Corporate events and western team building near Angers, France

Seminars, incentives, team building, study days or company evenings: we host your teams at the ranch, with the horses, the gîtes and western activities. In Contigné (Les Hauts-d’Anjou), 30 km north of Angers.

A corporate event in the countryside, among the horses

Looking for an unusual and fun corporate event, somewhere that makes a change from the office? Thomas’ Ranch is a 72-hectare Quarter Horse stud, with its fields, indoor arena, outdoor arena and horses. We organise your team days here, from the meeting through to the evening.

“Living our passion for breeding and the western way of life, and sharing it with others.”
Jacky Thomas, on why he hosts groups and corporate events

We are a small team, which gives us plenty of flexibility for your plans. By car, it takes 39 minutes from Angers, 56 minutes from Laval, 1 hour 11 minutes from Le Mans and 1 hour 31 minutes from Nantes (measured to each town hall).

The ranch’s wooden round pen, a willow tree and the fields under a blue sky

What meeting rooms are there for a seminar near Angers?

Two of the ranch’s gîtes can be hired as rooms by the day, for your meetings and study days.

Thom’House, up to 20 people

A living room of about 60 m² with a large fireplace, a small glass-walled sitting room looking out over the fields, and a working bread oven. Internet access is included, and the speaker with amplifier plugs straight into your computer.

Little Ranch, up to 30 people

A living room of about 80 m² with a cobbled floor, opening to the south through a large picture window onto the fields, with the outdoor arena right next to the gîte.

Stone-walled living room in one of the ranch’s gîtes, with long tables and white chairs

Can you stay overnight on site?

Yes. For a corporate event lasting several days, your teams stay at the ranch, in our four gîtes: Little Ranch, Thom’House, la Sellerie and le Loft.

Accommodation is charged per night, with sheets and towels provided. Each gîte has its own fitted kitchen; for free time, Little Ranch has table football and Thom’House has outdoor games: badminton, football, Mölkky, darts, lasso.

See the ranch’s gîtes

The large rustic room at Little Ranch: stone walls, wooden table and benches, red curtains

Breakfast, breaks and meals are planned along with the rest of the programme.

Breakfast: hot and cold drinks, pastries, bread, eggs.
Snack break, morning or afternoon: coffee, tea, fruit juice, a basket of seasonal fruit, pastries or cakes.
Seminar menu: a western menu.
Fouées menu, with a choice of fillings: fouées are the small puffed breads of Anjou, baked in a wood-fired oven.
Lunch menu: a cold buffet.

Wine and drinks are not included in the menus.

The Thom’House bread oven lit, with flames beneath the brick vault — The Thom’House bread oven, in working order for fouées evenings.

Eight western activities for your team building

Choose and combine them: a hands-on activity to do things together, a social activity to get people talking.

1“Would you make a good manager?”Horse coaching: on foot, alone with a horse that responds to your attitude.
2Tour of the ranchThe horse breeding, the Quarter Horse, the Salers cattle and organic farming.
3“Are you a natural horse trainer?”Liberty training: a course on foot with a young horse, without holding it.
4Western gamesPistol, lasso and horseshoe throwing, as a competition with a prize for the winner.
5Mechanical bullRiding the mechanical bull, timed by an operator.
6Line dancingA friendly beginners’ session to get the evening going.
7Western riding demonstrationBy Jacky Thomas, the ranch’s owner.
8Western eveningLive music with Les Ranchers, during and after the meal.

The activities in detail

Jacky Thomas, laughing, draws a pistol from his holster in one of the ranch’s fields

Why choose a ranch for team building?

A hands-on activity gets colleagues doing things together, through role play or sport. A social activity, music for example, gets them talking to each other. Brought together in one event, they create a good atmosphere and strengthen both team bonds and the sense of belonging to the company.

They encourage interaction: team games help people share common values.
They strengthen team spirit: everyone works towards a common goal, helping their team win.
They build a sense of belonging: participants feel more useful and more involved in the group.

Large corporate group, arms raised, under the ranch’s wooden barn and its sign

The western evening with Les Ranchers

To round off the day, the western evening comes with live music from Les Ranchers, Jacky and Stéphanie Thomas’s country band: two guitars and a fiddle. Everyone dances to country music all evening, during and after the meal.

Jacky and Stéphanie are musicians, and Stéphanie also teaches line dancing. Les Ranchers have also played at the ranch festival, in 2023 and in 2024.

“We’re cowboys at heart, and we need wide open spaces.”
Jacky Thomas

Stéphanie Thomas playing guitar on stage with Les Ranchers, in a red dress and cowboy hat

Frequently asked questions

How far is the ranch from Angers?

30 km north of Angers, in Contigné (Les Hauts-d’Anjou): 39 minutes by car to Angers town hall, and 26 minutes from Sablé-sur-Sarthe.

How many people can the meeting rooms take?

Up to 20 people at Thom’House and up to 30 at Little Ranch, two rooms that can be hired by the day.

Can we stay overnight on site?

Yes, in the ranch’s four gîtes: accommodation is charged per night, with sheets and towels provided.

Are meals served at the ranch?

Yes: breakfast, a snack break in the morning or afternoon, the western seminar menu, the fouées menu or a cold buffet. Wine and drinks are extra.

Do you need to be able to ride for the activities?

No. Horse coaching and liberty training are done on foot, and the western riding demonstration is given by Jacky Thomas.

How do we get a price?

Send us the date, the number of participants and what interests you (meeting room, accommodation, meals, activities): we will draw up a quote to suit your needs.