Niveau : upper intermediate Activités complementaires : Yoga - massage - sauna Accompagnateurs non cavaliers admis : Yes
Have you ever dreamed of a paradise on Earth? A blend of cool flavorsome breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, endless sunny sandy beaches, lush forests composed of maritime pines, pearly lakes, cliffs, dunes, immaculate gastronomy based on seafood but not only, wine to satisfy the most demanding taste? We have a pick for you! This is “les Landes”, the Land where the living is easy. Pick and click an 8 day-7 night trek with 6 days on horseback, 3 of which with galloping along the beach.
At the end of each day, well-being is at rendezvous. Enjoy moments of pleasure: take part in a yoga session, get a massage or just relax at the sauna.
Standard safety rules must be followed around horses at any time. Participants can benefit of quality guidance from duly certified monitors/tour guides speaking French, English, German and Russian, specially trained to go along with partakers during many-hour treks and to introduce them to the stunning nature of the Atlantic coast of France (French professional certification: A.T.E., CQP ASA or BPJEPS Tourisme Équestre).
Horses and Tack
The majority of our 35 horses kept in an outdoors herd are Anglo-Arab. These perfectly trained, safe to ride horses put riders at ease in no time, establishing a friendly bond with them along the way. They are fitted with quality English horse tack. Saddle bags are at your disposal upon a simple request on-site.
Possibility of coming with your own horse?
Yes
Group size
A maximum of 8 in low and average season, or 10 riders in the high season , and a minimum of 4 participants can be admitted for a ride session. Should there only be 3 riders, an outing can still be held with the agreement of all and extra fee of 150 €/person is subject to charge.
Acommodation
Located in Mimizan Bourg, at the distance of 55 miles (90 km) slightly to the south-east from Bordeaux, the centre provides on-site accommodation as well as group transfers from/to main transport hubs :-
« Merignac International airport » and « Saint Jean SNCF railway station » to facilitate your transportation and to provide you with a cozy place to stay.
A candidate for an 8 day trek is required to display a sufficiently high level of training, able to withstand hours necessary to go across on all types of non-adapted terrains, such as pine forests, sandy beaches etc. at a canter or at a gallop, autonomously, by two or in a group.
This is a 6-day itinerant trail starting from the equestrian center on the first day and ending on the beach on Saturday.
Briefing on Sunday evening (7 pm-8 pm) or Monday morning after breakfast (9.30 am).
Day 1: Monday
09.00-9.30 am Breakfast at the Guest House
10.00-10.30 am Group transfer to Mimizan Plage
10.30-01.30 pm Leisure time: give it to individual visit of the picturesque Village of Mimizan Plage, walking on the beach, shopping, lunch at a restaurant of your choice
01.30-02.00 pm Group transfer to the Guest House
02.00-02.30 pm Meeting monitors and horses
Although you may have had years of successful horse riding, this first day test ride (3 hours approx.) can come handy either to get back on track or to continue developing your riding skills, as well as to establish an ongoing relationship with a professional monitor, to build confidence, to ensure understanding between you and the horse you are going to ride. Having considered your current level of training, our monitors in charge will be glad to advise you on many points to make your riding experience exceed your expectations, as well as to further improve your prowess.
We are not riding nose to tail during that week, giving the opportunity to each rider to keep control of his own horse at the different paces.
This way of hacking out offers to every rider :
to avoid the dust made by the riders in front !
to choose the speed of the pace each rider want to have, from slow to quick trot, and from canter to quick gallop !
Our horses are used to be independent one from the others, and may stay walking when other horses are starting to trot or galloping in front of them ! They stay under the control of the riders, and not under the group of horses.
It avoids also to have horses trotting all the time if some walk slow when some are walking quick
Nature lovers will be caught by the beauty of the area patched with wild forests and pastures surrounding the stables, to say nothing of the Atlantic ocean shore with its mesmerizing dunes just a stone’s throw away. All in all, the first day is a good key to a successful 6 day ride trek.
Day 2 Tuesday
Bias – Contis – St Julien. 30 km / 5 hours on horse
Program of the day : 5 hours to discover original forest – littoral coast landscape with high sandy dune (up to 150 meters over the sea level) and first beach ride either in the morning or in the evening, according to the tide of the ocean.
08h00 Breakfast.
09h00 Transfer to the horse’s field of the night.
10h00 Start of the trail ride
13h30 Lunch time and resting time
16h00 Start of the ride
19h00 Transfer back to the Guest House and its swimming pool by minibus (8 minutes)
Relaxing time, massage and Sauna available like every evening!
20h30 Dinner at the Guest house
Day 3 Wednesday
St Julien – Levignac – Lesperon. 35 km / 5 hours on horse
Programme : thelandscape and the nature are changing every day, offering all the various views of “The Landes”. Wild nature and wonderful ground for galloping. During the 2 next days, we’ll spend as much time with walking than with trotting, cantering or galloping. Visit of the most beautiful village of Landes “Lévignac“ and its church with magnificent paintings worthy of Michelangelo Buonarroti.Afternoon adventure trip in the wild along a clear and fresh river.Arrival at “Moulin de Caremonge”, wonderful and unexpected place, where we’ll leave the horses in their field beside a lake for the night. Relaxing evening time in the garden or beside the swimming pool , dinner and night at Manor House (according to availability). In July and August we organise a bivouac with a comfortable camp site beside the lake: barbecue, sangria around the campfire….
08h00 Breakfast, time to prepare a small luggage for the next night in the Manor House.
09h00 Transfer to the horses field of the night
10h00 Departure on horse
13h30 Lunch at Lévignac, Resting Time.
15h30 Departure on horse
18h30 Transfer by minibus to the Guest house (25 min)
20h30 Dinner.
Day 4. Thursday.
Lesperon– Mezos – Bias. 30 km / 4,5 hours on horse
Programme : wild nature and wonderful ground for galloping. Discovery of traditional Landes architecture from the 18th century. Various landscapes and ride along river in the original forest during the afternoon. Dinner at the Equestrian Guest House.
08h00 Breakfast
09h00 Departure to Caremonge, the horses’ field of the night (25 minutes)
10h00 Departure on horse
13h30 Lunch Time at Mezos. Resting Time.
16h00 Departure on horse for 2 more hours ride
19h00 Transfer back by minibus (10 minutes) to the Equestrian Guest House and its swimming pool
19h30 Relaxing time at the Guest House
20h30 Dinner at the Guest House.
Day 6. Friday.
Bias – Lespecier – ocean. 19 km / half day ride (4 hours on a horse)
Programme : half day rest and half day ride in the morning or in the evening depending on the low tide. National littoral Forest crossing and access to the beach – 2 hours on the beach. This half-day trail gives riders the opportunity to enjoy the Atlantic Ocean and have some more exciting gallops along the beach. The other half-day gives riders time to relax beside the swimming pool at the Guest House.
If the weather is fine, from June to the end of September, our riders have the opportunity to play and swim in the ocean with or without their horses.
08h00 or 10h00 Breakfast
20h00 or 21h00 Dinner at the Guest House
Day 7. Saturday.
Mimizan Village – Aureilhan Lake – Mimizan Beach 30 km / 5 hours on a horse
Programme:Full day ride– Ride in the forest and along Aureilhan lake (protected area) – At lunchtime, possibility to swim with the horses in the lake (in summer) – Ride along the river to Mimizan Beach. Forest and beach ride with the sunset.
According to the tide schedules, this program can be reversed.
08h00 Breakfast.
09h00 Departure to the horses’ place
10h00 Departure on horse
13h00 Lunch along the river
15h30 Departure on horse
19h00 Arrival at the Guest House
20h30 Dinner at the Guest House.
Day 8. Sunday.
Departure after breakfast
A transfer is organised for our guests from Mimizan to Bordeaux airport or Bordeaux railway station. Departure from the guest house according to the flight or train of the first client.
Route and times are indicative and subject to change depending on the general level of the group, weather conditions and tide times!
Kindly note:
Beach galloping is not a must but an option. Low/High tides must be respected.
Horse tack provided is not suitable to go on into the ocean. Friction caused by the contact with salted water and sand may hurt the animal and damage the equipment. Thus, no tack in the water !
Keep in mind that despite a relatively large size of the beach it remains a public place with all related rules of conduct applied
Overall, the goal is to have great fun with all the heart.
GROUP PROMO: 30% reduction for the 6th rider of a group
Low Season : 1349 €
Shoulder Season : 1499 €
High Season : 1599 €
The above mentioned prices are in shared rooms,
Including 1/2 a day of test riding with starting on a round trip of 6 days with 3 days passing by the beach. Discovering the tack, the way of evolution and speed on that sportive ride and testing the rider/horse match with the objective to finish with 100% enjoyment on the last days beach ride.
Arrival on Sunday afternoon between 6 h and 7h p.m. Full board on all whole day rides (for the half day rides on Monday lunch is not included)
Supplement in case of additional night on half-board 75 € at low season, 79 € at average season and 91 € at high season.
Single room supplement per week:
105 € at low season
170 € at average season
210 € at high season
Double room or twin room supplement per week:
85 € at average season
105 € at high season
Additional night possible in half board if people want to arrive 1 day before or start 1 or 2 days later . 90 €, 95 €, and 105 € according to the season
NON RIDER RATE
Prices are given in shared room including breakfast and dinner.
Herzlichen Dank, Michel, für die großartige und erlebnisreiche Woche! Lange (richtig lange) Reittage, schnelle (richtig schnelle) Galoppaden, Baden mit den Pferden, Rücksichtnahme auf individuelle Befindlichkeiten und Wünsche – ich wüsste nicht, was in einer Reitwoche noch mehr geboten werden könnte!
Good to know: Der Trail ist nicht konzipiert für unsichere und gemütliche Reiter (es gibt aber Alternativen, wenn man es langsamer angehen lassen möchte). Man bucht bei Michel keinen Aufenthalt in einem Fünf-Sterne-Hotel, sondern in einem Familienbetrieb. Michel und seine Leute sprechen hervorragend Englisch – die Muttersprache ist aber Französisch, und da vermutlich immer auch französische Mitreiter dabei sind, wird manchmal Französisch gesprochen.
Wenn das passt, steht einer phantastischen Woche nichts entgegen!
Die Pferde sind perfekt für den Trail. Sie sind lauffreudig und temperamentvoll, dabei aber klar im Kopf und sehr gut ausgebildet. Jedes Pferd gehört offensichtlich zur Familie. Auch wenn ihre Aufgabe anspruchsvoll ist – ich vermute, keines der Pferde würde seinen Job hinschmeißen, um in einer Box umhegt zu werden.
Die riesigen Pinienwälder mit den sandigen Böden schaffen die idealen Voraussetzungen für die Galoppaden. Die Route bietet auch viel Abwechslung. Die Picknickplätze und der Zeltplatz waren wunderschön. Die Reitführung durch Yohann war umsichtig und souverän. Die Strandtage mit den Pferden lassen wirklich keine Wünsche offen.
Und außerdem wird noch auf Sonderwünsche eingegangen! Ich habe den Trail mit einem Familienurlaub verbunden. Während der Rest der Familie surfte, hatte mein Sohn parallel eine Anfängerreitwoche gebucht. Er durfte an der Zeltübernachtung teilnehmen, hat sowohl Gruppen- als auch Einzelausritte mit Michel unternommen und hat im Laufe der Woche viel Selbstvertrauen auf dem Pferd gewonnen.
Annette Ledermann –
This was definitely one of the best trail rides I’ve done so far! I enjoyed every minute of it. The area is beautiful and perfect for riding, there are hardly any roads, but instead lots of sandy bridle paths in the pine and oak forests, long stretches of beach, and dirt tracks across the fields. The horses were lovely, I instantly fell in love with mine. We did all the canters one by one, and the horses were really easy to hold back and patiently waited until it was their turn for cantering / galloping. They were also very friendly towards people, and there was no kicking, as they are used to being out in the field together all year round. Yohan was a fantastic guide – thank you for this wonderful holiday! He took great care of the horses and the guests, was very flexible and accommodated for all our wishes. He let us ride in front whenever possible and made sure that everybody had fun during the ride, while also ensuring the safety of the group. The horses are very well taken care of, and they get a lot of rest time between rides. Also during lunch break they were always able to walk around on a big field, roll in the sand and eat fresh grass. Very happy horses indeed! Food was fantastic – thank you Christine for the home-made quiches you brought to our picnic lunch. I can definitely recommend this tour and would love to come back one day.
Ann Everin –
I went on this holiday in September with my 2 sisters. Michel is a lovely man with a fantastic sense of humour. His love of his horses shines through. The riding was fantastic with lots of long gallops through amazing country side and along the beach. The horses are all well behaved, forward going and lovely to ride.
Both Michel and Annette were fabulous hosts who went out of their way to make the holiday special. The picnic lunches were delicious, lots of food, wine, cider and beer and excellent company.
The accommodation was extremely comfortable and the swimming pool was great to relax in after a long day in the saddle.
The holiday was perfect in every way and I can’t wait to go back again next year to do one of the other rides lead by Michel.
Anonymous –
I love Michel. He’s an amazing and lovely man, devoted to his horses and clearly enjoys people’s company, but don’t expect him to stick to plans or timings!! I was given three horses to ride – all different, but lovely to ride. Very, very pleased that they actually needed riding and weren’t conditioned to ride nose to tail. They performed independently, so I was able to lead canters quite frequently, which I hugely appreciated as I lead rides myself.
I was the only guest on this week (in late March) but I wasn’t lonely. I was treated with care and great courtesy at the hotel in Mimizan. Michel and Annette are thoughtful, friendly, fun hosts, and Marianne, Michel’s pupil guide, is a remarkable young woman, who has already learned many of the trails. The lunches (picnics in the sun) were plentiful, excellent quality with lots of wine, cider, fun and laughter.
This is a unique ride run by a unique man. It is unforgettable, because he is unforgettable. It wasn’t perfect, but it would never be the same experience twice, I suspect, so it couldn’t be improved.
Upper-Intermediate minimum to Advanced 
: https://www.centre-equestre-marina.com/en/accommodation-and-transfers/our-house/ 
Atlantic Coast. July-August-September 
Sigrid Cobet –
Herzlichen Dank, Michel, für die großartige und erlebnisreiche Woche! Lange (richtig lange) Reittage, schnelle (richtig schnelle) Galoppaden, Baden mit den Pferden, Rücksichtnahme auf individuelle Befindlichkeiten und Wünsche – ich wüsste nicht, was in einer Reitwoche noch mehr geboten werden könnte!
Good to know: Der Trail ist nicht konzipiert für unsichere und gemütliche Reiter (es gibt aber Alternativen, wenn man es langsamer angehen lassen möchte). Man bucht bei Michel keinen Aufenthalt in einem Fünf-Sterne-Hotel, sondern in einem Familienbetrieb. Michel und seine Leute sprechen hervorragend Englisch – die Muttersprache ist aber Französisch, und da vermutlich immer auch französische Mitreiter dabei sind, wird manchmal Französisch gesprochen.
Wenn das passt, steht einer phantastischen Woche nichts entgegen!
Die Pferde sind perfekt für den Trail. Sie sind lauffreudig und temperamentvoll, dabei aber klar im Kopf und sehr gut ausgebildet. Jedes Pferd gehört offensichtlich zur Familie. Auch wenn ihre Aufgabe anspruchsvoll ist – ich vermute, keines der Pferde würde seinen Job hinschmeißen, um in einer Box umhegt zu werden.
Die riesigen Pinienwälder mit den sandigen Böden schaffen die idealen Voraussetzungen für die Galoppaden. Die Route bietet auch viel Abwechslung. Die Picknickplätze und der Zeltplatz waren wunderschön. Die Reitführung durch Yohann war umsichtig und souverän. Die Strandtage mit den Pferden lassen wirklich keine Wünsche offen.
Und außerdem wird noch auf Sonderwünsche eingegangen! Ich habe den Trail mit einem Familienurlaub verbunden. Während der Rest der Familie surfte, hatte mein Sohn parallel eine Anfängerreitwoche gebucht. Er durfte an der Zeltübernachtung teilnehmen, hat sowohl Gruppen- als auch Einzelausritte mit Michel unternommen und hat im Laufe der Woche viel Selbstvertrauen auf dem Pferd gewonnen.
Annette Ledermann –
This was definitely one of the best trail rides I’ve done so far! I enjoyed every minute of it. The area is beautiful and perfect for riding, there are hardly any roads, but instead lots of sandy bridle paths in the pine and oak forests, long stretches of beach, and dirt tracks across the fields. The horses were lovely, I instantly fell in love with mine. We did all the canters one by one, and the horses were really easy to hold back and patiently waited until it was their turn for cantering / galloping. They were also very friendly towards people, and there was no kicking, as they are used to being out in the field together all year round. Yohan was a fantastic guide – thank you for this wonderful holiday! He took great care of the horses and the guests, was very flexible and accommodated for all our wishes. He let us ride in front whenever possible and made sure that everybody had fun during the ride, while also ensuring the safety of the group. The horses are very well taken care of, and they get a lot of rest time between rides. Also during lunch break they were always able to walk around on a big field, roll in the sand and eat fresh grass. Very happy horses indeed! Food was fantastic – thank you Christine for the home-made quiches you brought to our picnic lunch. I can definitely recommend this tour and would love to come back one day.
Ann Everin –
I went on this holiday in September with my 2 sisters. Michel is a lovely man with a fantastic sense of humour. His love of his horses shines through. The riding was fantastic with lots of long gallops through amazing country side and along the beach. The horses are all well behaved, forward going and lovely to ride.
Both Michel and Annette were fabulous hosts who went out of their way to make the holiday special. The picnic lunches were delicious, lots of food, wine, cider and beer and excellent company.
The accommodation was extremely comfortable and the swimming pool was great to relax in after a long day in the saddle.
The holiday was perfect in every way and I can’t wait to go back again next year to do one of the other rides lead by Michel.
Anonymous –
I love Michel. He’s an amazing and lovely man, devoted to his horses and clearly enjoys people’s company, but don’t expect him to stick to plans or timings!! I was given three horses to ride – all different, but lovely to ride. Very, very pleased that they actually needed riding and weren’t conditioned to ride nose to tail. They performed independently, so I was able to lead canters quite frequently, which I hugely appreciated as I lead rides myself.
I was the only guest on this week (in late March) but I wasn’t lonely. I was treated with care and great courtesy at the hotel in Mimizan. Michel and Annette are thoughtful, friendly, fun hosts, and Marianne, Michel’s pupil guide, is a remarkable young woman, who has already learned many of the trails. The lunches (picnics in the sun) were plentiful, excellent quality with lots of wine, cider, fun and laughter.
This is a unique ride run by a unique man. It is unforgettable, because he is unforgettable. It wasn’t perfect, but it would never be the same experience twice, I suspect, so it couldn’t be improved.