Ride itinerary - Horses, tack & riding experience
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On this ride, the riders comes back every evening at the guesthouse for dinner and night. At the end of da, the horses stay at the stopping place, 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 ensure to combine 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. Meet with your guide and the others riders, and settle in the accomodation. Two hours riding tour around the riding center to know 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. Bulit in the 15th century, this castle, which was the Duchess of Berry's residence, present a beautiful crenellated tower.
Super and night at the guesthouse..

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

Day 4 - Wednesday
We meet our horses again to join Humbligny, another village of the "Pays Fort". We could, when it's open for visit, see the Cathedral of Jean Linard, the berrichon "Facteur Cheval" (Ferdinand Cheval aka Facteur Cheval (1836-1924) was a postman who built his dream, an amazing and imaginary castle : "Le Palais Idéal". He wasn't a mason and not more an architect. This strange building take place in Drome area).
Ride back to our guesthouse through forest of tall trees.
Diner and night at the guesthouse.

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

Day 7 - Saturday
For this last morning, we have a three hours ride aroun the farm on uneven grounds. We take advantage of this ride to look at the Hensons in the meadows and, depends of the seaons, look after the yearling 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.

 

3 DAYS WEEKEND RIDING THROUGH SANCERRE AND LOIRE

Day 1
Arrival at the farm in the early morning, where Chrsitine (the owner of the riding center) is waiting for you with coffee and buns!
After we meet and saddle our Henson up (our horses), we take the just outside GR 31 and ride through vineyard to Sancerre and its famous peak. We pass near the Castle of Sens Beaujeu, and arrived at the "Aux Champignons" hamlet where we could have a beautiful view on Sancerre and Chavignol. After tasting the famous Sancerre wine in a cellar, we take our picnic near an old washing 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 09:00, we take our breakfast before join 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 new nice landscape, very different of what we have seen before. We have our lunch in open carfé near the river, whilke our horses are rolling on a sandy islande. If the weather is nice, we could have swim!
Then we come back at "Aux Champignons" place following some vineyard lanes, which offer us differents view of Sancerre.

Day 3
Back to the equestrian farm through the "Pays Fort" (strong country) and its beautifuls hedged farmland views. On the way back, we could 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.

 

3 DAYS WEEKEND RIDING LOOKING FOR TREASURES AND POTTERS

Day 1
Arrival at the farm in the early morning, where Chrsitine (the owner of the riding center) is waiting for you with coffee and buns!
After we meet and saddle our Henson up (our horses), we ride towards Tower of Vèvres. the story goes that, a long time ago, two gold filled barrels have been buried there. Our guide tell 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 09:00. 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. We go back on saddle to ride through the forest and finish our days at about 18:00.
Dinner and night at the guesthouse.

Day 3
We meet our horses again to join Humbligny, another village of the "Pays Fort". We could, when it's open for visit, see the Cathedral of Jean Linard, the berrichon "Facteur Cheval" (Ferdinand Cheval aka Facteur Cheval (1836-1924) was a postman who built his dream, an amazing and imaginary castle : "Le Palais Idéal". He wasn't a mason and not more an architect. This strange building take place in Drome area).
Ride back to our guesthouse through forest of tall trees. 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, this introductory courses are made for you. We provide two kind 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 behaviours and the way they communicate between each other. Then you get accustomed to your horse: to go and fetch it from the meadow, to put it a halter on, to lead it by the briddle, to tie it up, to groom, saddle and briddle it.
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 got 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 briddle (briddled 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 change 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 make want 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 briddle, work in the saddle.
At the end of the day, the rider have a good seat. If all goes well, we have our first canter while we come back from our "play area" to the farm.

Jour 4 et 5
Riding in Sancerre area. The itinerary depend of the group's riding abilities and environmental conditions.
Trail's end at about 18:00 on 5th day.

 

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

In this trek, you will discover Henson horses, a rather new French breed. These horses are brave, endearing and proper for trek and leisure riding. The first breeders were in Bay de Somme area. Their good mood makes them now much more in demand.

Tack

We use English, outdoor and mixed saddle. You can bring your own saddle but must suit your horses.

Riding experience

For the weekly ride, you must be a self-sufficient rider and confident at all gaits.

For the 3 days riding tour we welcome experienced rider but we can have special session for less trained people.

For beginners and novice riders, there are introductory courses on request throughout the year.

Riding helmet is compulsory for every rider.

Treks are generally led by Christine and Sandra, but could also by lead by other instructors of her team. The centre uses a special vehicle to transport its horses and their food.

 

With the exception of Sens Beaujeu that we can only admire at some distance, we are passing near the castles we meet on certain days. Some of them could be visited (reservation and payment directly on the spot).

Dogs are not allowed on all riding trails and introductory course.

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

No need to pack or unpack as nothing has to be carry during the trek. So you can keep good paces.

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

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

 

The farm offer 4 different guesthouse with private facilities. On the other side of the track, 2 country cabins with shared facilities have been fitted out. The guests could use the centre's swimming pool during all the season.

We only have double bed bedrooms. During the low season, the can be offered as individual used with extra charge (but couldn't be guaranteed at the reservation).

Meals

Meals are served at the "table d'hôte". You will taste traditional home cooking with local gourmet products.

- Trail ride as described on full board basis (including wine and drinks)

- The tasting and visits indicate in the program,

- Total and unlimited financial guarantee (APS) of all payments made to us (see "why ride with us ?"),

- Protection of the French Law for travel consumers who book through French travel agencies (see "why ride with us ?").

- the transport to meeting point,

- optionnal 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.

Weekly ride: 7 days / 6 nights / 6 days on horseback

Week-end ride: 3 days / 2 nights / 3 days on horseback

From 4 to 8 riders for the riding trails.
From 3 to 8 riders for the weekend ride.
From 2 to 6 riders for the introductory outdoor riding courses.

Meeting point directly at the riding center.

The nearest train station is Sancerre. So if you plan to come by train, we could organized transfer at some hours. To be booked at the reservation time, 15 euros for round trip transfers, to be paid directly on the spot.

Continental mild climate.

Sancerre and it vineyards get a temperate microclimate, due to a geographic situation between ocean and Alpes mountains, which make them sheltered from this two big meteorological influence. It's important to know that late frots are not rare and dryness could endure throughout the year

Plan tout take warm and comfortable clothes for all the season.