ENGLISH TEXTS despite the risks and her injuries:“ They give me strength! Today I was in Marseille, yesterday in Lyon, tomorrow in Nîmes, Sunday in Castéra-Verduzan … It’ s hard to balance with family life, but I want to live my dreams!” The next item on Gwladys’ bucket list? Win at Auteuil!
IN EVENTING, BABIES MEDAL IN UTERO
Britain’ s Rosalind“ Ros” Canter is a legend in eventing, with a record as long as your arm: World Champion individual and team in 2018, Olympic Team Champion in 2021 and 2024, three-time European Team Champion and defending individual champion … In August, Ros Canter announced that at 39 she was expecting her second child— but that she would still compete in the Burghley, the mythical top-level event, in early September. With her exceptional horse Lordships Graffalo, she had already won the 2024 edition. The cross-country phase of this British competition has an extremely technical and imposing course, and even if well built, an accident is always possible. Yet Ros was not deterred … and won easily. She says she received no negative comments, only encouragement and reminders to be careful. This public reaction, the news made mainstream media headlines in Britain, shows a shift in attitudes. In 1995, another English rider, Mary King, competed in the European Championships five months pregnant. She did not announce her pregnancy until after taking individual bronze and team gold. When she revealed the news in the final press conference, the British coach and the eventing world were very critical. To which Mary King, whose horse was exceptional across country, replied:“ I knew King William would take care of me!” Her daughter Emily King, now 29, is, unsurprisingly, a professional event rider!
MSA( Mutualité Sociale Agricole) has just published a white paper on women in agriculture, with the aim of placing them at the heart of an action plan starting in 2026 and ultimately reducing the obstacles that discourage them from working in farming. One focus is to improve the status of self-employed women( mainly spouses of farm owners), another is to better manage specific risks— including difficulty accessing care in rural areas. To be continued.
Key figures from the 2025 Social Observatory published by AFASEC
• 6,200 direct jobs in the racing sector
• 41 % women( 41.8 % in flat racing, 39.8 % in trotting racing)
• 47 % of job offers for exercise riders unfilled in 2024
MEE- TING
THE ART OF THE BOUNCE BACK
BY EMMANUEL RIVRON
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If François Nicolle has been part of the starting five of jumps trainers since 2013, the trainer from Saint-Augustin took his time to blossom at the highest level. After some complicated early seasons, this farmer’ s son made a name for himself by transforming the family farm into a formidable training camp. His wife Fabienne, a former basketball player, tells us about the trainer of Diamond Carl, who also shaped the popular De Bon Cœur and Bipolaire, both members of the Auteuil Hall of Fame.
GALORAMA. For around fifteen years now, you have been at François’ s side every day. What was your connection with horses before you met him?
Fabienne Nicolle. I never learnt to ride and you could say I evolved far from the world of horses. But when I was a kid, my grandfather used to bet on the tiercé with his little“ pliers” device. With my parents and grandparents, we would regularly spend Sundays at the local racecourses such as Texonniéras near Limoges, Gémozac, Royan or Pompadour. That’ s how I discovered racing. And as a sportswoman, I quite liked it.
G. If horse riding wasn’ t among your activities, which sport did you practise?
F. N. I played basketball for a long time, starting out at CSP Limoges. That was in the 80s and 90s, during the great European era of the CSP. I then crossed the Vienne to join a women’ s club, Limoges ABC, which was in Nationale 3 and had a top-level project for the girls. I notably
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