Learn Horsemanship in Saumur

Honest level: Advanced rider -> ecuyer / instructor — ask the school exactly how far that goes in the time you have.

Stage de perfectionnement équitation (IFCE / Cadre Noir)

At the home of French classical equitation, the IFCE training pole at Saumur runs perfectionnement courses where riders work in the Cadre Noir's arenas under écuyers and IFCE trainers, refining position and the principles of classical French riding (the tradition of haute école: piaffe, passage, airs above the ground). The courses run multi-day on IFCE or personal horses and are oriented toward developing technical and teaching competence; most structured programs are aimed at instructors and advanced/competition riders rather than novices. Best suited to serious riders wanting time inside the institution that defines the discipline.

Hands-on time inside the Cadre Noir's school at Saumur, the literal source of classical French horsemanship, under master écuyers.

Masters & lineage

• The Cadre Noir lineage (after Francois Robichon de La Gueriniere)

Why IFCE — École Nationale d'Équitation / Cadre Noir de Saumur

• ★ 4.5/5 · 1274 reviews on TripAdvisor ↗

— don't take my word, check it yourself

France's state riding school, home of the Cadre Noir whose écuyers practice the "Equestrian art of the Cadre Noir" inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, and which trains the country's senior equestrian instructors and Olympic-discipline competitors.

Schools in Saumur

Checked by hand against each school's own course pages. No school paid to be listed.

• IFCE — École Nationale d'Équitation / Cadre Noir de Saumur
  Stage de perfectionnement équitation (IFCE / Cadre Noir)
  At the home of French classical equitation, the IFCE training pole at Saumur runs perfectionnement courses where riders work in the Cadre Noir's arenas under écuyers and IFCE trainers, refining positi
  https://www.ifce.fr/en/cadre-noir/
• Ecole Nationale d'Equitation (Cadre Noir)
  Formation écuyer du Cadre Noir / stages de perfectionnement
  France's national riding school at Saumur, home of the Cadre Noir, training écuyers and offering advanced classical-equitation perfectionnement stages taught by Cadre Noir squires.
  https://www.ifce.fr/cadre-noir/
• IFCE (Institut Francais du Cheval et de l'Equitation)
  Pôle de formation IFCE - Cadre Noir de Saumur (BPJEPS/DEJEPS/DESJEPS and perfectionnement stages)
  The French public institute operating the Saumur training centre, delivering professional equestrian instructor and trainer qualifications (BPJEPS, DEJEPS, DESJEPS) and perfectionnement stages taught by Cadre Noir écuyers.
  https://www.ifce.fr/cadre-noir/formations-ifce-cadre-noir-de-saumur/

The credential

Cadre Noir ecuyer training / BHS Stage & Instructor qualifications · Certifying body: Classical academy diploma (Cadre Noir / Spanish Riding School lineage) / BHS (British Horse Society)

A recognised qualification an outside body stands behind is not the same as a certificate a school prints itself. We name which it is — you should ask the school the same.

Also for Horsemanship

What I check before I send you anywhere

I'm Arnaud. I cook for a living, and I've spent fifteen years on the water — so I know the difference between a real school and a good-looking website. I built the Atlas because I got tired of the second kind. Here is what a place has to clear before it goes on here, and what I'll tell you straight when it doesn't.

• The craft is actually alive there. A working scene, with people who do this every day — not a demo put on for visitors.
• There's a real teacher behind it. Named, still practising, and certified where the craft has certificates.
• The credential is what it claims to be. A state diploma and a certificate a school prints itself are not the same thing. I check which, and I say which.
• I tell you how sure I am. Most pages here are verified by hand. A few say "still checking" — I'd rather admit that than pretend.
• Nobody pays to be here. No commission, no selling the trip. The order on this map is the strength of the community, never the size of the wallet.
• If I wouldn't send a friend, it isn't on the map.