THE LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP FINAL?AND THE FEI DRESSAGE WORLD CUP FINAL: THE ELITE OF EQUITATION IN THE FRENCH TRADITION IN THE RING BETWEEN THE CLASSES
From 11th to 15th April 2018, the elite of equestrian sport will come together at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris for the FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals. All the champions will be there, for the outcome of a circuit which is fundamental on the winter schedule to the greatest riders. Between the classes, the organiser of the event, GL events Equestrian Sport, has put together a programme for the audiences in Paris focusing on Equitation in the French tradition. Two French institutions renowned beyond France’s borders will perform in the AccorHotels Arena’s ring: the French Republican Guard and the Cadre Noir of Saumur.
On horseback and to music!
“Prestige” is the name of the equestrian concert performance which will set the tempo at the Longines FEI Jumping and Dressage World Cup Finals. It precedes the classes in which the best riders on the planet will compete. On the evenings of Thursday 12th, Friday 13th and Saturday 14th April, riders from the French Republican Guard and instructors from the Cadre Noir of Saumur will be performing in the AccorHotels Arena, accompanied by the French Republican Guard’s Symphonic Orchestra and the Chœur de L’Armée française (French Army’s Choir). The performance brings together two distinguished organisations that represent the values of Equitation in the French tradition across the world.
“Prestige” will be performed before the international audience that is gathered to watch these World Cup Finals. It will feature displays that contribute to France’s international renown, including the French Republican Guard’s tandem displays and the school’s airs performed by the Cadre Noir of Saumur. Making guest appearances at this equestrian concert, where the harmony and delicateness of Equitation in the French tradition will have pride of place, are French vaulter Nicolas Andréani, the 2012 World champion, and the rider Alizée Froment. Both will be bringing their passion, sensitivity and poetry to this hugely rich, varied and multidisciplinary equestrian art.
Each afternoon, the French Republican Guard will give 20-minute performances of exhibition drills during the sequences between the classes. The combined motorcycle / horse carousel is a dazzling spectacle sure to delight the international crowd at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.
TO FIND OUT MORE
What is Equitation in the French tradition?
Since 2011, Equitation in the French tradition has been incorporated into UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It can be distinguished on the one hand, by seeking a harmonious relationship between the mount and the rider and, on the other, by a specific style of riding. It strives to reveal the grace and movements which horses naturally show when they are at liberty. The real merit of this style of horse riding, either academically, artistically or as a sport, is less in the impressive movements and more in the sheer lightness of the performance. The horse is said to be “light” when it easily and harmoniously obeys its rider’s most subtle indications. Much more than a way of riding, Equitation in the French tradition can also be seen as a school of conduct, a way of developing respect for the one another. Impulsion, grace, lightness, audacity, finesse and purity are the hallmarks of Equitation in the French tradition. The Cadre Noir is the most renowned representative of Equitation in the French tradition.
About the mounted French Republican Guard and its cavalry’s brass band
The military band of the French Republican Guard cavalry keeps alive the tradition of mounted bands and, in the minds of the French public, harks back to the panache and glory days of the French Army’s illustrious regiments. With their striking traditional uniforms, magnificent trumpet pennons and kettledrum aprons, polished and gleaming brass instruments, the cavalry’s brass band continues to perform widely in France and abroad. Its repertoire comprises a long list of regimental marches that evoke artillerymen, cuirassiers, dragoons, hussars, chasseurs, spahis, African chasseurs and of course the marches of the French Republican Guard itself, composed by successive trumpet-majors. The band is well-known to Parisians who often come to applaud them during important ceremonial occasions when their role is to escort the president or foreign monarchs. The snorting of the horses, the rhythmic clip-clop of hooves on the cobbled streets, the clinking of weapons touching one another, and all the historical king’s cavalrymen, knights, musketeers, dragoons and cuirassiers of the Empire briefly come to life once again. With timpanists on grey horses, and trumpeters on chestnut ones, the band is privileged to be the guardian of this tradition and upholder of the reputation of the French Republican Guard’s Cavalry. At symphonic concerts, the brass band joins the French Republican Guard’s Orchestra to play cavalry trumpet calls in some of the traditional marches.
About the Cadre Noir of Saumur
The Cadre Noir of Saumur brings together riders from the École Supérieure du Cheval et de l’Équitation in Saumur. Veritable experts in one or several disciplines, the riders’ primary role is to pass on technical and theoretical knowledge. They must also train the horses and keep them in top condition for the Reprise de Manège (indoor school performance) and the Sauteurs (airs above the ground), as well as for the national and international competitions where they represent the École. They also prepare the horses under their responsibility for student training.
THE LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP FINAL?AND THE FEI DRESSAGE WORLD CUP FINAL TICKET SALES
. Wednesday 11th April: OPENING CLASS
2nd category €10; 1st category, €15; Gold category, €20*
. Thursday 12th April: THE LONGINES FEI WORLD CUPTM JUMPING FINAL I
2nd category €20; 1st category, €40; Gold category, €60*
. Friday 13th April: THE FEI WORLD CUPTM DRESSAGE FINAL GRAND PRIX & THE LONGINES FEI WORLD CUPTM JUMPING FINAL II
2nd category €40; 1st category, €60; Gold category, €90*
. Saturday 14th April: FEI WORLD CUPTM DRESSAGE FINAL GRAND PRIX FREESTYLE & GRAND PRIX CSI
2nd category €40; 1st category, €80; Gold category, €120*
. Sunday 15th April: LONGINES FEI WORLD CUPTM JUMPING FINAL III
2nd category €80; 1st category, €120; Gold category, € 175*
*Subject to availability
ALL INCLUSIVE FINALS PACKAGES
FOR THE LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP FINAL
AND THE FEI DRESSAGE WORLD CUP FINAL
. From Wednesday 11th April to Sunday 15th April
2nd category €150; 1st category, €250; Gold category, €370*
*Subject to availability
Reservations
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