Improve your dressage, show jumping, and cross-country skills during our Summer Horseback Riding camp in France. An unforgettable camp in a magnificent equestrian center!
If you've studied French and want to improve it while practicing your favorite sport, enroll in this French summer camp near Lyon for one or two weeks! This is a fully supervised French immersion. Summer camps in France for teens!
Book a summer at our Horseback Riding Academy in France 2026!
Summer Horseback Riding camps in France for teens
We offer all-inclusive residential pony camps for 7 or 14 days for teenagers during the summer holidays. Book the residential riding camp and travel to France next summer! Participants can select a sport to practice intensively during the French summer camp. A 30-hour-per-week sports program includes:
- Technical workshops: personalized exercises for getting into the saddle, improving balance, controlling fast paces, and driving and controlling the horse.
- Challenge workshops: walking, lunging, rides, acrobatics, equestrian games.
- Obstacle course, cross country, and specific preparation exercises.
- Competition workshops: passing a gallop if a previous level is reached (Federal license required).
- For stays of more than 14 days, an outing to the Accro'bath park is organized followed by a swimming afternoon.
The Horseback Riding camp in Mâcon is dedicated to good horsemen/women minimum Galop 3 or BHS Stage 3 (UK equivalent from Galop 3)
2026 FRANCE HORSEBACK RIDING CAMP
Our summer sports camps in the Lyon area are organized in Mâcon in France. This campus is in a lush green park, 10 minutes from the city center. It offers excellent facilities: dormitories, sports fields, indoor and outdoor courts, water sports facilities nearby (the ones on the campus are used for the Swimming camp), tennis fields, a gymnasium, a leisure and activity room, a self-service restaurant, etc. The students can practice sports and educational activities in complete safety at the campus in Mâcon.
All our sports camps are developed and organized by our sports affiliate, SPORTS ELITE JEUNES. The sports and activities offered in Mâcon take place in world-class facilities used for training French national teams. Our coaches have years of experience running training and practice sessions. They are experienced and highly skilled. They have a Sports Coach Diploma in their specific field or work in school as sports coaches.
LANGUAGE DURING THE HORSEBACK RIDING SUMMER CAMP IN FRANCE
The majority of participants (90%) are French. Coaches and assistants are all French, and foreign students make the most of these sports camps to improve their French skills because they are immersed in a French-speaking environment 24 hours a day. French is the language used during all activities - sports, leisure time, social activities, meals, etc.
This camp does not include French lessons
Discover our French and sports camps in France!
Read our French Sports Camp Director, Juliette!
If you participate in this Horse Riding summer camp in France, you will be able to:
- Practice horse riding 6 hours per day
- Participate in evening activities
- Participate in weekend activities
- For a 2 week stay, you will be able to go to a climbing park with your new friends in Macon
Your French camp leaders will organize nice activities during this Horse Riding summer camp in Rhone-Alpes like games, contests, parties, competitions, etc.
During this Horseback riding summer camp in France, campers live in student residences. All meals included.
- Shared bedroom ( 2 - 4 beds per room)
- You can share a bedroom with your friend/sibling
- The cafeteria is self-service. Balanced menu for campers.
If you have any special diet, please contact your Nacel advisor.
Horse Riding Summer Camp in France: choose your dates in 2026
* Prices in Euros
French Summer Camps in France 2026
Each camp session lasts for 7 or 14 days. Arrival on Sunday and departure on Saturday.
Arrival dates for July in Macon are:
- July 5, 2026 (1 or 2 weeks)
- July 12, 2026 (1 or 2 weeks)
- July 19, 2026 (1 or 2 weeks)
- July 26, 2026 (1 or 2 weeks)
All our sports camps in France are developed and organized by our sports affiliate, SPORTS ELITE JEUNES.
TRAIN TRANSFERS
For an additional fee, we can arrange accompanied transportation by train from Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Rennes, Metz, and Bordeaux to the camp and back.
This extra option includes:
A round-trip train ticket
SEJ supervision throughout the journey
Transfers between the train stations and the camp
Students may also join the group directly at the designated train station and travel to the camp using our daily shuttle service.
Please note that this shuttle operates only once per day, at the same time as the group arriving from Paris, for both arrival and departure. (Please contact us for the exact schedule.)
🚫 We do not provide airport pick-ups.
Students must either be dropped off directly at the camp or book the accompanied train transfer option.
💰 What's Included in the Price?
- Administration fees
- Full board accommodation in shared rooms
- Sports activities are carefully supervised and led by certified chaperones
- Access to all sports equipment on the campus
- Social activities during the weekend and in the evenings
- Support, assistance, and 24H emergency response phone number during the whole program
🚫 What's Not Included?
- Round-trip international airfare
- Non-compulsory insurance (luggage lost, flight delay, etc.)
- Visa, passport, and medical exam fees
- Group transfer from a Paris train station to the Vichy campus by train, with French chaperones, and back
- Personal expenses and spending money
- Medical, Liability, and Emergency Repatriation insurance: please provide an insurance certificate
If you want to be part of our Horseback Riding Camp in France, you must consider that:
- In Mâcon, we only accept students from 13 to 17 years of age with a minimum of GALOP 3. We do not accept beginners.
- You must have studied French for two years.
- You must have strong motivation and willingness to create friendships with other participants.
- You have to make your best effort to speak in French at all times
- You have to make sure that you have the physical and mental condition to be part of this program
- You are an experienced horserider and practice the sport regularly.
- In Vichy, riding is possible for beginners up to GALOP 3 but only for 13-14 year-olds at the French & Sports Training summer camp in France.
This program lets you improve your French, practice a sport and make new friends. Our campers are expected to be mature and flexible.
THIS IS A NON-SMOKING PROGRAM.
Frequently Asked Questions
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During our sports camp in France your child will be surrounded by French teens. Improvement comes from constant immersion, using the language daily with native speakers. Studies show that four weeks of immersion can be as effective as a year of college language study due to the constant practice.
Cell phones are allowed at the camp and their use is subject to the following rules:
- They may only be used during free time and just before meals.
- They cannot be used during camp activities to ensure smooth operation.
- Phones are collected by the management team every night to avoid disturbing campers while they sleep.
- Wifi access on campus is not guaranteed.
- Parents can contact the camp director daily from 6 pm to 7 pm.
- In case of an emergency, parents can contact our 24/7 emergency phone number.
Please remember to disclose any allergies during registration. If you indicate on the booking form that your child has allergies, we will provide you with an allergy form. Please complete the allergy form as soon as possible so that we can assess the camp's ability to accommodate your child's condition.
For stays of two consecutive weeks, laundry will be done at the end of the first week. However, we advise you to bring clothes for 10 days.
The supervision ratio is one adult for every 6 children. The camp staff is present during the campers' daily activities, including waking up, meal times, bedtime, evening entertainment, sports training, and language classes. Campers are not allowed to leave the campus unsupervised.
It is common in France not to have A/C in school buildings. As the camps are held in boarding schools that are available during the summer, they do not have A/C.
Their day starts at 7:30 am and ends at 10:00 pm
Yes. Your child can be dropped off between 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm on the first day. Pickup time on the last day is between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm.
If you are unable to collect your child yourself and allow another person to pick them up, we will send you a parental authorization form, which you will need to complete and sign.
If you authorize your child to return home alone, we will send you a parental authorization form, which you will need to complete and sign. For those traveling on their own, we provide a free shuttle service between the station and the accommodation center, at a fixed time on arrival and departure. The shuttle times will be shared 1 week in advance. We recommend booking a taxi in advance to make sure your child catches the train/plain.
After booking you will receive a welcome pack with all the information about the camp including a packing list with clear instructions what to bring for each sport.
.If your child's train timetable does not correspond to the free shuttle bus timetable you'll need to book a cab in advance. You must let us know the name of the cab company, phone number and pick-up time
Once classes are booked, they are non-refundable.
Your child may need a medical consultation. In that case one of the staff members will accompany your child to the doctor or hospital. The cost of the visit is their responsibility and should be immediately paid at the location of the appointment.
- Estimated price for a doctor who comes to see the patient: 45€
- Estimated price for a visit to a general practice doctor: 23€
- Estimated price for a visit to a specialized doctor: 45€
Please keep in mind the following information:
- To fully immerse your child in the French experience, we would like to encourage you to limit contact with them. However, your child may reach out to you if necessary.
- In case of an emergency, please contact our 24/7 emergency phone number
- A blog with daily updates and pictures of the camp will be available. You will receive the login and details a week before the camp.
All stays include full-board meals (breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner) served either self-service or at the table, well-balanced and adapted to sports activities.
- 7:45 am - 8:15 am: Wake-up call
- 8:15 am - 9:00 am : Breakfast
- 9 am - 12:30 pm: Sports program
- 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Lunch
- 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm: Free time
- 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm: Sports program or French courses
- 5:30 pm - 7 pm: Showers + Free time
- 7 pm - 8 pm: Dinner
- 8 pm - 9 pm: Free time
- 9 pm - 10 pm: evening activities
We recommend that participants have 25 € pocket money per week. To avoid loss or theft, the pocket money must be given (it is compulsory) to the center's director. A coach opens the “bank” daily.
We are committed to doing everything in our power to motivate your child to stay and provide the necessary support. However, if your child decides to leave early and you agree to end the camp, please note that there will be no refund for the remaining days.
Arrival:
Direct Drop-off: Bring your child to the camp in Macon, Montauban, or Vichy on Sunday.
Train Arrival: Bring your child to Paris' Gare Bercy (for Vichy) or Gare de Lyon (for Macon) to join campers traveling by train between 12-2 p.m.
Departure:
Pick-up: Collect your child from camp on Saturday.
Train Return: Your child can return by accompanied group train travel to Gare Bercy or Gare de Lyon. You may pick them up at the station.
Other French stations available upon request. We do not offer Airport transfers.
