“It’s a great idea to bring everyone who loves horses together here”: a unique festival dedicated to horses in South Gironde

Riders and the curious will meet at the Cavalcades of Saint-Macaire, until Sunday, August 24. On the program: evening show, demonstrations, horseback rides, exhibitors' market...

" It's very impressive, especially for weekend riders like us!" enthuses Catherine Le Grix de la Salle. After two years of preparation, the festival she imagined with her father Alain and daughter Maud is coming to life. The Saint-Macaire Cavalcades continue for the third day, Sunday, August 24. Visitors can arrive on the Garonne plain from the medieval village or along the river, on foot or on horseback.

After opening their village to cameras for the filming of "Les Misérables" in July , the Macariens welcome riders into the maze of their medieval streets. Several have been closed to traffic for the occasion. Pauline Grenet arrives at a trot. Dressed in a scarlet red skirt with a white shirt and wearing a hat, she rides her horse sidesaddle. "This way of riding is part of a whole heritage, these are equestrian traditions that must be preserved," insists the Basque woman. "I brought my horse in a van to Saint-Maixant (5 kilometers from Saint-Macaire), then we made the journey here." The enthusiast, a florist by profession, regularly participates in equestrian shows with the Écuyers cascadeurs d'Ariège.

“Horses don’t see like us at all, their vision is yellow and blue.”

A little further along the ramparts, children discover the joys of their first encounters with horses. The Tous en selle association in Beautiran offers introductory rides for novices and trail rides for the more confident. Stéphanie Réau came from Ambarès-et-Lagrave with her daughters, Elena, a horse-riding enthusiast, and the youngest, Maëlle, who is trying to overcome her fear. "The ponies are used to it and quite docile," reassures Pierre Boccard, one of the volunteers, who also rides in horseball.

Equestrian team sports are among the disciplines presented throughout the weekend. The public will also be able to discover dressage and a carriage handling competition. This Saturday, the show jumping competition was in the spotlight. "You have to like strong sensations, you get shaken up," shares the rider, equipped with a microphone, as she has just cleared yet another obstacle. "We have to create a relationship of trust with our horse, because its eyes are on the side, so it can't see well in front when it's very close. These animals don't see at all like us, their vision is yellow and blue," she explains.

To pamper the horses, the festival has everything planned with a market of specialized exhibitors: saddlery, feed, care... A farrier is also available if needed. "I helped a rider this morning because her horse had a bent shoe," explains Franck Barbot, who came from Reignac (Haute Gironde). "This artisanal profession is very close to my heart. There are about fifty of us in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It's a great idea to bring everyone involved in the equestrian world together here."

Energized by this first edition, the organizing family, supported by the town hall and 78 volunteers, is already dreaming of the next edition. With the idea of ​​continuing to promote French equestrian heritage by drawing inspiration from Golegã. This Portuguese village has hosted a fair for centuries, bringing together hundreds of riders and horses.

Garonne Plain, Saint-Macaire. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: €15, €10 for children under 13, free for children under 5. Refreshments and food available on site.