Legendary Riding Academies of Europe: Cadre Noir of Saumur, France Written by Patti Schofler

Dressage Training Online’s Community Connection magazine will show you though Europe via the great riding academies that have created, preserved and honored what we today call classical dressage.

In this edition, we travel to western France to visit the famed Cadre Noir of Saumur. Today the academy trains the teaching staff of the French National Riding School. Dressed in their namesake black uniforms trimmed in gold braid and hats decorated with a gold sunburst, the riding masters or ecuyers of the Cadre Noir treat the public to spectacular presentations of dressage, long reining and airs above the ground.

This prestigious school of horsemanship is steeped in history. It was founded in 1771 as the French cavalry school, on a site that once housed Roman horse legions. Between the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, things didn’t go so well for the cavalry. Brave, yes, but also wracked with contagious diseases, ferocious fights and bad military equitation which lead to their considerable demise.

1814 brought a rebirth of Saumur, under royal edict from Louis XVII, and its dedication to the French school of equitation. This was the century when the various French schools were laying the foundation for the dressage we know today, and France was the hotbed of debate, theorizing and experiments on how horses should be ridden. A board of honor today hanging in the Academie building at Saumur lists the celebrated ecuyers en chef who carried on the teachings and writings of the French equitation ideals. Those legendary dressage names included Count D’Aure, General l’Hotte, and General Decarpentry. Saumur even had its imprint by rejecting those who would greatly influence dressage, such as François Baucher and James Fillis.

Saumur also has influenced other horse sports. The first Championship of the Horse of Weapons, organized at Saumur in 1902, was the precursor to eventing.

When tanks and aircraft replaced the horse cavalry after World War I, the government eventually questioned the reason for the Cadre Noir while recognizing it as a French institution. As a result the French National Riding School was created in 1972. Today the ecuyers of the Cadre Noir are professors and chief riding masters of the school, positions open to women as well as men.

The first public presentation was in 1928 when a Carousel was given in honor of a visit by Her Royal Highness Duchess de Berry. Surely the presentations for this year – on July 23, 30, August 27, September 3, 10, 24, October 1 – will be quite grand, and reservations are advised. Even if you aren’t around on a presentation day, a visit is well worth the drive to see the legendary academy which today hosts over 60,000 visitors a year, with accommodations for 500 horses, 1500 trainees a year, seven riding schools, 18 Olympic size arenas, 50 kilometers of track, a cross country course, an amphitheater, modern media library, and more.

The website is www.cadrenoir.fr.


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