Cancellation Policy & Refund Policy

Cancellations requested more than 7 days prior to departure date and time booked will be refunded in full amount minus $15.00 booking and admin fee. 

Any cancellations requested after this, and between 6 days and 72 hours of your departure date and time booked will receive 50% of the total booking amount paid. 

No refund is available when cancellation is requested less than 72 hours before the departure date and time booked.

This cancellation policy applies to all bookings made even if a booking is made after the timelines mentioned above eg If a client books a trail 48 hours before a trail is due to depart and changes their mind or cannot attend, no refund will be provided.

Reschedule or Postponement Policy

We do try to be flexible and understanding but due to the nature of our business, the organisation involved behind the scenes, transport of horses, fees paid to land owners, staff ratios being confirmed prior to the date etc we do need to have a robust reschedule policy in place to make sure our business runs smoothly for everyone to enjoy.

If you should need to reschedule or postpone your trek for any reason we require a minimum of 72 hours notice. We are happy to find another suitable date and time for you to attend your trail when given this minimum notice period.

Please note that all rescheduled treks can only be booked on days when we have space available and are operating. All rescheduled treks must be booked for treks of the same or lesser value. For example if you need to reschedule and you are booked on a one hour trail on a Tuesday we may only be able to reschedule for another one hour trail on a similar day and time. We cannot promise to offer a reschedule on a high peak season day (eg a Saturday in Summer) if you have previously booked on off peak day (eg a Tuesday in winter), or offer to take you on a higher value trail without you paying the difference.

Should you need to reschedule your trek please email us with your original booking reference number and a couple of future dates that may be suitable for you.

We cannot offer refunds for trails that have already been rescheduled or postponed.

Please read our cancellation refund policy above which only applies to the original booking date and time. A rescheduled trek for a future date does not qualify or apply to the cancellation and refund policy. It only applies with our rescheduling policy and can only be redeemed by attending our facility for one of our services or options.

What if I can’t rebook?

We understand this is difficult and situations can come up suddenly. We promise to be as flexible as possible, and work our hardest to find a suitable solution should this situation arise. Unfortunately we cannot offer refunds for any trails that you are unable to reschedule.

If we cannot find an immediate date to reschedule to, we are happy to hold your deposit for up to one year for you to reuse with us, or you can transfer it to another person to use.

Alternatively you may wish to convert the full amount to a gift voucher which can be given as a gift to another person or the deposit may be used for one of our other services we offer. Please note all and any changes made to a deposit and booking must fit within our rider requirements eg under our weight limit and over the age of 5 years old etc (see our booking requirements for all rider requirements).

Our reschedule policy applies to all bookings made even if a booking is made after the timelines mentioned above e.g. if a client books a trail 48 hours before a trail is due to depart and changes their mind or cannot attend, no refund can be provided nor can we promise to reschedule the trek. We try our best to accommodate and provide solutions in difficult situations and we understand that short notice issues can present themselves unexpectedly, please email us to discuss or for clarification.

Weather Policy

What happens if the weather isn't looking ideal?

We generally ride in all weather. During winter months we ask that you take this into account when deciding to book in. We do our best to work in and around the weather but we do not have any control over it and cannot guarantee the weather will be ideal.  We advise you to bring a raincoat and warm clothes and in summer, please use sunblock and other sun protection methods.

The weather at Muriwai Beach is very changeable and Muriwai is considered to be a microclimate so the weather forecast can be quite unreliable. However, if you are unsure and wish to postpone to another day please call at least 72 hours in advance of your departure time and date to reschedule your trek. We are happy to postpone and transfer your deposit to a suitable trek of equal or lesser value when given no less than 72 hours notice. After this we will not be able to reschedule your trek. We do not offer refunds if the weather is not ideal and you choose not to ride only reschedules within the time frame mentioned above.

Muriwai Beach Horse Treks (the vendor) may postpone your trek in the event of the following types of weather conditions:

- Thunder & lightning

- Long periods of torrential rain

- Extreme heat where there is significant risk of forest fires

- High winds (over 60- 70kms) or high wind gusts

If the vendor needs to reschedule your trek due to unsafe weather conditions affecting the safety of our riders or horses we will offer to reschedule the trek and try to do this at the next convenient time for both parties.

Muriwai Beach Horse Treks operates on land owned by other authorities. Due to the permits we hold with these authorities/organisations we are subject to the health and safety practices of these organisations and may be instructed at short notice to cease operations for safety reasons. If this happens when you have a ride booked with us we will be in touch as soon as possible to postpone and reschedule your booking with us.

Please note: Muriwai Beach Horse Treks reserves the right to cancel treks on short notice if required to ensure the safety of horses, customers and staff. In such an event, we cannot offer refunds for trails booked with us that need to be rescheduled. We do not have control over the weather and it can change rapidly with little notice. We do our best to work with the weather while still providing a safe environment for everyone, however due to the nature of weather and rapid changes please understand that sometimes this is out of our control and we do our best to find solutions for all involved, including our staff whom we may need to still compensate in the event of unsafe weather and last minute shift cancellations.

Late Shows or No Shows

What happens if you don’t turn up for your trek or are late?

As it is a lot of work to get the horses transported to the beach and ready for your trek (it takes 3 hours before the first ride and 3 hours after the last ride), we can’t offer to reschedule or refund for “no shows”. There are no exceptions to this.

We often have waitlists for our treks especially at weekends and we can’t reassign your horse to another person if you do not show up.

Please arrive on time, or better yet early, for your trek. We need sufficient time to ensure our safety processes are thoroughly adhered to for every trek.

If you are late, we do not appreciate the difficult conversation we have to have with you when you have arrived late, even as little as five minutes. In accordance with our health & safety policy we have no choice but to turn you away with no opportunity to receive a refund or reschedule as you have missed key riding information and affected the day's schedule. Please understand that we will in no way jeopardise our policies, licenses, and the safety of you or anyone else because you have not allowed enough time to travel to us or are late for any reason. We have dealt with this situation often in the past, hence the strict policy on this.

Weight limit policy

Muriwai Beach Horse Treks has a strict weight limit of 95kg. If you or anyone in your group are over this even by 1kg please email us to discuss we can possibly facilitate you at the time. 

Please be honest about weights, we do have scales onsite and often check weights of all clients so we can be assured we allocate the correct horse. 

If a customer arrives at our facility and they are over our weight limit and we have not made a prior agreement in writing via email to accommodate them we may not be able to allow them to ride, no refund or reschedule can be given in this case as we were not notified and haven’t been able to to agree and facilitate. 

We understand that this conversation can be sensitive. We are here to support you and your group and so please email us to discuss privately if you have any questions or concerns. We will do our best to make things work as long as it's possible and safe for our horses and facility. 

Like people, horses also have limits, we really care about our horses and do our best to make sure we do not overwork them or exceed their limits. Vet studies state that a working horse in heavy work should only take up to 15% of their body weight and this should include the gear like saddles etc so if we work on this calculation a 600kg horse can take 90kg weight total including gear.

All policies are strictly followed at all times to ensure the facility is organised and runs efficiently.

Please understand there is a lot of organising and planning that goes into running our trails including rostering adequate and appropriate staff to meet correct support ratios and trail experiences, transportation of horses to the beach and back in trucks and floats etc, setting up and packing up for trail rides can take up to three hours each way and requires immense preparations. We cannot simply cancel staff shifts on short notice and or easily return horses back to home without causing implications to the business and its staff, hence why we strictly enforce our policies in these areas.

If you are unsure of anything in our policies or unsure about making a booking we encourage you to please email us to discuss further first. Please be reminded that we are a business and have obligations to our company, horses and staff to ensure fair, safe and efficient practices are maintained at all times.

Manual Group Bookings (not booked through the website). Please be aware that cancellation and reschedule policies for manual bookings may differ from timelines mentioned in standard policies. Please check with us first if you have any questions. All bookings will have policies and terms and conditions outlined to them at time of confirmation of booking and may supersede information stated on this website.

Covid Policy / Natural Disaster / Unforeseen circumstances to the operator.

Please note in the event of any interruptions to our business and when advised by the government or relevant officials, appropriate policies may/will come into effect immediately and supersedes any of our other policies if needed. Due to the ever changing situations around these events our policy and restrictions can change rapidly to meet the requirements of the Government and other authorities/organisations we hold permits with.