The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance of 2,400 metres and scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.
Jacques-Germain Soufflot was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve.
The Cadre Noir is a corps of écuyers, or instructors, at the French military riding academy École Nationale d'Équitation at Saumur in western France, founded in Versailles before transferring to Saumur in 1828. During the Second World War, the premises of the school were occupied by German forces and the remaining instructors and horses were moved temporarily to Fontainebleau. The school today also performs as an equestrian display team. Its name comes from the black uniforms that are still in use today. It is one of the "Big Four", the most prestigious classical riding academies in the world.
Philippa Rachel "Pippa" Funnell MBE is an equestrian sportswoman who competes in eventing. In 2003, she became the first person to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. She also won Badminton in 2002 and 2005. At the European Championships, she has won two Individual golds (1999–2001) and three team golds (1999–2003). She is a three-time Olympic medallist, winning team silver in 2000 and 2004, and an individual bronze in 2004. She also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Mary Elizabeth King is a British equestrian who competes in eventing. She has represented Great Britain at six Olympics from 1992 to 2012, winning team silver in 2004 and 2012, and team bronze in 2008. At the World Equestrian Games, she won team gold in 1994 and 2010, and team silver in 2006. She has also won four team golds and one team bronze medal at the European Eventing Championships.
William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt is an English equestrian who competes in eventing. His career highlights include winning three Olympic medals in the team event, with silver in 2004 and 2012, and bronze in 2008. At the World Equestrian Games, he won team gold and individual silver in 2010, and team silver and individual bronze in 2014. He also won World team medals in 2002 and 2006. At the European Championships, he has won six team gold medals, as well as Individual silver in 1997 and 2005, and Individual bronze in 2013. He is the recordman CCI*****'s winner with 14 grand slam titles. In 2011, he became the first rider to win five different five-star events, having won the Burghley Horse Trials a record six times, Rolex Kentucky three times, Stars of Pau twice, the Badminton Horse Trials twice, and the Luhmühlen Horse Trials once (2008). A serious fall in 2015 left him in a coma for two weeks, but he came back to make the British eventing team and attend the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours.
Montsoreau is a commune of the Loire Valley in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France on the Loire, 160 km (99 mi) from the Atlantic coast and 250 km (160 mi) from Paris. The village is listed among The Most Beautiful Villages of France and is part of the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Flying Fox (1896–1911) was a champion British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1899 English Triple Crown and was the leading sire in France three times.
Viscount Antoine Henri Philippe Léon Cartier d'Aure was a French riding-master, and author of important treatises on dressage. He was écuyer en chef of the Cadre Noir of Saumur, and later to the Emperor of France, Napoléon III. He was made an officer of the Légion d'Honneur in 1849.
Athée is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
Nicolas Touzaint is a French professional horserider specialising in three-day eventing. He was born into a family already known for its performance in equestrianism: his father, Jean-Yves Touzaint, was champion of France eventing in 1975 and 1976. His uncle, Thierry Touzaint, is a national coach in the same discipline.
Georgina "Piggy" March is a British equestrian sportswoman who competes in eventing. She won the 2019 Badminton Horse Trials and 2022 Burghley Horse Trials on Vanir Kamira, and finished second at the 2011 Badminton Horse Trials and the 2017 Burghley Horse Trials. She won Individual silver at the 2009 and 2021 European Championships and a team gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games. She earned selection for the 2012 Olympic Games, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury to her horse, DHI Topper W. She was also selected for Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as a reserve; however, her owners did not want the horse to travel, Brookfield Inocent, if it was not to compete.
Christopher "Burto" Burton is an Australian equestrian, and Olympic Medal winner. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in equestrian eventing, as well as the 2024 Summer Olympics in which he won a silver medal in the individual eventing competition.
William Coleman III is an American equestrian. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed in the Individual eventing and Team eventing. At the age of six, Coleman's family moved to Charlottesville, VA where he started riding in the hunt fields of Virginia Piedmont Hunt. His father was an avid fox hunter and became his first show jumping coach. After Coleman began to focus on eventing he started training with Karen and David O’Connor, beginning an apprentice with the pair after his graduation from Woodberry Forest School.
The Abbey of Saint-Florent, Saumur, also Saint-Florent-lès-Saumur or Saint-Florent-le-Jeune, was a Benedictine abbey in Anjou founded in the 11th century near Saumur, France. It was the successor of the Abbey of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil which was abandoned by its monks during raids of the Vikings.
The Haras Nationaux in France was the French national public administrative body responsible for the regulation and administration of breeding of horses and donkeys in France. It administered twenty-two regional studs, or horse-breeding centres.
Laura Collett is a British equestrian who competes in eventing.
Ugo Didier is a French Paralympic swimmer. He represented France at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Caroline Pamukcu is an American equestrian competing in eventing. She is a Pan American Games individual gold medalist and silver team medalist. As a youth competitor, she was named United States Eventing Association Young Rider of the Year four times.
