Terms and Conditions

The following conditions form the basis of your contract with the Bourdil Blanc, 24520 Saint Sauveur de Bergerac, France (hereinafter referred to as the "Company"). The "Client" means each person named on the Booking Form.

The conditions set out our respective rights and obligations and you should therefore read them carefully.

The Booking Form must be signed by the first named person who must be at least 18 years of age. By signing the Booking Form the person agrees to accept these conditions on behalf of himself/herself and all other persons named on the Booking Form. The first named person is responsible for all payments due in respect of the holiday.

A binding contract comes into existence only once written confirmation of the booking has been dispatched by us to you following receipt of the completed Booking Form and initial or full payment. The confirmation forms part of the contract. If for any reason the Company does not accept the booking, your deposit will be returned. The Company reserves the right not to accept a booking.

Everyone going on holiday must check all documents (including the acceptance and invoice) carefully. Please contact us immediately if any information is incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later. If we do not hear from you within seven days of our sending any document to you we will assume it is correct and meets with your requirements.

The contract is governed by and construed in accordance with English law and in the unlikely event of any dispute between us we both agree that it is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales only.

You accept that the Company is responsible for providing all accommodation, meals and equestrian activities and transfers between Bergerac and the Bourdil Blanc but that all travel, car hire, passport, visa, currency and other travel arrangements are totally your own responsibility.

Insurance

Horse riding is classified as a high-risk sport. We cannot accept responsibility for injury, illness or damage caused due to circumstances beyond their control. We will not be liable for any personal injury, damage, loss, vexation, distress, disappointment, inconvenience or irregularity sustained by the client during the course of the holiday, unless and to the extent that it can be proved that such injury, loss or damage was directly caused by the neglect or direct action of the Company or its employees.

All activities are undertaken at the risk of the client. Good personal holiday insurance is therefore essential for a worry-free holiday. We ask you to take out appropriate medical and third party cover insurance for the full duration of your holiday to cover you in the event of an emergency, whilst taking part in the arrangements organised, which covers personal injury, medical expenses, death and repatriation. You need to provide us with details of your insurance at the time of booking.

You are also strongly advised to take out appropriate insurance to cover you in the event of delays in your travel arrangements and against cancellation charges payable, if you have to cancel or curtail your trip, which are not covered by our insurance. Please note that luggage, valuables and all other personal effects are also your sole responsibility at all times, unless and to the extent that the loss or damage is proved to have been caused by the negligence of the Company or its employees.

Your responsibilities/riding safety

When you book a holiday with us you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Proper payment for any such damage or loss must be made at the time.

The use of the accommodation and amenities such as the swimming pool, lake or tennis court is entirely at the user's risk and no responsibility can be accepted for injury and loss or damage as a result of using these.

You are responsible for completing the Booking Form as accurately and as truthfully as possible, particularly ensuring that all riders have accurately described their riding ability and not exaggerated their riding ability or general fitness level. Riders may be assessed before they begin their riding activities and you hereby accept that the selection of suitable horses and activities is totally at the discretion of the guide(s).

You hereby acknowledge that even the best-supervised equestrian activities are inherently dangerous and that people can suffer bodily or other injuries when riding or coming near a horse. Horses are unpredictable by nature. When frightened by real or perceived danger or when under stress, they can jump forward or sideways, run, buck, bite, kick or rear without warning. Risk of injury is inherent in this activity. The Client confirms that they are fully aware and accept the risk of injury or death caused by horseback riding.

While riding, or in the vicinity of horses it is the responsibility of the customer to behave in a suitable courteous and sensible and safe manner at all times and with due care and consideration for other people at all times and to comply with the instructions of the guide. It is a condition of your booking that you accept that the guide is entitled to require you to dismount or to refuse to allow you to ride, if for any reason including your inability, behaviour or health they consider that you may endanger the safety or welfare of yourself, the horses or any other person.

To avoid any unnecessary risks to customers, our colleagues at the riding centre must reserve the right to modify or terminate the holiday without notice of any rider who, in their opinion, proves to be unsuitable for the ride chosen. In this situation our responsibilities towards that person will immediately cease and we will not be responsible for meeting any costs or expenses that may incur as a result. We will not make any refunds or pay any compensation. In the unlikely event any additional costs will be borne by the customer.

If local conditions, such as bad weather, damage to tracks and riding surfaces, closure of routes, fitness of horses all of which may present hazards to the safety of the ride dictate a change in the proposed itinerary, the decision of the guide as to changes must be accepted and no refund will be offered in such circumstances.

We insist that all riders wear suitable clothing, footwear and a hard hat in line with current safety regulations. We reserve the right to curtail the riding activities of any client who in the opinion of our instructors is not suitably equipped. While the riding centre has a range of suitable headgear, you are strongly advised to bring your own approved riding hat, jodhpurs/breeches or jodhpur boots. We cannot guarantee to provide suitable headgear.

Our liability to you

We accept responsibility for ensuring that all accommodation, meals, equestrian tuition and activities and local transport that we provide are properly performed. We cannot accept liability for any failure to perform if improper performance was due to:
(a) Your own acts and/or omissions
(b) The acts and/or omissions of a third party not connected with the provision of your arrangements which were unforeseen or unavoidable or
(c) An event which could not have been foreseen or forestalled with due care

The Company has no liability whatsoever for your travel arrangements, provision of suitable riding wear, car hire, cancellation and delay holiday insurance and travel documents.

We regret that we cannot accept liability for any loss, damage or inconvenience resulting to the client or pay compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by "force majeure". In these Booking conditions "force majeure" means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, prevent, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

Cancellations/alterations by you

Should you or any member of your party wish to cancel or alter your chosen holiday once it has been confirmed, the party leader, i.e. the person who signed the relevant booking form must immediately advise us in writing by recorded delivery. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when we receive it in writing. The date of cancellation will be the date the written notice is actually received by us so you are recommended to use recorded delivery. Cancellation charges will be payable to compensate us for the cost of making your booking and the difficulty we may have in re-booking the cancelled holiday with another client.

If we receive your notice three months or more before departure you will lose your deposit. Within three months of your holiday cancellation charges are 100% of your holiday. These cancellation charges will also apply if you wish to change the dates of your holiday.

We recommend that you take out holiday cancellation insurance to cover this eventuality. Depending on the reason for your cancellation you may then be able to reclaim these cancellation charges from the insurance company. However, in the event of a cancellation we will, if practicable, find alternative customers and refund any payments made after deduction of any costs and/or reduced revenue occurring.

If any member(s) of your party is prevented from travelling, the person(s) concerned will be able to transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you) providing the following requirements are complied with. We must be notified of the transfer(s) in writing (giving full details of the original and substitute party member(s)) not less than two weeks before departure. A transfer will not be possible if there is a waiting list for places, in which case the available place must be offered to the next person on the list. We reserve the right to also amend or decline the substitute party member as an alternative client, if we feel their riding ability is not suitable or their personal requirements are too difficult for us to provide within the time. In such circumstances you will be liable for the cancellation charges as set out above.

However, where a transfer to a person of your choice can be made, all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers as a result, together with an amendment fee (comprising a £30 administration fee and all communication and other costs incurred) must be paid before the transfer can be effected

Brochure/Website accuracy

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the brochure/website and other information at the time of going to press, regrettably errors do occasionally occur and changes may happen in the facilities and arrangements. We reserve the right to modify, alter or curtail your holiday or riding itinerary without liability. In the event of circumstances outside the control of the Company resulting in a limitation or withdrawal of facilities, the Company also cannot be held responsible.

The information and prices shown in the brochure/website may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. In this event we will inform you of any changes of which we have been notified ahead of time. You must therefore check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.

If you contact us about a proposed booking and changes have been made to the published information we will endeavour to inform you of all such changes before your booking is confirmed. Once your booking has been confirmed, we will try to ensure that the trip is run as booked but in very rare circumstances it may be necessary to make changes after confirmation. Any necessary changes will usually be minor but very occasionally it may be necessary to make a significant change, that is a change in dates, a change to a lower standard of accommodation or a change to the riding programme. Where such a significant change is made we will notify you and offer you two choices if there is time to do so, to: (i) accept the change(s) or (ii) cancel and receive a full refund (other than for a low number of bookings and force majeure). If you choose to cancel you will receive a refund in these circumstances and you will also be entitled to compensation of £20 per booking. Our liability to you if significant changes are necessary is limited to offering you these choices and to compensation of £20 per booking. Please note that the above options are not available when any change made is minor. In this case (when the change is not a significant one as defined above) we will try and notify you but are not obliged to and you are not entitled to any refund or compensation as a result of such minor change.

Cancellations/alterations by us

We reserve the right to cancel your booked holiday should full payment not be received at least three months before the start of your holiday (except in the case of late bookings) and levy cancellation charges as described in the above section.

On rare occasions we may be obliged to cancel your holiday for a reason other than a fault of yours (including non payment by you of any money due) or other than a result of force majeure or low bookings, in which case we will give you a full refund. In addition you will be entitled to cancellation compensation of £20 per booking. We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation.

Low Bookings

Prices for our holidays assume a minimum number of six participants. If this minimum number is not reached by the due date for payment of your balance (three months before the holiday start date) we reserve the right to (a) cancel the departure or (b) postpone the due date for payment of the balance until one month before the start date or (c) with your agreement continue with the arrangements for fewer participants at the necessary supplement. If we cancel as in option (a) we will notify you in writing and will refund in full any deposit or other payment made to us by you for the arrangements. If we postpone the payment date as in option (b) we will notify you and then before the new payment date we will in writing either confirm the departure or notify you that the trip is cancelled. In the latter case we will also refund in full any deposit or other payment made to us by you for the trip. Cancellations will not be made less than 30 days before the holiday start date. We will be under no other liability.

Prices

We reserve the right to revise prices previously quoted for holiday arrangements at any time before a booking is confirmed. If prices have changed prior to your booking you will be given the correct current prices at the time of booking.

Once your booking is confirmed and a confirmation invoice is issued we will not make any price increases for the arrangements booked except in very limited circumstances i.e. if such increase is necessary to cover increases in costs or as a result of deterioration in the applicable sterling Euro exchange rate. Even then, no price increase will be made if it would produce an increase of less than 2% of the cost quoted to you for the arrangements in your confirmation invoice. Only if the increase is more than 2% will we notify you in writing of this surcharge. If the surcharge is more than 10% or more you will be entitled to cancel and receive a full refund of all monies paid. To make such a cancellation you must notify us in writing within 14 days of receipt of the surcharge notice. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of receipt of the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later. You will not be entitled to cancellation compensation. Price increases will not be made any later than 30 days prior to the holiday start date. Due to the above promises no refunds can be made in the event of favourable exchange rate variations or decreases in costs.

Special requests

If you have any special requests, you must advise us at the time of booking and clearly note these on your booking form. Although we will endeavour to do our best to provide the diet or facility that you need, by passing this on to the caretaker/ guide(s) we regret we cannot promise that any request has been noted or passed on unless we have this specifically confirmed in writing. Confirmation that a special request has been noted and passed on or the inclusion of such a request on any documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will also not be a breach of contract on our part.

If you have any medical problem or disability which may affect your booked arrangements you must advise us in writing at the time of booking giving full details. If we feel unable to properly accommodate your needs we must reserve the right to decline or cancel your booking.

Passport, visa and health certificate requirements

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have all necessary documentation for your holiday. The Company will not be held responsible, if you do not check that you comply with current requirements before departure or for any losses or costs you may incur through non-compliance.

Complaints

We sincerely hope that you will enjoy your holiday with us at the Bourdil Blanc. However, in the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday whilst away, you must immediately inform the owner/caretaker so that it may be swiftly rectified. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to them as soon as possible. In addition if the complaint or problem is not or cannot be resolved locally to your satisfaction you should contact us by phone and e-mail or fax us within 48 hours. Until we know about a problem or complaint we cannot assist. Most problems can be dealt with quickly. If you remain dissatisfied, you must write to us within 21 days of returning from your holiday. In the absence of such written notice we cannot accept responsibility for the matter giving rise to your grievance, having been unable to put it right immediately or investigate it at the appropriate time

Photographs

You agree that any photographs or film taken during the holiday arranged through us may be used by us in any publication or for promotional purposes