The Cadre Noir (; en, Black Cadre) is a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of ecuyers, or instructors, at the French military riding academy École Nationale d'Équitation at

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur s ...

in western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, founded in 1828. It also performs as an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

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.Horse & Hound - 7 Things You Need to Know about the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art
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History

The historic role of the Saumur School of Cavalry was to provide training for the officers and non-commissioned officers of the French cavalry. The style of equitation characteristic of the school was first taught by François Robichon de La Guérinière, the French riding master to King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

and author of the manual ''École de Cavalerie'' published in 1731. In 1843, François Baucher introduced his method into the school. This event marked the beginning of a small "war" between the vicomte d'Aure (head of the school) and Baucher, which continued for several years. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the mounted element of the French Army had been reduced to a few squadrons of North African

spahi Spahis () were light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now ...

s (disbanded in 1962) and the primarily ceremonial Cavalry of the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wi ...

. While the need for a purely military riding academy had almost vanished, the international prestige of French horsemanship ensured the survival of the Saumur training centre in the form of a national riding school under the Ministry of Sports. Accordingly, in 1972, the National School of ''Équitation'' was constituted around the Cadre Noir, which provided its core teaching staff. Today, there are about 50 horses and a team of elite riders, usually limited to 22. The members of the Cadre Noir have either civilian or military status. Military and civilian riders are distinguished by the insignia on their collar: a

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...

for the military or a

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

for the civilians. Some of the riders have reached the highest level of international sport, being Olympic or world champions. The Cadre Noir mainly uses

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made betw ...

s, Hanoverians and

Selle Français The Selle Français (SF) is a breed of sport horse from France. It is renowned primarily for its success in show jumping, but many have also been successful in dressage and eventing. An athletic horse with good gaits, it is usually bay or ...

, but also keeps

Lusitano The Lusitano, also known as the Pure Blood Lusitano or PSL (''Puro Sangue Lusitano''), is a Portuguese horse breed. Horses were known to be present on the Iberian Peninsula as far back as 20,000 BC, and by 800 BC the region was renowned fo ...

horses to demonstrate the 16th and 17th century baroque style of riding. The Thoroughbreds and Anglo Arabians are used for the Grand Prix dressage, and perform individually, ''pas de deux'' (two horses), ''pas de trois'' (three horses), and ''dûe quantité'' (four or more horses). They may be either displayed in hand or ridden. File:Didier Courreges dsc03627.jpg, Olympic champion

Didier Courrèges Didier Courrèges (born 15 June 1960 in Évreux, Eure) is a high-level horse rider.

File:Cadre noir - reprise de manege 1.jpg, Cadre Noir in gala uniform File:Cadre noir - croupade à la main.jpg, Croupade File:Cadre noir - cabriole à la main.jpg, Cabriole File:Cadre noir 19 mai 2012 (7-503).jpg, Jumping display over a single upright pole File:Cadre noir - saut d'obstacle.jpg, Longeing demonstration over fences File:Grand manège des écuyers - Cadre Noir.jpg, The Grand manège des écuyers The

are used to display the 'airs above the ground.'

Bibliography

* Jacques Perrier et Durand (dir.), ''L'Épopée du Cadre noir de Saumur'', Lavauzelle, 1994, 110 p. () * Roger Gaborieau (ill. Alain Laurioux), ''Le Cadre noir de Saumur, École nationale d'équitation'', 1996, 39 p. * Patrice Franchet d'Espèrey, ''Le Cadre noir de Saumur'', Paris, Arthaud, 1999, 159 p. ()

References

External links

{{Commons category, Cadre noir
Official site of the French National Riding School and the Cadre Noir of SaumurOfficial site (French)
Dressage schools and teams Maine-et-Loire 1828 establishments in France

History

See also

Bibliography

References

External links