When the call came for me to cover for the editor of FH&C for a short time, I had no hesitation in jumping in with both feet. The opportunity to spend some time in France and to edit French Horse & Country was to me a dream come true. So after what I must say was a very pleasant trip aboard the Eurostar, whilst I read ‘Eperon’ (Spurs), the printed Horse & Hound in France, I set about investigating the equine world in France for myself. The project was made easier by the fact that the weather was so much warmer, the scenery was varied and interesting and the wine was extraordinarily cheap!
My first observation was that there appears to be a lack of privately owned horses in paddocks and equestrian homes, than back in the UK. Its quite rare to see horses and ponies grazing in paddocks and properties with a small stable yard next to the house. Instead the equine lifestyle is centered very much around the club or riding center in most towns and villages. I have noticed that its very unlikely that I will see anyone hacking out, either in groups or alone. Quite where horses go during fittening and interval training is not evident. If riding out (randonnes, ballades) is seen, it is usually the ‘club’ and it will be on a Wednesday afternoon or Saturday. These two days are set aside for Pony Club, where children work towards their Galop Exams. Throughout France the Wednesday is a day off school and instead of curricular educational lessons it is used for sport, recreation, clubs and riding if you are a pony mad child.
The pony club starts with Bébe Club and has many a tiny Shetland pony providing the first lessons for an aspiring future ‘cavalier’. Its not unusual to see children of 9 or 10 still bobbing around the arena on these Shetland’s demonstrating the very quick ‘up down, up down, that can only be suffered from the back of a short striding shoulder! There was an obvious difference I noticed, in teaching methods and instruction and different emphasis on how to apply aids and instruction.
The safety aspect is also less stringent than it is in the UK now. I am quite amazed at how many children’s lessons I have watched whilst the instructor took one mobile phone call after the other and spent considerable time chatting to other staff. It can be argued that the children can learn to deal with situations unaided and learn not to depend on instructors totally and so develop a more instinctive response when anything goes wrong. In honesty some of the lessons I found pretty hair raising to watch and yet parents and pupils showed no concern and all left with smiles and never any trace of angst! Much of the tack was a ‘hotch-potch’ of all sorts of pieces with the remit I think of, if it stays on then leave well alone. After fumbling around whilst helping tack up one pony and searching for a girth to fit, I was no longer surprised when the instructor took it out of my hands with a tut and promptly tied a knot in the offending article and applied it to the synthetic baby saddle. The hairy muddy coat covered the knot and no one was any the wiser, except the little Shetland of course!
So my journey will continue into this new equine world in France. Considering that the UK and France are geographically so close then the differences will be interesting for me to discover.
Holding the fort in France
When the call came for me to cover for the editor of FH&C for a short time, I had no hesitation in jumping in with both feet. The opportunity to spend some time in France and to edit French Horse & Country was to me a dream come true. So after what I must say was a very pleasant trip aboard the Eurostar, whilst I read ‘Eperon’ (Spurs), the printed Horse & Hound in France, I set about investigating the equine world in France for myself. The project was made easier by the fact that the weather was so much warmer, the scenery was varied and interesting and the wine was extraordinarily cheap!
My first observation was that there appears to be a lack of privately owned horses in paddocks and equestrian homes, than back in the UK. Its quite rare to see horses and ponies grazing in paddocks and properties with a small stable yard next to the house. Instead the equine lifestyle is centered very much around the club or riding center in most towns and villages. I have noticed that its very unlikely that I will see anyone hacking out, either in groups or alone. Quite where horses go during fittening and interval training is not evident. If riding out (randonnes, ballades) is seen, it is usually the ‘club’ and it will be on a Wednesday afternoon or Saturday. These two days are set aside for Pony Club, where children work towards their Galop Exams. Throughout France the Wednesday is a day off school and instead of curricular educational lessons it is used for sport, recreation, clubs and riding if you are a pony mad child.
The safety aspect is also less stringent than it is in the UK now. I am quite amazed at how many children’s lessons I have watched whilst the instructor took one mobile phone call after the other and spent considerable time chatting to other staff. It can be argued that the children can learn to deal with situations unaided and learn not to depend on instructors totally and so develop a more instinctive response when anything goes wrong. In honesty some of the lessons I found pretty hair raising to watch and yet parents and pupils showed no concern and all left with smiles and never any trace of angst! Much of the tack was a ‘hotch-potch’ of all sorts of pieces with the remit I think of, if it stays on then leave well alone. After fumbling around whilst helping tack up one pony and searching for a girth to fit, I was no longer surprised when the instructor took it out of my hands with a tut and promptly tied a knot in the offending article and applied it to the synthetic baby saddle. The hairy muddy coat covered the knot and no one was any the wiser, except the little Shetland of course!
So my journey will continue into this new equine world in France. Considering that the UK and France are geographically so close then the differences will be interesting for me to discover.
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