Last year La Pignade — our holiday parc in Ronce-les-Bains, in the sunshine department of Charente Maritime — launched an equestrian centre (Caliper Ronçois) with pony and horse riding tours through the picturesque La Coubre forest, and along the Plage du Galon d’Or.

The tours have quickly become a favourite of siblu customers and locals too, which is a sure sign of their popularity. These aren’t just short jaunts around a local field: they include night treks through the forest and day-long hiking expeditions to explore a wide range of scenery and spot local wildlife.

Looking through these pictures from La Pignade, you get a sense of just how picturesque the tours are. La Coubre forest was planted in the 17th century to stabilise the region’s sand dunes, and the many pines now shelter a red squirrels, goats, deer, boar and foxes, and incredibly rich and varied vegetation.

One of the most popular elements of La Pignade’s riding school is the half-day training course for children and adults, which combines riding and horse care to give a broader view of what goes into looking after horses.

Of course, the ponies and horses get their free time too. They are resident at La Pignade and stay in the parc’s own slice of La Coubre forest, where they can be visited when they’re not taking part in tours and care courses.

This is a great way to learn to ride, in relaxed, scenic surroundings. There are beginner and advanced lessons from 17€, with pony walks from 5€, coastal hikes from 50€ and full-day horse care courses from 40€.

There will be half and one hour rides available for children on the small ponies, with prices from just €12.

And for people who want to find out even more about horses, there will be an expert on parc giving half-day courses on pony care (the French translation of this is Hippology – a lovely new word to use).

This sounds like a great idea for children interested in owning their own pony or horse – unless of course your aim is to discourage their dream!

And horse riding isn’t the only new skill that can be learned at Domaine de Litteau. Children can learn how to fish in the parc’s trout-filled pools, and Domaine de Litteau recently set up a partnership with Omaha Beach Club to offer discounted golf lessons on one of the best courses in France.

With prices at the parc starting from just £262 for a mobile home and including Dover to Calais ferries, I think this is a really great parc to pick for an early season break.

Free football tournaments: 12 siblu parcs are introducing free siblu soccer tournaments for all ages. These will be free events that will run three times every week through July and August. There will be two tournaments organized by age group, and parents will be able to show off their dazzling soccer skills by taking part in games for 14s and over.

New horse riding lessons: For those who prefer stirrups to kick ups, La Pignade in Charente Maritime (recently named the sunniest region on the Atlantic coast) is launching horse-riding lessons through the forests of Charente Maritime. La Pignade is introducing a pony school for children in July and August. Three hours tuition will cost just €25 per person.

Pirate Pong: There is a new baddy at siblu’s free children’s clubs, with Pirate Pong part of the action for the first time in 2009. Siblu’s kids’ clubs provide activities as diverse as fashion shows to sumo wrestling and are organized around different age groups.