ENGLISH TEXTS
PONEYS
VAUMAS
BY BÉRENGÈRE ROSSIGNOL
To better understand what follows, I suggest a small leap through time back to 2017, when a rather unusual fellow named Emmanuel Clayeux, likeable and passionate about racing, decided to launch a“ French Point to Point.”
A day where the sole feeling of sharing would bring together professionals and newcomers to horse racing, rural stakeholders, joy, emotions, applause, crowds— an enthusiasm that would far exceed the banks of the Allier River and reach all the way to the English Channel. And yes, because Irish and English visitors came to see what the French were capable of … A completely crazy gamble that nevertheless turned out to be a huge success. Two editions run at breakneck speed by Emmanuel, his wife France, their three daughters, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, neighbors, and a whole bunch of volunteers. In 2022, ponies already had pride of place during a weekend full of laughter, songs, and fun. After welcoming several thousand spectators, it was time to take a break so this wonderful team could recharge its batteries! But it seems madness is contagious in that corner of the country, because in 2025 Violaine Trapenard, Thomas
Clayeux, and Baptiste Ferté took up the torch for a Point to Point focused entirely on youth, with Poneys Au Galop. The three of them, along with their partners, spend their time crisscrossing France with trucks, children, and ponies, galloping in tight packs and shaping the future of racing. They constantly hear,“ Wow, you really are in the middle of nowhere.” You shouldn’ t tease people from central France, at that remark they reply,“ You’ ll come to our faraway place, and during the time of a giant summer camp it’ ll even become your Centre!” The machine was set in motion. In mid-July 2025, around a hundred ponies and just as many riders would make their way to Vaumas: a dense, cheerful crowd, tents pitched, boxes rented, water troughs filled, salads prepared by little fairies, courses laid out, obstacles built, guests rallied, sponsors approached, associations thrilled by the prospect, training sessions organized for two days of progress before a final day of wild racing. Vaumas is first and foremost an extraordinary natural setting, rolling, wooded, and shaped by Emmanuel, that makes it possible to organize eight groups of ponies in the morning, alternating flatwork and jumping. Many professionals play along and are present, devoting their rare days off to advising, supporting, guiding, and sometimes even scolding the young riders. Some already have a fair bit of experience, but there are also seven clubs that came with trucks overflowing with ponies and leisure sport horses, and novice riders eager to shorten their stirrups. Lunches are shared: picnics unpacked, salads scattered, a beer tap for the adults, water troughs to cool off the youngest. Here, a game of pétanque; there, a game of palets; in one corner, card games; elsewhere, hammocks set up where clusters of children remake the world. Parents wearing Panama hats lie in the shade of the trees, chuckling over a coffee and a few bits of gossip. At snack time, some head to the large pond: young and old alike piling laughingly into the back of a truck, windsurf board hulls repurposed as makeshift paddles, a rickety platform for ever-higher, ever-farther diving contests. Often the same ones will head off at the end of the day, helmets on and ponies in tow, to discover the incredible feeling of swimming on horseback. You can also see a group of young adults led by Pénélope, Madeleine, and Romane Clayeux, who run the refreshment stand, ferry tired children in the back of a pickup, dance, sing, and show an enthusiasm and helpfulness that inspire admiration. They are touching, because our little ones are a bit like theirs too. They tell us,“ How much this one has changed in three years!” On the last day, there’ s laughter, but it’ s different: clean breeches, polished boots, course walks, braided ponies, and a presentation
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