The Horse show

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“Equestriennes”

New equestrian show

from April 1st until October 28th 2013

20 horses – 9 ponies – 1 donkey – 3 vaulters – 8 equestriennes– 1 comedian

A show of more than one hour

We travel to the 19th century, to a place that is as cherished as the opera: the circus.

This kind of amusement caters for furore. Having made its appearance at the end of the 18th century, it originally is an essentially equestrian show. Isn’t it a common saying that “The circus show begins on a horse”? Philip Astley, an English military man, is responsible for the dimensions of the ring: its diameter of exactly 13 meters is supposed to facilitate a high-class performance in vaulting.

The 19th century thus brings forward a number of architecturally beautiful circuses in Paris.

“Equestriennes” is evocative of the apparition of the first women on horses in the Haute-Ecole show bits. Those amazons rivalled with the male riders and prevailed. Caroline Loyo was among the first ones. In 1833, at the age of 17, she presented herself in the Cirque de Paris with Laurent Franconi.

“Equestriennes” tells the destinies of women, stars in the ring who were adventurous and did not hesitate to traverse Europe with their horses in order to join the imperial court of Saint Petersburg, where they were hailed. With their formation by old royal equitation masters from Versailles, their equestrian show bits were of great quality and evident influences by François Baucher’s mind-set; the man revolutionized horseback riding through new methods and the invention of equestrian figures.

“Equestriennes” brings us to this epoch in which the great audience of Paris found their passion for those students of Baucher, Pellier or Franconi, those women striving for action without fear of being confronted with neither men nor public.

“Equestriennes” takes us along for a glance behind the scenes of the prearrangement of a show: atmosphere, creative stress, diva disputes … an equestrian show that highlights all the knowledge of Haute-Ecole equitation with the thirty horses and ponies of the Musée vivant du Cheval, trained under the survey of the artistic director Sophie Bienaimé.

“Equestriennes” is a fresco of the time when those ladies were the show queens.