I am lucky to be going to France (Paris area) with DH for a week in April and would enjoy a one day horseback ride. He doesn’t ride so one day is it. I did some searching on-line and all I find are 6-8 day rides.
Anyone have any recommendations of a tour company or individual to contact? Have any of you had the pleasure of trail riding in France? I tried Hidden Trails and Equitour and Equitours.
TIA,
Mary in Western NY
http://www.bpequine.com
I do not know about actual riding, but I have had Chantilly on my list every time we have gone to Paris, but it has not happened as yet.
Do you understand French at all?
http://www.chevalnature78.fr/
They offer rides for 1 hr/3 hr or all day in the Forêt de Rambouillet, with or without a guide. You have to call to make a reservation and they do not take credit cards. Cost for the day is 100 euros on a weekday/120 euros on a weekend.
Bring you own helmet even if they supply some. It is about 1 hr away from Paris and you do have to drive. No train station within 15 km.
Let me know if you need help with more info from their site.
We just have a working student who grew up in France and a client of ours spend a few years there on work (originally from the States). Will be happy to put you in touch if you’re still in need for information.
[QUOTE=FalseImpression;7444406]
Do you understand French at all?
http://www.chevalnature78.fr/
They offer rides for 1 hr/3 hr or all day in the Forêt de Rambouillet, with or without a guide. You have to call to make a reservation and they do not take credit cards. Cost for the day is 100 euros on a weekday/120 euros on a weekend.
Bring you own helmet even if they supply some. It is about 1 hr away from Paris and you do have to drive. No train station within 15 km.
Let me know if you need help with more info from their site.[/QUOTE]
Thanks FI but unfortunately I don’t speak (and have a very limited understanding of a few words) of French. I like your advice of bringing my own helmet though and I will.
I did some more searching since my post and found an interesting place in Roen, Normandy and they will pick you up from the train station and have a Sat and Sun ride with meals and room for $290 Euros. Since the WEG will be in Normandy and the Eventing (my main interest) will be held in Caen, I think we’ll head in that direction.
Mary in western NY where it’s only 7 degrees-again!
that’s great. I thought you had said “near Paris” so I did not look any further. A friend of mine did a few days trail ride in Normandie in 2007 (landing beaches area) and loved it.
I love that area of France (pays d’Auge) with so many beautiful farms… you will love it… Come back to tell us all about it!
The French, being an nation of rational and orderly souls, have an excellent system to regulate both tourism and the sport of equestrianism. There is a detailed, graduated system of qualification for riders and guides and rules about running a riding business. So, basically, you can be confident that horses and horsemanship and the service on offer are all of good quality.
The entire country is criss-crossed by riding trails. Each region has a committee to promote equestrian tourism. As a hugely popular sport, there are riding stables all over the place. There is a strong tradition of competitive endurance riding right down to a short couple of hours hacking for leisure and pleasure.
Be very clear and honest about your abilities because there can be assumptions made: I had not met a French ‘trekking saddle’ until riding in Cathar Country and so did not sort out the rigging until about the third day. Of course, I should have asked! Really good saddles, by the way.
Just be aware that it will be faster than most American riders are used to. A canter means just that, not a four beat shuffle. A gallop means going fast enough to bring tears to your eyes, not a polite ‘hand gallop’. A walk aims to get to lunch before the cafe closes. They will ride up and down and over and through and it is all great fun!
A hack is usually a ‘promenade’ or a ‘ballade’, a pleasant couple or few days from point A back to point A is usually a ‘randonee’. A ‘raid’ by contrast is very fast, all day.
The department around Paris is ‘Isle de France’ (use your translation tool and get the gist or use the English version of the website you look at)
http://www.seine-et-marne.fr/randonnees-equestres
http://www.loisirs.fr/Ile-de-France/Randonnee-a-Cheval.html
Actually Ile de France is the group of départements around Paris AND Paris… There is not one département around Paris… It is the Région Ile de France, like Normandy is a région.
Canter is petit gallop and gallop is… well gallop.
Have fun!
Went on a week long chateau to chateau trail ride in France
And I’ll say two things:
One: it was fabulous!!
Two: based on the sizes of saddles all of we hunt Goddesses were provided with (and the size of the bathtubs) French woman have tiny butts…
Pun for the day:
“I got lost in the streets of Paris,” she said ruefully.
Couldn’t resist – just received that in an e-mail from a friend and had to share. Hope it doesn’t happen to you. Have a wonderful time!
Rouen is actually quite a ways from Paris (by French standards at least) and not necessarily the most “scenic part” of Normandy - not that Caen itself is particularly “scenic” either. That being said, Normandy itself has lovely areas (Pays d’Auge in particular). Le Haras du Pin is lovely to see even for non-horsey people and Le Mont St Michel (where they’ll have the WEG endurance) is breathtaking.
They do rides on the beach in Deauville and all along the cost, you’ll find plenty of riding schools offering “promenades”. As someone else suggested, just check the CdT: http://www.chevalnormandie.com/
Closer to Paris, there is quite a bit in Fontainebleau (they also host a *** event so you can have fun looking at the xc jumps) and there are trains going from Paris-Gare de Lyon (I believe you’d get off the train at “Gare de Fontainebleau-Avon”).
In Versailles, you can check the Academy of Equestrian Arts (not riding per se, but fun to see) - and there also are trains going from Paris-Montpartnasse. It’s just across from the Castle.
Have fun!
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
