support systems that would help people care better simply do not exist yet.

This guide is one piece of changing that. A foundation. A starting point. A baseline that anyone working with horses in Ghana can build from.

Because everyone deserves a place to start. And so does every horse.


The guide is coming soon.

Follow along on our social media and website for updates.

📩 +233 26 988 2134



 
 
 

Summer Ranch Camp — Why I Am Taking My Horses to the Volta


By Marie, Founder of Horse Riding XP Ghana


This is not the first time I have taken my horses on the road.

Last year I packed up the whole team and took the horses to Nsawam for what was supposed to be a family trip. A chance to breathe, ride somewhere new, and just be with the horses outside of Accra for a while.

What I found when I got there was fourteen other horses living in complete neglect.

I could not ignore it. I never can. I started talking to the owner. We began working on a project to improve things for the horses there. And then slowly, quietly, things went wrong. The project collapsed. We were essentially bullied out of the place.

I came back to Accra with a lesson I will not forget.

Every time I go somewhere to do something for myself, I end up doing it for someone else. And as much as that comes from a place of genuine care — I cannot keep giving what I do not have. I have five horses of my own who need me. And if I am going to take them somewhere this summer it is going to be for us. Just us. The horses, the team, and the places we choose to go to.

That is what Summer Ranch Camp is.

How horse riding works in Ghana right now

For most people in Ghana, horse riding means one thing. A quick ride on the beach. You pay, you get on, you go up and down for ten minutes, you get off. Nobody tells you anything about the horse underneath you. Nobody checks if the equipment fits. Nobody asks if you are okay.

That has always bothered me.

At Horse Riding XP Ghana we have spent years trying to show that there is another way. Through Accra Riding Club we have built a community of people who come to ride every Saturday — not just for the experience but for the connection. Through Bridging the Gap we have worked directly with beach horse operators to support them and the horses in their care. Through Ghana on Horseback we launched an immersive historically guided tour through Accra on horseback.

We have been building something. Quietly. Consistently. On the ground.

And this summer we are taking it somewhere new.


Why the Volta

I have been to Sogakope. I have seen the river at golden hour. I have seen the trails that run along the bank through vegetation that belongs in a film. And I have thought — somebody should be riding horses through this.

That somebody is us.

Summer Ranch Camp is a real immersive horse riding experience in one of the most beautiful parts of Ghana — where guests stay on the Volta river, spend time with horses, and ride through terrain that has never been mapped on horseback before.

And I want to be honest about something. Horse travel — taking horses to new places, scouting trails, building experiences around movement and terrain — is not something that is regularly done. Not just in Ghana. Anywhere. What we are doing this summer is genuinely groundbreaking. And I do not say that lightly.


What Summer Ranch Camp actually is

From June 15 to August 15 our horses will be based at a guesthouse in Sogakope. We have six rooms available for guests who want to come and be part of this.

You can come for a night or stay for a week. Breakfast is included. The horses are right there. Hang out time with them is part of the experience.

If you want to ride — a beginner session is 200 GHS. A full trail riding experience along the Volta is 600 GHS for two to three hours.

We also have a special offer for Accra Riding Club members who want to be more hands on with the horses and join us for trail rides. That is something we are keeping exclusive to our community.

And for one experienced rider who wants to be part of something historic — there is a spot available for the full two months at $1,200. You will be scouting trails, training horses, and helping write the first chapter of horse travel in Ghana.


Why this is part of Road to Sunflower Beach

Summer Ranch Camp does not exist in isolation. It is part of Road to Sunflower Beach — our campaign to get five horses healthy, trained, and ready for a community event at Sunflower Beach Resort in Accra.

The Volta is where the horses get ready. The training we do there, the trails we scout, the fitness we build — all of it is preparation for Sunflower Beach. And every guest who comes to Sogakope this summer is part of making that happen.

You are not just booking a room on the Volta river. You are part of the story.


Come and find us

Six rooms. Two months. One river. Five horses.

📩 +233 26 988 2134

🌿 #SummerRanchCamp #RoadToSunflowerBeach #HorseTravelGhana #VoltaRegion​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​



 
 
 
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