Le Cadre noir de Saumur at Jumping international de Bordeaux: "Showcasing our expertise".

A journey into the prestigious world of Le Cadre Noir de Saumur. For two evenings, the Cadre Noir de Saumur will perform at the Jumping International de Bordeaux on Thursday, February 1, 2024.

France's elite cavalry corps, the Cadre Noir de Saumur, listed as an intangible cultural heritage site by Unesco, trains top equestrian executives. True experts, its equerries pass on their know-how, training the horses they present in competition or at shows. They also prepare the horses in their charge for the training of their students.

Through their show "Au Cœur du Grand Manège", you'll discover the spirit of excellence of traditional French equitation. Poetry, magic and emotion are the order of the day. Frédérique Mercier, head of communications at the Cadre Noir du Saumur, talks about the institution's missions and presents the show.

The mission of the Cadre Noir de Saumur : "passing on our heritage".

You're opening the Jumping International de Bordeaux with two shows, on the eve of the opening, Wednesday February 2, and on the first evening, Thursday February 3. How does that feel ?

It's part of our mission to reach out to the public and pass on our heritage.

Jumping International de Bordeaux is an event that brings together the best riders in the world. Sport is also part of our DNA, part of our identity.

It's also an ideal setting. For our other shows, we tend to perform in zeniths or concert halls, which are less suitable for our horses.

This will be your second visit to Jumping International de Bordeaux.

Yes, we came for the first time in 2015 for a unique evening where we were very well received by the people of Bordeaux. We were fully booked in just a few days. We then performed at Bordeaux's Arkéa Arena in 2018.

How often do you perform outdoors ?

We generally have 12 dates a year in Saumur, and three or four tours a year in France and even Europe. We've been to Hungary, Italy... and even Hong Kong and Japan some twenty years ago, but these are rather rare destinations. In general, we stay in France. Our last show was in Saumur in October. It's a 3.5-hour drive to Bordeaux, so we arrive as neighbors.

The shows involve a lot of preparation and work. We keep to a schedule so that they're not too busy. And our riders are also teachers. The life of the Saumur site must be able to continue on a daily basis.

"There's a lot of work involved in watching, just like with top-level athletes".

How did the idea for the show "Au cœur du Grand Manège" come about ?

The Cadre Noir de Saumur has existed for 200 years. Since its creation, we've been in the habit of presenting the Cadre Noir to VIPs at important events, as a showcase for French heritage. In the '80s, we launched a show as a way of passing on our heritage to the public. It was a succession of tableaux to illustrate our know-how, but without an artistic dimension. In 2015, we thought about how to reach out more to the general public. The show "Au coeur du Grand Manège" was born.

How do you prepare for this show ?

You can't improvise a show. Throughout the year, every morning, the horses who are doing the show train. We intensify our training in the final weeks. The week before the show, we do a run-through with a complete sequence to fine-tune, and the dress rehearsal takes place on site. There's a lot of briefing and debriefing. Everything is filmed, and there's a great deal of viewing, just like with top-level athletes. It's millimeter-perfect work, everything is timed to the music, everything is precise and mapped out. This also allows the horses to get their bearings.

"It takes alchemy between rider and horse".

 What will the public discover ?

La Loire, the narrator, will retrace the history of the Cadre Noir through fifteen or so tableaux in an original staging. We'll tell the story of a day at the Grand Manège, starting at dawn, on the banks of the Loire... and ending with the Reprise de Manège. Around twenty riders and thirty horses will be present. In all, some forty people will make the trip from Saumur, along with 15 soigneurs and five members of the organization team.

The show will be directed by Colonel Thibaut Vallette, team gold medallist in eventing at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The chief equestrian will command the Jumpers Reprise and lead the Riding Reprise.

Our aim is to show the relationship between these equestrians, men and women, and their horses, this almost intimate bond. The audience will discover that, to be able to do this, you need chemistry between the two. If you don't have the support of the horse, if we're not in a relationship of harmony, it doesn't work, and it's the same in equestrian sport.

What do you hope to convey through this show ?

Our mission is not to present a show just for the sake of it. It's about showcasing our know-how. This show allows us to reach out to the general public. Because it has several levels of interpretation: both technical for the riding public, with classical, academic and sporting keys; and educational for the general public, with an artistic and poetic universe, sets, lighting and music. Everyone can enjoy this show, it speaks to all audiences. The key is emotion. We want to share our love of beautiful horseback riding and get people excited about the sport. The Jumping International de Bordeaux will provide the opportunity to do just that, with its very high level of competition.