Grew Up with Horses, Now They’re Our Source of Income

If you search on global travel platforms for things to do in North Macedonia in June, you’ll find many suggestions related to horseback tours. Every foreign tourist who has visited Macedonia and decided to go on a horseback tour says it helped them experience the country in a unique way.

If you ask us when the best time for these tours is, our answer would be: TODAY!

Summer in Macedonia has its own charm. The green mountains, warm sunshine, fresh fruits and vegetables grown under our skies, and the warm, hospitable people who can organize many exciting day trips across the country are just a few of the reasons behind our answer.

Today, we’ll introduce you to another local hero. Halil Dzemaili is a young man who has just become part of the community of people making small yet hugely important contributions to the development of tourism in Macedonia.

Halil owns a farm where around 50 horses are raised. He tells us that the global trend of horseback riding motivated him to start organizing tours in the western part of the country. According to him, it is a shame that the beauty of Šara is not shown to as many tourists as possible.

For these reasons, three years ago he and his farm decided to start training some of the horses specifically for this purpose. Today, they organize various tours for tourists from Macedonia and abroad.

His team is named “Horse Riding 1st of May” and can often be found around the church in Popova Šapka, the springs of Šipkovica, the Jelak site, the “1st of May” spring at Celipašina, Lešnica, Bogovinsko Lake, and other locations chosen by the tourists.

Besides the tours, Halil says that the training sessions they hold for horse riding are very important. Everyone who decides to join their tours first receives a brief training, and they are also provided with equipment such as helmets and riding boots. On the longer tours, like the one to the “1st of May” spring, participants are even offered a free lunch.

The tours are organized by four young and experienced men who have spent their entire lives working with horses. The horses they own are very calm and belong to a breed native to this region. According to Halil, they are well-trained to navigate all the trails included in their offerings.

He is happy to see that the interest among tourists is growing year by year. This is their third year, and during this short period, they have welcomed many tourists from Albania, Kosovo, and Bulgaria.

Halil invites all interested to contact him, as he believes that only diversity and friendships will build the true image of Macedonia.