ENGLISH TEXTS
timeless, isn’ t it?
S. T. It’ s simply magical! Everything is beautiful: the people, the races, the entire setup... Everyone plays along in this delightfully pastoral setting. I believe horse racing is the only sport that still offers such a showcase for elegance. Even the jockeys make an effort with their attire. Some people try to bend the rules by dressing too casually. Jeans are still banned in the paddock, and I think that’ s justified— it preserves the tradition. The Diane is my favorite race. I love it!
G.. Do you often go to the racetracks?
S. T. Sometimes, but everything has to line up for me to find the time. I love ParisLongchamp, and of course, Chantilly. But I’ m a bit of a homebody. I love being at home, watching the races from my couch. And I have a lot of horses to take care of. We have three at home, plus around ten ponies.
G. Horses have always been part of your life, haven’ t they?
S. T. Yes, I started riding early on— I love it— but the racing world remained unknown to me for a long time. When I left TF1, I worked for eleven years with Equidia. I miss it a bit, but I don’ t have the time anymore. We’ re developing our pony academy, a project Christophe cares deeply about. For now, we’ re splitting our time between
Chantilly and Deauville. Christophe has many appointments, the site is taking shape, and our first foal was just born. We’ re aiming to open the academy next year.
G. How did you and your husband Christophe Soumillon meet?
S. T. On horseback. At Yann Lerner’ s. I was supposed to take part in a female rider’ s competition for a charity auction. We were wearing silks from major fashion houses— mine was Gucci. It’ s a little fairy tale.
G. Do you often ride horses together?
S. T. When we have time, we love going on rides with the kids. The issue is Christophe’ s time is precious, and the ponies aren’ t exactly my size( laughs).
G. Your current news also includes books— and the 49 th volume of your series My Friends the Horses, which just came out in the Bibliothèque Rose...
S. T. A special volume, Loulou, an Extraordinary Pony, is about to be released too, and it’ s very close to my heart. Loulou was the first Shetland we had at home. We gave him to my daughter, but had to part with him because he was stressed. He now enjoys a peaceful retirement near Deauville with Elodie Garamond. The book comes out on June 4 th— Christophe’ s birthday. I romanticized his story a bit: it follows Mina, a
14-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a stable hand. It’ s dedicated to all those behind-the-scenes workers whose roles are crucial to racing’ s success.
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By Serge Okey
AT THE DE SOULTRAIT FAMILY, AQPS IS ALWAYS IN STYLE
When the co-founder of Vicomte A, a brand that proudly calls itself“ the guardian of French Elegance”, and founder of Marcy Paris, a fashion house committed to“ redefining the standards of the uniform,” shows up at Auteuil with his associate friends, their enthusiasm quickly becomes contagious. One can easily recall their reaction after the stunning comeback of their leading horse, Indivis( by Coastal Path), in the Prix Djarvis on May 21, 2022, a Class 2 for AQPS. That day, the cheers from their trainer, Augustin de Boisbrunet, followed Indivis down the home stretch, right past the grandstand. Speaking to Equidia, co-owner Nicolas de Fraguier was beaming:“ We’ re a group of friends, five partners who have been passionate about racing for years. We’ re at Auteuil nearly every weekend, and
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