Tarn Valley, France
Reviews
“...excellent riding obviously, professional tuition, beautiful scenery, comfortable accommodation, delicious food, and good company...”
Horses
Type of horses:
Selle Francais, Anglo Arab, Crossbreeds.
Nature of horses:
Well schooled and honest.
Height of horses:
14 hh - 16.3 hh
Weight limit:
110kgs for experienced riders.
Tack type:
English
Weather
Current Conditions:
Fog, -3 C
Forecast:
Thu - Foggy. High: 0 Low: -2
Fri - Partly Cloudy. High: 8 Low: 0
Full Forecast at Yahoo! Weather
(provided by The Weather Channel)
Pricing
Price for 7 nights includes breakfast, dinner and 10 hours riding
(Based on two sharing)
15 March-27 June £461
28 June-29 August £488
30 August-15 November £461
(Single Travellers)
15 March-27 June £564
28 June-29 August £632
30 August-15 November £564
(Children under 12)
15 March-27 June £424
28 June-29 August £483
30 August-15 November £424
Availability/Booking Form
Ride Description
This ride is fantastic for families with options for accommodation and a flexible programme. The Riding Centre provides wonderful facilities and surroundings. In addition to full size horses,there are well schooled ponies for children. Adults may benefit from lessons or just enjoy a hack in the wonderful countryside. There is a superb choice of routes for hacks ranging from 1 hour to all day picnic rides.
If you've never ridden before, this is a perfect place to start. If you are already experienced, the instructors will be delighted to help you improve, perfect your dressage, improve your jumping and help you find out about and play Horse Ball - a cross between rugby and basketball played on horseback!
During the school holidays families really enjoy this experience but at other times adults will love to come here just to ride out in the Tarn valley or to improve their riding, whether jumping or flatwork. Adults of course can really appreciate the wonderful food and wine as well as the riding.
The riding centre is run smoothly by two fully qualified instructors. After an initial assessment in the arena, lessons are available on most days in either the indoor or outdoor school or on the cross-country course for more experienced riders. The included 10 hours of riding can be taken as a mix of one-hour group lessons and two hour hacks. Additional riding can also be arranged.
See Programmes.
Food & Accommodation
Accommodation is in a converted 17th century farmhouse which overlooks a wonderful game reserve with deer and wild boar in the woods and an array of birds of prey wheeling overhead.
The farmhouse has three double bedrooms and two family suites, all with their own bathroom and WC. All rooms are spacious and comfortable, decorated in house style with wooden floors and regional furniture.
Everyone eats together each evening in the main farmhouse, enjoying sociable four course meals which are accompanied by fine French wines. The food is prepared with fresh local ingredients including vegetables from the garden, plus meat and cheese from the district, reflecting the cuisine in this area.
Activities
A car hire is a good idea if you wish to make the most of this beautiful area. You can then explore the Tarn Valley and the medieval villages nearby. The Toulouse Lautrec museum is within striking distance as too is the cathedral of Albi.
Non riders may enjoy wonderful walks and they can also take advantage of the mountain bikes which guests are very welcome to use. There is an outdoor swimming pool where guests may enjoy a quick dip or perhaps just sunbathe with a book. There are plenty of toys for children, TV, and DVD facilities available. There is also a tack shop where gifts can be purchased.
Further Details
Languages: English & French
Health requirements: None
Age limit: None
Tuition: Yes
Included: 10 hours of riding included for full board.
Not included: Flights, transfers to and from airport, travel and medical insurance.
Travel Information
The nearest airport is Toulouse and the nearest town is Albi.Travelling to Albi is easy due to the proximity of Toulouse, with its international airport and TGV station. The British Midlands airline bmi have flights into Toulouse from Manchester and from Scotland, and for those wishing to travel from the south of England, cut price airline easyJet have flights to Toulouse from Bristol and Gatwick. Rail travel is another handy way to reach Albi. Take the Eurostar from Waterloo to Paris or Lille, and then catch the TGV fast train to Toulouse. From there you can reach Albi by connecting bus or train.
Airport: Toulouse
Programme
Weekly Programme
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The riding facilities here are fantastic with an indoor and outdoor menage, cross country course allowing you flexibility to improve your riding or simply enjoy riding in this beautiful countryside. The programme here is very flexible to suit individual requirements. Ten hours of riding is included in the seven-night holiday price, which can be taken as ten 1-hour lessons or five 2-hour hacks, or a combination of the two. Additional riding can be arranged and paid for locally if you want to do more. Please note that schedules are put together at the beginning of each week by the on-site instructors and flexibility of riding arrangements for the individual can be limited during school holidays. During these times one to one lessons are not generally available. On the Sunday after your arrival, the head instructor will discuss your aims with you and help you to decide which sessions and hacks to sign up for. Depending on your level and experience, you may decide to start the week with several sessions in the manège, building up your confidence for a couple of short hacks in the second half of the week, or you may want to alternate lessons in the show-jumping arena with longer rides out into the countryside. You can also sign up for the initiation to horse-ball, a fun form of basketball on horseback. Whatever you decide, the first session is usually in the indoor arena, where the instructor will ask you to demonstrate various skills so that he can assess your level accurately and also ensure that you have been paired with the right mount. At the end of each week there is usually a 4-5 hour hack, which you can take as part of your week’s riding or as an additional four/five hours. Please note that for safety reasons, it is always at the discretion of the on-site instructor as to who can ride and when. Children must be 10 years of age or over to book the riding programme, but riding for younger children can sometimes be arranged at the discretion of the instructor during the holiday. It is not possible to confirm riding for under 10s at the time of booking. Between riding sessions, you will find plenty to do. The Centre has an outdoor pool, usually open from June to September or, if the weather is cooler, the cosy lounge is a pleasant place to relax with a book. There are bicycles available for guests’ use if you wish to explore beyond the extensive grounds. |
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| Minimum group size: | 1 |
| Maximum group size: | 12 |
| Ability description: | Beginners to experienced. |
| Type of ride: | Tuition and hacks |
| Total riding time: | 10 hours included |
| Departure dates: | Saturday to Saturday |
| Pricing: | See Pricing |