The first character you will meet in this story is the CEO of a large company, Reginald Dupuis. Since all of my characters or their locations have a special connection to me and are based on places I have been or people I have known, the breed of horse Reginald encounters is very personal to me. I met my first Selle Français in South Central France, where Reginald, our first character encounters his equine. This is the story behind the story.
First, let me tell you a little about one of the coolest horse breeds out there—the Selle Français. It’s not just a fancy French name; this breed has some serious history and talent.
History of the Selle Français
So, picture this: France in the early 1900s. Farmers and cavalry officers wanted strong, athletic horses that could do a bit of everything—work in the fields and carry soldiers. Instead of sticking to one bloodline, they decided to mix things up. They crossed sturdy Norman horses with hot-blooded Thoroughbreds and a few other breeds like Anglo-Arabs. The result? A total powerhouse of a horse: the Selle Français.
Ever heard of Baloubet du Rouet? If not, let me introduce you to one of the most famous Selle Français horses ever. This horse, ridden by Rodrigo Pessoa, absolutely dominated the show jumping world in the late ’90s and early 2000s. He won Olympic gold and became a breeding legend. His bloodline is still producing champions today.
Here’s another reason to love the Selle Français—they’re not just Olympic-level athletes; they also make fantastic family horses. They’re bred to be smart, willing, and level-headed, which makes them not only great for professional riders but also for amateurs and even kids. They are used for jumping, dressage, and a little-known sport called equestrian vaulting.
Unlike some high-performance horses that can be hot-headed or unpredictable, these guys tend to be kind, patient, and eager to please—all the things you want in a family horse, which is why our character Reginald discovered this breed on a small farm in the French countryside. Here’s the story of my first encounter with these amazing horses.
Horses in the Greek Olympics?
This is how far back my story goes. Equestrian vaulting traces its roots back to ancient Greece, where it was practiced as a form of training for warriors. Early Greek soldiers performed acrobatic maneuvers on horseback to develop balance, strength, and agility in battle. The sport became more refined and was eventually included in the ancient Olympic Games, where athletes demonstrated their skills in a competition performing feats on the back of a cantering horse. Now, it is a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) discipline and is one of the seven events in the World Equestrian Games.
The Romans, responsible for the sport, adopted and expanded this practice, incorporating vaulting displays into their military training and public demonstrations. The tradition continued through the centuries, with vaulting being used for both military exercises and artistic performances, leading to the modern discipline of equestrian vaulting, which combines gymnastics and dance on horseback.
If you read my first story about Eduardo, the Argentine Long Rider, I explained how my sister, Carol, was responsible for Eduardo traveling hundreds of miles on horseback, only to end up at my farm, living with us while his horses recuperated. Carol is at the root of many of my horse adventures, including this next story on how I got into vaulting.
How I Got into Equestrian Vaulting
“Alison!” Carol exclaimed excitedly into the phone early one morning. “You will never guess what I saw out in California when I was there for a riding instructor conference!”
“You’re right, Carol. I will never guess. Why don’t you tell me?”
Mind you, mornings were tough for me. I had a horse farm, a riding program, and three kids—ages six, four, and three.
She continued, “I saw people standing on the back of a cantering horse! It’s actually a sport called equestrian vaulting. They have clubs all over California.”
To make a long story shorter… Carol came back to the East Coast and to her farm in N.C. but had to know more about this intriguing sport. She researched it and found out there were a handful of equestrian clubs on the East Coast. They had a regional vaulting competition in Herndon, Virginia, and Carol decided to go learn more about this sport.
A Year Later
I refused to go watch vaulting in Virginia, so Carol brought vaulting to me. She had already started a club. She bought the equipment, a pony trained for vaulting, and drove it 11 hours to my house in time for my Saturday riding lessons. She introduced my riding students to the sport of equestrian vaulting. They instantly fell in love, as did my young daughter, who discovered she was allowed to stand on the back of a moving horse, which she did with a huge smile on her face of pure joy. From that day on, she never wanted to just sit on a horse again.
Thus, through growing pains, a lot of trial and error, and some good clinicians, a competitive vaulting team was born on my small farm in New Jersey.
At this point, you might be wondering, “What in the world does this have to do with Reginald and France?” Thanks to vaulting, this story grows much, much bigger.
The Little Team That Could
Not only did our equestrian vaulting team, Vaulting Visions, grow into a top-notch competitive team, but we were also requested to do exhibitions at major equestrian events. One of these exhibitions was at the Radnor Hunt Club in Pennsylvania.
We completed our demo, which included up to three kids on the back of the horse at one time doing their routine when a mom and daughter walked up and inquired about how they could join our club. The mom, Nicole, was from France and knew all about equestrian vaulting. There were no teams nearby in Pennsylvania, but she was willing to travel to New Jersey if her daughter could join our team.
Our club was more like a big family. We traveled together, worked together, played together, and grew until we had twenty vaulters. We traveled all over the country to do vaulting. Parents helped out a lot, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when Nicole asked me if I wanted to accompany her daughter, Sarah, to France, where her dad lived, and meet the coach of a French vaulting team. Nicole had to work, and Sarah needed an adult to travel with her, so Dan and I immediately volunteered.
Meeting a Selle Français
Not only did we meet Danielle, the coach of the French team in the town of Thiers, but we also got to meet her amazing horses and our first Selle Français. I fell in love with the docile giants, which were far superior to our horses back in the U.S. I told Danielle that I would love for my kids to vault on her horses. That’s when she proposed an idea.
Danielle proposed we arrange a vaulting exchange program. I would bring my vaulters to France the following summer. We would spend a week training and then put on a French-American vaulting demonstration in a nearby park. The next summer, she would bring her vaulters to the U.S., and we would do a demo at our local fair. The kids would be hosted by the vaulting families and have a rich cultural experience as icing on the cake. It was the perfect plan.
Twenty-two of us boarded a plane to Paris, then a smaller plane to Thiers, located in south-central France. Thiers is a town with a rich history in knife making, which is described in Reginald’s story—his hometown. The sights, the history of the quaint town, and the experience with this breed of horse left an indelible print in my memory, which is now woven into the fictional tale of The Seven.
*****
Finally, because I am a proud mom, I have to include this picture of my daughter representing the United States in the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina, in the sport of equestrian vaulting. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my tiny three-year-old, standing on the pony with a huge smile on her face (which scared the crap out of me), would not only represent her country in that strange sport but would also be featured on the cover of the USEF Vaulting Magazine, displaying that same smile she wore every time she stood on a horse.
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