Back home again after a few days away. We headed South not only to grab a bit of winter sun but (wait for it!) to attend a horse event đ A three day Camargue Horse Festival at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
We left home on a grey, wet day taking it easy in âTontoâ the motorhome and stopping overnight before crossing the Millau Bridge in very murky weather. Luckily we have done the crossing before and were able then to take in the magnificent view across the Gorge du Tarn and to marvel at the elegance and incredible engineering that is the Millau Bridge.
The next day as we approached our destination it became obvious that we were in the land of white horses, black bulls and pink flamingos. Those that follow our adventures will know how fond I am of a roundabout decoration!
And the best of all is in the capital of the Camargue Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Vovo a champion black bull
The sun shone as we headed off to the Mas de la Cure where the event was being held, the route was  lined with farms where white horses stood saddled up in the shade, awaiting the tourists looking to experience the Camargue in the best possible way. The sea, the sun and even some early flamingos!
The Mas de la Cure is a permanent venue (a French Werribee of sorts) with ample parking, sand arenas, permanent barns and additional temporary stabling for the 300 horses entered. So apologies to any non horse people, look away now đ€Ș
First of the classes seemed to involve inspection of type and conformation and gave me my very first view of Camargue horses. I think that Iâve found another breed to love!! These are strong, compact and hardy animals with the charm of an overgrown pony. Over the weekend they displayed their versatility with classes  including dressage, show jumping, driving and of course their everyday job of working the bulls.
The dressage was fascinating, ridden in traditional costume and all done with a single hand on the reins, the other hand held to the chest, we imagine to prove that one hand can be kept free to hold the gardians âtridentâ. Movements included leg yield, canter serpentines, medium trot and believe me some of these stocky little types can move!
Just a few in the warm up arena.
Fell in love with this fellow.
He wasnât too bad either đ
Then it was over to the big arena, where the âseriousâ stuff was happening as teams of gardians competed against each other at cutting bulls from the herd.
There was also a bit of retail therapy to be done in the big hall. Everything to kit out rider and horse, also gifts, jewellery and art. It was here that I found my birthday present! A horseshoe nail eventer, it was so hard to choose from the amazing pieces of work created by ex-farrier Pierre Conte, who is now kept busy creating trophies etc for the FEI.
How creative can you be with nails and studs, placed on wood from an old Armagnac barrel.
After a full day of horses we headed out on the town for a birthday paella. Although not yet the summer season there was plenty of activity as we walked in from our aire on the edge of Saintes-Mairies-de-la-Mer.
The many restaurants setting up for the evening.
And a fabulous sunset to end the day.
It wasnât all about horses though as we also enjoyed a look around the town, including the iconic church which is a place of pilgrimage for the Romani people, who visit their patron Saint Sarah.
And so my brilliant birthday weekend came to an end and we headed North again. Another tick on the bucket list – experiencing the Camargue.
Sounds like a great weekend..
Sue this is absolutely fabulous!!
Glad you enjoyed it Eilsâ we certainly didđ
Certainly wasđ
That horse you liked could do with a haircut though Sue. Enjoyed the little video clip and I know you will have certainly enjoyed the weekend – possibly an annual visit now ?
đđđthink the haircut was part of his charm Dave. Might well be an annual trip !
Dear Sue we realised it was your birthday recently ( as it is marked on our calendar. Sorry we are late with our best wishes . Judging by the wonderful photos you had a splendid time. What extremely wonderful experiences you are having. The joy of being in such an exciting place … dinner in an old beautiful building. You certainly made the right move .
Our best wishes to both of you & we love to read & see what you are experiencing
Aaaaww thanks Judy and Barry I never know whether to continue with the blog, but itâs a great diary project for our own reference đ
Hi Sue and Chris,
I just stumbled across your blog on your Facebook,and love it. A great experience for you in the Carmargue. We went there about 10 years ago and we were very impressed. People were caravanning on the beach and there were masses of pink flamingoes and just loved those beautiful white horses. We didnât see any performance unfortunately, so we may just have to go back there one day.
Hope you are both fit and well and enjoying your lives in France.
Love Jan
Lovely to hear from you Jan, certainly lots of artistic reference material in the Camargue! We still follow the adventures of the Zoomers đ Most of the Mazdas here seem to be hard top new ones ( northern hemisphere climate perhaps?)
Take care
Sue and Chris
So sorry Sue to have missed your birthday. It just looks as though you had a fantastic time. I have always wanted to go to the Camargue and so is still on my bucket list. The horses/ponies remind me a bit of the connemarra. Still loving your blog so keep it up! And then your birthday present – it looks excellent! Take good care.
Yes I definitely agree Liz, I also thought they were Connemara like.
Make sure you tick that bucket list item soon, arenât the Aussie borders opening up again now?
Happy birthday Sue, just a little late. What an absolutely wonderful weekend. I have a horseshoe horse and rider which we bought in Canada. I love it although it isn’t nearly as flash as yours, having to stand on its own nails. I still love your blog too (and the hairy ponies) don’t you dare give it up. Much love Robbyxx
It was great Robby, more horses in this monthâs blog toođđ