EQUESTRIAN - There is much to be done and seen if you are interested in anything relating to horses. The Nearby Town of Tarbes is the centre of French equitation; here you will find the National Stud (Haras National). This is considered one of the most beautiful stud centres in France, covering 13 hectares with some eighty stallions used for breeding steeple chasers to race horses as well as ponies for leisure activities and working carthorses.
If you are interested in a flutter and want to try your luck at the races, in and around this area we have some superb racecourses, for example in Pau you will find one of France's leading racecourses, the Hippodrome du Pont-Long. This racecourse specialises in steeplechases (the only one outside Paris) and organises twenty-six days of racing every year, most of which are held during the winter.
In Pau we also have the International Three-Day Eventing Competition held every October that brings together competitors from over fifteen nations. Leading horsemen and women regularly attend this event at which an extremely high standard is always guaranteed.
Apart from the aforementioned there are numerous equestrian centres and pony clubs in this area.
The type of horses that we have here are a mixture of Pure Raza Espanol (Spanish) and Irish hunters. All our horses are well trained and bomb proof, this does not mean that the more experienced will be disappointed.
We can cope with almost any level of rider, from novice or first timer upwards, although we do not normally take children under the age of 14 yrs.
Apart from your hosts who are both hardened horse fanatics, we also have our resident English groom (female) who is very capable of assisting at almost any level, I can assure you that there is no shortage of experience here.
The tack is typically English although we do have some Spanish for those who would like to try something different.
The type of riding, there is no limit; we are presently reconstructing the cross-country course on our own land, whilst there is another area for show jumping. We can offer both of these as an alternative to out riding and find it very popular.
The out riding is spectacular, we are happy to offer a couple of hours active hacking or a full day, through a selection of terrain. We have fields and ditches, hills and forest. It is possible to ride for hours without crossing a road, even then it will be a country lane where it is completely unusual to find anything other than the odd tractor. We have found that our clients also enjoy passing through the local villages though, we have four within a ten-mile radius each with less than 150 habitants.
The land is situated in some of the best hunting area of France, a day without seeing a few deer cross our path would be unusual, let alone lots of other wonderful wild life.
We are happy to make a day riding with a picnic or BBQ style lunch out, or split the day into two sessions, depending on the standard of the rider and their requirements. We plan our riding at breakfast or dinner the night before after the clients have reminisced on the days events. There is so much fun riding here that we find the clients like to get involved in the planning.
Food, we offer Breakfast, typically French but some days a cooked English style depending on the days riding. Lunch normally consists of a light salad and cold meats or BBQ depending on the days activity. Dinner is a varied and continental flavour. There are several good restaurants within close proximity and the guests always have the choice.
Length of stay is a minimum of six nights during July August and September and three nights during the rest of the year.
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