Écuries extraordinaires

- Season 1

(2002)

In the heart of German Switzerland stands the Einsiedeln Monastery, last monastery in the world which still breeds and celebrates horses. Built 1000 years ago, this monastery has always sheltered horses in his stables ; and monks always loved their horses. From this love was born the « horse pilgrimage », a major ceremony organized on the Monastery Plaza with the benediction of more than 200 horse riders.

In China, horse race is a king sport. And the Hong Kong Jockey Club, a 150 years old institution, is the one which gets the honor and duty to organize the race shows. The HKJC hosts its horses in an ultramodern stable in a 3 levels building. Once the horse has stepped into the HKJC stables starts a program strictly oriented towards one goal : win the race.

In the heart of Rajasthan, north of India, stands the Udaïpur Palace which witnessed 75 generations of Maharana. Arvind Singh Mewar, the present Maharana, explains that the dependence of men on horses has existed for an age; for this reason, the royal Mewar family has always shown great respect to their horses. The stables, located in the central part of the palace keeps only 5 horses but there is certainly something sacred in them.

Renaissance facades, medieval crenelated walls, Byzantines arcades, classical Trianon, Gothic tour ... nothing was beautiful enough to Pavel Von der Wiese when, in 1893, he ordered to Chektel, main architect of that time, to build a palace worth welcoming the horses he wanted to accommodate. 250 km south of Moscow, stands this horse center where today and from now on, Vladimir Frolov attempts to recreate the Orlov-Rostopchine breed.

In Morocco, in the heart of the the imperial town he erected, Sultan Moulaye Ismaïl built in the middle of the XVIIth century amazing stables to house the 12000 horses of his army. The building no longer keeps horses and was partly destroyed by an earthquake.

Labeled historic monument with its huge green ground and its large stables, the Hennebont stud, south of Brittany, preserved its XIXth century physiognomy. Sir Tanneguy de Sainte Marie, current sub director and husband of the director of the national stud, guides us into the stables, to the reproduction center, the forge, the cider press and takes us to Lamballe national stud, north of Brittany, where there is a major sale of local horses.

A visit throughout the Lisbon Royal School of equestrian art, dignified follower of the Portuguese equestrian tradition. Thanks to schools squires, camera dwells on horse preparation, training figures, and most of all, numerous neo-classic buildings of this institution. Among those, the old and beautiful riding school painted ceiling which fully justifies the place's reputation.

A visit at Zingaro in Aubervilliers, near Paris, guided by Bartabas and Patrick Bouchain, his architect. Life, space, audience: around the small wooden big top the stables have been extracted from the theatre wings and they are part of the actual equestrian show.

An excursion through Barcelona, in different palace's stables. Main idea: each one has been designed, at the beginning of the XXth century by frenzied architect Gaudi. Mushroomed shape columns, convoluted ramps, skillful gates made of wrought iron: a whole universe of phantasmagoria and mystery.

These stables were created at the end of the sixties by the greatest Mexican architect, Luis Barragan. Between four pink walls, the horses enjoy a comfortable and quiet life. Everything here has been thought about for them... with an explosive aesthetic sense!

Lipica: for any horse lover the word evokes the little white horses that made the Vienna Riding School famous. The story of these immaculate horses started between the green hills of what is today Slovenia, a few gallop strides away from Venice. In this unique place the bases of a breed were set in 1580 and quickly reached the ideal standards that are now well preserved.

Versailles: the ultimate sign of the greatness of a king. At a time when horses were a positive symbol of wealth and power, Louis the XIVth has his stables erected right opposite his castle. The stables were deserted since the French revolution; today they live again with the installation of the French Academy of Equestrian Spectacle.

A few kilometers away from Brussels is a well preserved and hidden jewel : the Domaine de Louvranges, meeting point between 4 utopists of the modern world: the late Mr De Pauw, his wife Decia, a dressage champion, René Stapels, architect, and Jacques Wirtz, landscape gardener. Created at the beginning of the eighties, these stables present a subtle mix of luxury, serenity and refinement; they are the masterpiece of lovers of both horses and art.

In Poland the horse was always beloved and respected because it long allowed the Poles to defend the country's borders thanks to its cavalry regiments, called Ulans. In South West Poland, in Ksiaz, fantastic stables that used to belong to an impressive XVIIIth century castle, hosts an important breeding center.

The stables of the Thorens castle owe to Isabelle de Roussy de Sales, and Anna Maulet's energy their revival. They used to belong to an amazing medieval castle but now they are dedicated to the training of competition horses. Ideally located in the heart of the French Alps.

The stables of the Royal Jordanian Stud, near Amman, host dreamy horses; is it because the ancestors of these pure Arabian horses, real desert horses, took part to most of the myths and stories of the area, and are therefore linked to most of our cultures? From the Wadi Rum desert to the beauty show organized in the stud, the horses from the royal stables sure have many stories to tell.

Ireland has a passion for horses and is known as the premier breeding country in the world. Sheikh Muhammad Al Maktoum has, in the County of Kildare, one of his leading studs: seven buildings spread over 1000 acres. The landscape is wide, green and majestic. The 200 foals are all bred to become tomorrow's cracks.

The story of El Atalaya is one of a passion burning upon historical background. The Count Federico Thyssen, owner of the greatest Arabic horses of Latin America, feels he has to honor his beloved horses by offering them the best possible stables. But he wants to find a complete harmony between the environment, his horses and the country the stables are settled in. To do so, he asks Fernando Bustillo, one of the most appreciated Argentinean architects, to design the stud upon a hill fifty miles away from Buenos Aires.