2023-10-29 20:15:08
France’s Mathieu Lemoine rides Fandgio, during the Mondial du Lion-d’Angers riding competition, in the 7-year-old horse category, at Lion-d’Angers (Maine-et-Loire), October 22, 2022 . JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP
The list of riders to whom the French Equestrian Federation (FFE) offers a ” personalized support “ to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was no surprise. Just like the presence of 5 women out of 31 athletes. The Versailles site, in the midst of construction to host the three Olympic events, will see high-level riders compete, but few French women.
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That both sexes are “on equal terms” in one of the rare mixed competitions of the games is nevertheless one of the prides of the FFE. “The competition between men and women is total, they rub shoulders according to the same rules and with the same handicaps”recalls the breeder Emmanuèle Perron-Pette, at the head of one of the most famous breeding farms in France: the Haras des Coudrettes, in Calvados.
Apart from competitions, the horse world is predominantly female, at all levels. Horse riding is the first sport with as many female licensees (84.58%) and a participation rate of the same order in leisure competitions. All equestrian professions are also dominated by women. In clubs, they represent 63% of employees and 56% of managers of equestrian structures. Even in the army, military equestrian sports constitute the most feminized entity, with 60% women among soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers.
“Complicity”
According to Sylvie Robert, boss of Equestrian Sport, a division dedicated to horses within the world leader in event organization GL Events, women and horses are made to get along. “Sensitivity is a great quality in a rider. We cannot speak of a balance of power with the animal but of complicity”, recalls the rider, also a breeder. It often continues into adulthood, as evidenced by the proportion of veterinary students, close to 75%. The relationship with the horse requires rigor, professionalism and diligence. Thus, the interruption of brilliant sporting careers is often blamed on motherhood, which is difficult to reconcile with numerous travels.
For its stables and equestrian centers, the equestrian industry knows that with women it has a reservoir of talent and an unfailing desire for commitment. Horse training courses attest to this. From groom to professional horse racing business management baccalaureate, more than 80% of graduates are women.
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