Northern Paris: Horse Riding to Château de Chantilly

Visiting Château de Chantilly on Horseback

My Experience in Photo’s

You’ll find Château de Chantilly within the Domaine de Chantilly in the town of Chantilly in Northern Paris, only 40 minutes from Paris Beauvais Airport.

I had the pleasure of being part of a blogger trip to Northern Paris in May of this year and Chantilly was part of my experience … and what an experience it was!

Horse riding on Henson horses to the magnificent Château de Chantilly is stuff dreams are made of. I hope to one day return and experience it all again, but for now my photo’s will remind me of what a time I had … and on that note here is my experience in photo’s …

click to zoom small images

The Introduction

It all started off at the grand Espace Equestre Henson-Chantilly HQ, where we left our belongings, met a very happy dog, and were introduced to our riding instructors.

Northern Paris, Horse Riding to Château de Chantilly

The Stables

Next it was on to the stable area where we where we were not so much suited but definitely booted. We picked our riding hats, were given our reins but most importantly assigned our own Henson horse.

My horse for our Château de Chantilly experience was to be ‘Volga’, named after the longest river in Europe. I was excited, nervous but excited.

The Horses

The Henson horses (which we saw from our mini-van as we entered the town of Chantilly) are kept in a meadow right next to the Equestrian HQ, making the whole scene a stunning one.

We crossed the river that led to the Equestrian building, through one field, and found our beautiful beasts happily grazing on the green pastures.

Meeting my Horse Volga

After we were each introduced to our horse, the next task was to walk our horse through the field to where our horse saddle pads and saddles were waiting. Volga and I got on immediately, she was gorgeous.

After I found Volga’s saddle pad and saddle the next step was to saddle her.

We were given instructions and all of our efforts were double checked by our instructors.

Instructions were given on how to ride our horses.

We were all set to go.

I grabbed Volga’s mane and mounted her, leaving most of my nerves back on the ground I’d just left.

The Riding Adventure

Then it was out of the Equestrian grounds, along the tree-lined river, through Chantilly town – uphill mind you! and onto Domaine de Chantilly. Amazing!

As we entered the beautiful grounds of Chantilly we could hear and see some of the action of the Chantilly International Showing Jumping event.

This building pictured above is the stables of Domaine de Chantilly, yes the stables! Such grand and wonderful architecture, and an idea of how precious the Chantilly horses were.

Today it houses ‘Nouveau Musée du Cheval’ the ‘New Museum of the Horse’, which celebrates the history of the horse, man’s companion for more than 6,000 years.

The view of Château de Chantilly as we trotted nearer was brilliant, a real yet unreal experience.

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Domaine de Chantilly

Domaine de Chantilly is spread over nearly 20,000 acres, 7,800 hectares to be precise. It has the largest forest in the Paris region and Espace Equestre Henson-Chantilly is the only equestrian centre with access to it. What a privilege.

As we made our way through the gardens, forest and past the grand entrance, it was time to say goodbye to Château de Chantilly from the comfort of our saddles and make our way back to the equestrian HQ.

Of course we had to make a little pit stop for a nibble. Volga deserved every munch of that green grass along the riverside.

It was also the perfect opportunity for a quick photograph with my new best pal.

Back at the meadow it was time to say farewell to our strong elegant friends. I wonder if they are aware of the dreams they help come true, or the lasting memories they help create?

Thank you too Oise Tourism, Beauvais Airport Tourism and of course to Espace Equestre Henson-Chantilly for igniting my love for horse-riding and for a memory that will last a lifetime.

For more information on horse-riding packages and on how to book your experience visit Espace Equestre Henson-Chantilly.

For more information on Domaine de Chantilly visit the Oise Tourism website at oisetourisme.com and be sure to watch the video! and Beauvais Airport Tourism at destination-beauvais-paris.com.

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