ENGLISH TEXTS up, a slightly stiff hip perhaps, but no need for the gym in the evening, as many parents on the circuit can testify! The parent is therefore recognisable by their fit physical condition, their properly waterproof jacket and their footwear ready to handle kilometres on foot, preferably dry ones. They have a particular talent for varying headgear with the seasons while preserving a youthful glow. They are also able to carry prizes, haul buckets, help load up … A fully accomplished athlete. The Poneys Au Galop parent has lung capacity worthy of the events contested by their children, the ultimate grail being the cross-country. This discipline is also a life-sized apnea exercise for the parents of these young riders. Because that tiny child setting off for the first time, at just ten years old, on a cross-country course of just under 3,000 metres with their pony, jumping around twenty obstacles including water crossings, banks up and down, double rails, drains, sheep pens, steps … that’ s our tiny one! And suddenly, we find ourselves slightly trapped: we’ ve supported them, we trust the well-trained pony, we know our child is capable and well prepared, yet we’ re a little scared of that long course! So each parent has their technique: some watch the entire course intently without ever breathing; others lean on a friendly shoulder to watch only part of the cross, crushing that shoulder with an anxious grip; some turn their backs at every obstacle; and then there are those who physically accompany every effort( like those at the edge of the arena during a show jumping round). Finish post crossed, victory or not, parent and child alike take a deep, saving breath. The apnea is over, until next time, because once a child has tasted cross-country, they can no longer resist it! The Poneys Au Galop parent is an optimist. They believe in the future of our racing world, and that is precisely why they devote so much time and energy to their little one( s). They see it as healthy physical activity, a formative mental challenge, an excellent school for concentration and frustration, an opportunity to forge strong friendships tested by tricky courses or hard-to-digest defeats, a release valve for the child bubbling over on school benches, a launchpad for the one who dreams of becoming a jockey, a path to fulfilment for the budding horseman or horsewoman they sense emerging in their child. And finally, the Poneys Au Galop parent is joyful, happy to share these days with their children, knowing that as they grow older they will spread their wings. But these shared weekends are lasting, deeply rooted memories: progress accompanied, victories celebrated, mishaps accepted, those vivid bonds revealed in exchanged glances around a new milestone reached. A smiling parent who shares victory photos with friends who lent the pony, those who provided the picnic, those who hosted the child during a training camp, those who shared the driving to limit fatigue, those who passed on a pair of boots, those we meet again over a comforting“ sandwich, fries and a pint,” those we dance with in the evening because we’ re not here to be bored … Endless group photos, then, with entourages rejoicing for one another. A breed apart, this parent of a Poneys Au Galop rider whose portrait I have just attempted to sketch. The French IFCE is still searching for a precise designation, but members of this tribe know and recognise one another at a single glance. The 2026 pony season is underway, bravo and long live the parents!
BACK TO ARTICLE
PEDAGO
FOAL ADOPTIONS HELLO MUMMY, IT HURTS
BY CÉLINE GUALDE
When a foal is orphaned or rejected by its mother, breeders generally try to find it a nurse mare, but arranging an emergency adoption is no easy task. In Normandy, two specialised establishments have developed real expertise in this field and receive foals from all over France.
201 # 17