The easter weekend was the perfect time to practice for the riders of the French dressage team. They had an appointment for three days of training at the Federal Equestrian Park in Lamotte-Beuvron, headquarters of the French Equestrian Federation.
The three days of training orchestrated by the duo Jean Morel, national coach, and Laurent Gallice, national technical advisor for dressage, sounded like a success for the French team. The team left the Parc Equestre Fédéral with an extra boost for a busy competition season.
"The riders were very happy to be welcomed in Lamotte. The new stables next to the main arena had just been put into service to welcome them in the best conditions. They found the place spacious and calm, ideal for working in complete serenity," explains the national coach. "There were two tracks set up in the arena, and extra space to work the horses. For those who had several horses, it is a great comfort to have such infrastructures."
An opinion visibly shared by the riders present, as evidenced by the smiles on their faces. "We were very well received at the Equestrian Park, the tracks are superb and the organization impeccable. I am very happy to be back in the French team", reacted Stéphanie Brieussel, member of the French team in Rio (BRA) in 2016.
"The place is really incredible. I had come to the Equestrian Park once at least 15 years ago, but this is the first time with the French team and it has nothing to do with it", confirmed Alexandre Ayache.
A new dynamic
A dozen riders were present, with 14 horses, accompanied by their private trainers and horse owners, for these three days of training from April 8 to 10. Only Morgan Barbançon Mestre could not join the group, excused because of her participation that same weekend in the FEI World Cup Final in the United States.
"We had riders with different profiles, young ones who are currently performing and showing great consistency and more experienced riders who are making their comeback with horses in the making. This mix of generations seemed to me very rich and dynamic. We are starting to build a real group, which is essential if we want to perform in Paris in 2024," said Jean Morel.
Marc Boblet, a member of the French team at the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2014 World Equestrian Games, confirms the coach's comments: "The first feeling is that we are dealing with a very professional organization focused on sport. I think this is one of the first times I've felt that. It's very interesting, with really competent people, and everyone is very invested. You feel like you're surrounded by a lot of people to play high-level sports."
"I found the construction of the group very intelligent. There were horses already on the international circuit, but also young horses with a future. I think it's very clever because we are both very close to the Games and still 15 months away from the deadline. A lot can still happen," said Alexandre Ayache, a member of the French team in Tokyo in 2021 and a reserve rider in Rio in 2016.
Federal commitment praised
FFE President Serge Lecomte was present to talk with the riders, owners and staff. This was an opportunity to explain once again the exceptional scope of the federal system that has been in place for the past few months in preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games, which provides riders with technical and human support.
This was an opportunity for the coach to emphasize the Federation's strong desire to support riders over the long term: "We have had a lot of discussions with the riders to make sure that our strategy was accepted by everyone. The intervention of Jan Nivelle as a technical consultant, in close collaboration with the private coaches of each rider, is unanimously accepted by the riders. Some had worked with him before and others were meeting him for the first time, but everyone has already made good progress during these three days. We are going to finalize things in order to perpetuate his coming with the French team. We had also brought two foreign judges who are references on the international scene. They were able to evaluate the couples in competition conditions on the last day and then debrief their performances individually, always in the presence of the coaches. They were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the horses and the seriousness of the riders. A check with the farrier and the veterinarian was also carried out with each horse and everyone was reminded of the protocol for transmitting information between the treating veterinarians and the federal veterinarian in order to work in complete transparency."
With less than 500 days to go before the games, the emphasis was also placed on the human aspect and the support of the equestrian athletes. "We also wanted to integrate physical preparation, mental preparation and tools of posturology and podology to this course. These tools are also available to riders in other Olympic and Paralympic disciplines with success. I think it is important to know oneself and others better. It is essential to hope to form a solid group. We all want to reach the same goal, but we have to take into account the sensitivities of each one to best adapt the path to follow. A lot is asked of the riders, and in turn of their grooms and private trainers. The pressure is great, and the role of the staff is to accompany them as best as possible in a personalized manner," explained Jean Morel.
Jessica Michel, 2012 Olympic rider in London (GBR), agrees: "There is a lot of open-mindedness in this new federal team. The interactions in mental preparation, physical preparation and with the posturologist were really interesting. I really appreciate the fact that we are given this time to ourselves. We come to the training course with only one or two horses, we really had the time to exchange with these speakers. When we are at home, caught up in our daily lives, we think first of the horses and we sometimes forget ourselves. The federation really gives us the opportunity to improve our system. And then there was a very strong focus on group cohesion. I have the feeling that we're turning a corner, with a real desire for a solid collective to be formed."
The same enthusiastic reaction from Alexandre Ayache: "The big surprise is the staff's discourse, which is even more focused on sports. Clearly, we have to work as a team to succeed and anyone who thinks he can do it alone will not succeed. It is a speech that speaks to me and this sportsmanship motivates me. In France, we have the chance to be accompanied by many highly qualified people and this season, it happens earlier than in the past years. My wife is Estonian and also a dressage rider, she doesn't have this kind of support from her federation. We are very lucky and we have to salute our federation and thank them for all this."
The season is launched
As soon as the training course was over, the riders already took the road towards Le Mans (72) for a CDI 4* this week. The following week, four riders will be in Fontainebleau (77) for the CDI 5*, organized in parallel with the Master Pro show jumping.
"It will be an opportunity for us to see Morgan Barbançon Mestre, who has just returned from the World Cup finals and spent several weeks in the winter competitions in Florida. We will also have Pauline Basquin and Corentin Pottier, who have shown great consistency over the last few months, and Alexandre Ayache, who has also shown great things since the beginning of the year", explains the coach of Les Bleus. "Then, we will meet everyone at the CDIO in Compiègne at the beginning of May. After that, we will establish the rest of the program with everyone, with the other major events being the Nations Cup in Rotterdam (NED) and, we hope, the CHIO in Aachen (GER) for which we are currently negotiating with the organizer for a place for the French team. Then, there will be the Master Pro in Vierzon in July and it will be time to refine the last competitions of each one in view of the selections for the European Championships in Riesenbeck (GER) in September".
A dense competition schedule that will continue on the World Cup circuit. "Everything will go very fast now. The riders and owners must be totally committed to the project and I believe that the FFE's commitment to them is equal to our Olympic ambitions," concludes the French team leader.
Source: Press Release
