Private Tour: Normandy Thoroughbred Horse Studs Tour from Caen with Optional Horseback Riding

Caen, France

Visit some of the best Thoroughbred studs in Normandy on a private tour from Caen. You'll enjoy specialized insight from a private guide, a horseman who worked for many years at top horse stud stables in France and England and who kept close ties with owners of prominent studs. Hotel pickup and drop-off is included.

Your guide picks you up in the morning to begin your tour from Caen, heading first to a place near Lisieux where you can watch yearlings, foals, and mares being put out for the day.

Chat with the owner over a cup of coffee before taking a guided tour around the entire stud ('stud' can refer to the horses themselves who are used for breeding, as well as the place, typically a farm, where the studs are kept). Learn all about the history of horse-breeding in Normandy and how breeding in France differs from other places.

For lunch, visit Beuvron-en-Auge, one of the most charming villages of the Pays d'Auge; your guide takes you to a crêperie where you can enjoy a few of these thin French pancakes. In the afternoon, depending on the season, you'll visit two more studs to see the best racing stallions in France, and then either a jumping horses stud (in winter) or a polo training and breeding facility near Lisieux (in summer).

Along the way, take in the Normandy landscape and historical villages. Your tour ends with return to Caen for drop-off.

Optional horseback riding (summer season only):
For experienced equestrians who would like to go for a horseback ride, your guide can organize this on the beach in Deauville at sunset (own expense). Boots and helmet are provided.