Ride itinerary - Horses, tack & riding experience
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On this ride, the riders come back every evening at the guesthouse for dinner and night. At the end of the day, the horses stay at the stop, while the riders come back at the guesthouse by a short drive by car and meet the horses again in the morning the day after. This system ensures that the ride combines the comfort of a star ride (no need to unpack and pack everyday) with the variety of landscape allowed by a touring ride.

WEEKLY RIDE IN SANCERRE COUNTRY

Day 1 - Sunday
Arrival at the riding center in the early afternoon. Meeting with your guide and the others riders, and settling in the accomodation. Two hours riding tour around the riding center to discover the horses. First dinner with all the guests, either at the equestrian farm or in a typical local restaurant.

Day 2 - Monday
Through undergrowth and ponds, we go to the village of La Borne, where many potters are living, then carry on the Castle of Maupas. Built in the 15th century, this castle, which was the Duchess of Berry's residence, presents a beautiful crenellated tower.
Dinner and night at the guesthouse..

Day 3 - Tuesday
After breakfast and horse grooming, we ride again. We are riding today to the village of "La Chapelotte" through the hedged farmland landscape of the "Pays Fort" ("strong country"). A day into a calm and wild nature...
Dinner and night at the guesthouse.

Day 4 - Wednesday
We meet our horses again to join Humbligny, another village of the "Pays Fort". We can, if it's open to visit, see the Cathedral of Jean Linard.
Ride back to our guesthouse through the forest.
Dinner and night at the guesthouse.

Day 5 - Thursday
Today we go to the tower of Vèvres. The story goes that, a long time ago, two gold filled barrels were buried there. Our guide tells us this story during our picnic near the tower. Our horses will sleep "Aux Champignons" ("at the mushrooms"), a little hamlet located just up of Chavignol.
Dinner and night at the guesthouse.

Day 6 - Friday
We ride through vineyards to Vinon where a wine producer will wait for us for a wine tasting. Another barn to visit on the estate, then back to "Aux Champignons" cottage for the horses and the equestrian farm for the riders.
Dinner and night at the guesthouse.

Day 7 - Saturday
For this last morning, we have a three hour ride around the farm on uneven grounds. We take advantage of this ride to look at the Hensons in the meadows and, depending on the season, their yearling or foals. We come back, then, at the farm for lunch. It will be time to say goodbye to our horses and guide ... till next time!
Drive back home or at the train station for those you take the train.

Useful information: Depending on logistics, technical organization, the weather, or simply to improve this itinerary, the itinerary can be modified.

 

3 DAYS WEEKEND RIDING THROUGH SANCERRE AND LOIRE

Day 1
Arrival at the farm in the early morning, where Christine (the owner of the riding center) is waiting for you with coffee and buns!
After we meet and saddle our Hensons up (our horses), we take the "GR 31" and ride through the vineyards to Sancerre and its famous peak. We pass near the Castle of Sens Beaujeu, and arrive at the "Aux Champignons" hamlet where we can enjoy a beautiful view on Sancerre and Chavignol. After tasting the famous Sancerre wine in a cellar, we take our picnic near an old laundry place. We saddle again to visit this vineyard and its pretty cottage. In the late afternoon, the riders leave their horses in a meadow and are driven back to the guesthouse.

Day 2
At about 9am, we take our breakfast before joining our horses (about 15 minutes drive). Today, we are going to the Loire, one of the last untamed river in Europe. We can have some good canters on the towpath to discover a nice new landscape, very different of what we have seen before. We have our lunch in an open café near the river, while our horses are resting on a sandy island. If the weather is nice, we can go swimming !
Then we come back to "Aux Champignons" following some vineyard lanes, which offer us different views of Sancerre.

Day 3
Back to the equestrian farm through the "Pays Fort" (strong country) and its beautiful hedged farmland views. On the way back, we can see Sancerre and Chavignol village along the vineyards trails we use. Before leaving, we have a drink at the farm to bring this nice ride to an end.

 

SHORT WEEKEND IN SANCERRE

Day 1
Arrival at the farm in the early morning, where Christine (the owner of the riding center) is waiting for you with coffee and buns!
After we meet and saddle our Hensons up (our horses), we ride towards the Tower of Vèvres. the story goes that, a long time ago, two gold filled barrels were buried there. Our guide tells us this story during our picnic near the tower.
In the afternoon, we ride to Vaudredon's Manor, and village of Neuvy Deux Clochers. Back to the guesthouse at the end of the day.

Day 2
Breakfast at about 9am. Then we ride, through undergrowth and ponds towards La Borne village, well known for its famous potters. We can visit their worshop during lunch time. Ride back to our guesthouse in the afternoon through a forest. Before leaving, we have a drink at the farm to bring this nice ride to an end.

 

INTRODUCTORY COURSES IN "SANCERROIS" (2 or 5 days schedule)

For the beginners who would like to discover the outdoor riding charms, these introductory courses are made for you. We provide two kinds of training courses for beginners.

FIRST SCHEDULE "A CONFIDING HORSE, AN EASY RIDER"

Day 1
Observe the horses' living in their herd to understand their behaviour and the way they communicate. Then you get accustomed to your horse: to go and fetch him from the meadow, to put a halter on, to lead him by the bridle, to tie him up, to groom, saddle and bridle him.
After this, you learn how to get on the horse safely, and then discover how to move on, to have a good seat, to turn, to get at a rising trot.
In the afternoon, you test your knowledge you had in the morning, and go for a ride.

Day 2
Free work demonstration, then lead the horse by the bridle (bridled horse is required to send his head, move his haunch, move back while rider's security area be assured) by each rider, in order to have a confident and respectful horse and also for the "new" rider to feel and understand what kind of contact between hands and horse's mouth is needed. Then, after checking everyone's knowledge, we go for a ride to enjoy ourself and get some more autonomy (the horses' order being changed for example).
After these two days, you will be able to take care of your horse before get on it to walk, trot and even canter a little on the second day. We hope that, after this first ride training, you would like to improve your riding skill to be more and more at ease.


SECOND SCHEDULE (COMPLETE THE FIRST SCHEDULE)

Jour 3
Ride on uneven grounds : riders be faced with climbs, slopes, slalom, ford, bars. You will be taught how to get one's balance, how to have a horse light in hand, lead it by the bridle, work in the saddle.
By the end of the day, the rider has a good seat. If all goes well, we have our first canter while we come back from our "playground" to the farm.

Jour 4 et 5
Riding in Sancerre area. The itinerary depends on the group's riding abilities and environmental conditions.
The trail ends at about 06:00pm on the 5th day.

 

Careful : the above itineraries can be modified depending on climate, riding level of the group, availability of the accommodations, or simply to bring some improvements.

The trail rides are led by Christine or a member of her staff, all of them being awarded with a diploma for guiding trail rides.

A logistic vehicle will bring the lunch where we stop at noon everyday.

Riders will spend the night directly at the riding centre’s cottage or in a guesthouse near the farm.

No need to pack or unpack as nothing has to be carried during the trek. So the ride keeps a good rhythm.

Only our horses can stay away from home during the night, in that case a return transfer will be organized, but will never be far away from the accommodation.

That combines the comfort of a star ride with the variety of a touring trek as our mounts don't come back every evening to their starting point.

 

The farm offers 4 different rooms with private facilities. On the other side of the track, 2 country cabins with shared facilities have been fitted out. The guests can use the centre's swimming pool if the weather is good enough.

You will stay in double room, or single rooms (depending on our availabilities).

Meals

Meals are served at the "table d'hôte". You will taste traditional home cooking with local gourmet products.
Lunch is taken outdoor. Apetizers, wine and water are included in all meals.

- Trail ride as described on full board basis (including wine and drinks)
- The tasting and visits indicated in the program,
- Total and unlimited financial guarantee (APS) of all payments made to us (see "why ride with us ?"),
- Protection by the French Law for travel consumers who book through French travel agencies (see "why ride with us ?").

- the transport to meeting point,
- optional transfers from/to Sancerre bus station (15 euros per person, return trip - to be paid directly on the spot)
- any other service or optional visit entries
- personal expenses
- tips,
- a tour to discover other regions of France before or after the trail (castle life, golf training, thalassotherapy spas...), see our "after ride proposals".
- optional insurances.

Week ride: 7 days / 6 nights / 6 days on horseback
Short stay: 5 days / 4 nights / 5 days on horseback
Weekend: 3 days / 2 nights / 3 days on horseback
OR Short weekend: 2 days / 1 night / 2 days on horseback

From 2 to 8 riders for the trail rides.
From 2 to 6 riders for the introductory outdoor riding stays.

Meeting point directly at the riding center.

The nearest bus station is "Sancerre Hotel du Rempart" (complete sentence to be used if you search the train tickets on the SNCF website). So if you plan to come by train, we can organize a transfer. To be booked at the reservation time, 15 euros for round trip transfers, per person, to be paid directly on the spot.

Continental mild climate.

Sancerre and its vineyards have a temperate microclimate, due to a geographic situation between ocean and the mountains, which makse them sheltered from this two big meteorological influence. It's important to know that late frost is not rare and dryness can be endured throughout the year

Plan to take warm and comfortable clothes for all seasons.