Horse Riding
The Münsterland is equestrian country. The region is home to Olympic victors and World and European champions such as Hans Günter Winkler, Ludger Beerbaum and Markus Ehning. With its 100,000 horses, it is one of Europe's most intensively equine regions.
The Münsterland also has a great deal to offer amateur riders. The region is peppered with over 1,000 stables for horses and ponies. Special routes lead riders through the countryside on rides lasting between several hours and several days.
- Information on riding routes, stables and riding holidays can be obtained from the Münsterland tourist association on:
Free hotline: 08 00 / 9 39 29 19
touristik(at)muensterland.com - www.muensterland-tourismus.de/2523/reiten-muensterland
- Many riding and driving associations (Reit- und Fahrvereine) in Münster give riding, dressage and jumping lessons. For an overview, see:
www.stadt-muenster.de/en/tourismus/sports-in-muenster/horse-riding.html - www.muenster.de/laufen_fahren_reiten.html
Rewarding day trips for horse enthusiasts
"Warendorfer Hengstparade" (Warendorf stallion parade): Several tens of thousands of visitors throng to the stallion parades, which take place every year at the end of September and the beginning of October. Regional stud-farm employees display over 100 breeding stallions in a rapidly executed variety of poses, and present demanding dressage and driving displays.
Catching wild horses in Dülmen-Merfeld: Merfelder Bruch near Dülmen, Europe's last wild stud-farm, has been home to wild horses since time immemorial. The year-old colts are separated from the herd and caught by hand each year on the last Saturday in May. Around 30 to 40 colts have to be removed from the herd each year in order to prevent bitter battles for supremacy in the limited space offered by the Merfelder Bruch. It's not just worth visiting to witness the spectacular sight of the wild horses being caught by hand. The grounds are also open at weekends and bank holidays in summer, weather permitting.