You are better off doing this outside Paris, as there are no stables just open to the general public by the hour, etc, in Paris. It is pretty regulated; also, you have to have a riding permit (sort of like driving a car) issued by the Federation Francaise d'Equitation (
www.ffe.org or
www.dnse-ffe.org/club/paris/paris3.htm gives a list of local riding clubs in Paris), I have read and belong to a local riding club to ride in Paris (eg, at Bois de Vincennes or Boulogne), plus have the appropriate gear which might be a bit much to travel with. But I know there are places outside Paris where they do rent horses more casually. I can't characterize all of France to tell you the best place to go, but I'm sure there is good riding in many more rural parts of France, wherever outdoor activities are good (Dordogne, Loire, Normandy, Provence, Perigord, S Central, etc). You can ride in Fontainebleau, right near Paris, here is a URL for that place:
www.centre-equestre77.com. There is some info on this on the Normandy tourism web site (
www.normandy-tourism.org); that would be a good place to go, you can write them for a brochure, info is on this URL:
www.normandy-tourism.org A couple URLs from that site for places that rent horses in Normandy (Calvados, I think) are:
www.multimania.com/bgrivel and appaloosa.evasion.free.fr <BR>A lot of these places don't rent horses to people casually by the hour, they want you to be a long-term member or take classes or something. I ride some (used to more) and found that it was getting more difficult to rent a horse in the US by the hour, also, a lot of places were closing down for hourly rentals. I believe many stables usually have English saddles in France, although I have seen French cavalry saddles on some riding tours in the countryside, which are like Western-style. I don't know which part of France would be absolutely the best, I know there is a big equestrian center near Lac du Salagou in SCentral France, the Herault region (where Montpelier is, includes the Camargue I believe, home of the French "cowboy"). Here is some info on a local French webportal about riding places in that region:
www.heraultnet.com/equitation/index.htm.If you don't want to go far from Paris, I'd think Normandy would be good, although I'm sure the Loire Valley has places, also, I know many riding tours take place in the Loire. Saumur, west of tours, bills itself as the capital of equitation on its web site (
www.ville-saumur.fr). There is an organization called Delegation Nationale de Tourisme Equestre which is a part of the FFE, which may be able to give you brochures or info, they are at 30 av d'Ilena, Paris 16 (FAX 53-67-44-22). There is a good article on riding in France on the French Foreign Ministry website (called Discover France by Horse or Decouvrez la France a Cheval), but it is only in French, if you or she can read it here it is:
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/labe...al/cheval.html