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18-year-old jumper and Eq champion Alex Ladove shares a ‘dream come true’ trip to France’s Loire region.
AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, France has been my dream destination. Between school studies, acting in films and, most importantly, training and showing to qualifying for the Big Eq Finals each year, there just hasn’t been time for a trip abroad. Then, for my high school gradua- tion gift, my mom decided we needed to take a break before the craziness of finals and indoors and so off we flew over the Atlantic, with our tiny little rescue terrier Cosette happily in tow!
The Wonders of Paris (Les Merveilles de Paris) Paris was everything I expected and more: the Eiffel Tour, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and the manda- tory (window) shopping at Chanel and Hermes, where inci- dentally a dandy brush costs nearly as much as a small pony. Naturally one gets hungry wandering the streets of the “city of light,” passing boulangeries, bistros and the famed Berthillon, which offers the most incredible ice cream in the world—plenty of choices to stave off any hunger pangs. Food is the national pastime in France, and with good reason. I didn’t really worry about the extra calories I was
By Alexandra Ladove
consuming or fret over fitting into my breeches when it was time to mount up for the ASPCA Maclay and USET regional finals. I knew when I returned home I’d have months of hard work in the saddle, hours of riding without stir- rups in the hot California sun, to burn off any extra kilos. Besides, we were on vacation. It was time to indulge in beautiful pastries, hand-made bonbons and decadent desserts, all tasting delicious and as light as air.
The Horses (Les Chevaux) I’d done my homework and researched where we should go, things we should see and do and I also learned as much as I could about the French horses. I don’t (yet) have a Selle Français (SF); my equitation horse, Beau Van Het Keyershof, is a 16.3 hand 12-year-old chestnut Warmblood gelding (breeding unknown) and my jumper is a 9-year-old 17 hand Holsteiner mare named Calina (Calido I x Lord Calando).
Horses at the top: Vaulting is a popular sport that the French are known for. Using longlines, the Cadre Noir demonstrates free jumping. And under saddle, a rider at the Cadre Noir demon- strates jumping the “skinny.” Above: Alex enjoys a creperie at an outdoor cafe.
Warmbloods Today 27
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i L Alain Laurioux
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A Édouard Hue
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Alex Ladove
Linda Ladove
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