From March 18 to 20, sixteen couples were able to take part in a course organized at the Federal Equestrian Park in view of the 2022 World Championships in Mongolia. The French team wants to bring back the gold, after the silver medal acquired in 2019.
The French archery team was able to take advantage of the Lamotte-Beuvron facilities to prepare for upcoming competitions. “The idea is tohelp couples optimize their preparationmake a technical point, give working bases and indications for the coming season”presents Alan Le Gall, national coach.
On the program for these three days : physical preparation for the riders, work on the flat and setting up the saddle / obstacles. The riders were able to train under the watchful eye of Claude Lanchais, national technical advisor for the discipline. “This internship is a great opportunity. I’ve been waiting for my first federal gathering for a while, after taking part in two detection courses! So I’m very happy to be here to improve myself”, says Jules Boisson, licensed at the Aubrée stables (17).
The last day, a competition was organized to implement the work done during this internship. The horsemen confronted two races in a straight line, the morning. The first, “Tower”, is made up of a triptych of targets, and the second, “Raid”, consists of shooting at targets positioned 90 cm from the ground. Sunday afternoon, a third test was organized and devoted to the hunt test. It takes place in varied terrain, with obstacles to jump. The rider, who holds his bow and arrows in his hands, must be able to direct his horse and maintain his balance. “The hunting course is impressive, it is one of the funniest challenges. It requires a very good relationship between horse and rider. The latter cannot use his hands, everything happens in the back and thanks to the weight of the body”describes the national coach.
France, one of the leaders in the discipline
For archery, the riders evolve in competition with horses on loanoften from the host country. “This makes it possible to discover endemic horses in many countries, and develops the ability of riders to adapt very quickly. In Mongolia, we will arrive three or four days before the start of the competition to get to know the horses”, explains Alan Le Gall. Since 2014, the year of the recognition of archery on horseback by the FFE, the France team has climbed the ladder of the world hierarchy. She owns a impressive track record : Junior European Vice-Champion in 2017, then Senior World Vice-Champion two years later, with additional individual rankings.
The team that will represent France will perform a last trip to Turkey, during the summer, before going to Mongolia. “The environment will be different, it’s another culture and their horses are also fast, which will put the riders in another level of difficulty. We will also have to continue the physical preparation, because in Mongolia we will be at an altitude of 2600 meters, something that should not be taken lightly. The preparation will end with a ultimate team reunion before departure, end of August/beginning of September”concludes the national coach.
(with press release)
