Haras de Jardy was a

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 c ...

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

operation established in 1890 in

Marnes-la-Coquette Marnes-la-Coquette () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Located from the centre of Paris, the town is situated in the Hauts-de-Seine department on the departmental border with Yvelines between the Parc de Saint-Cloud and the ...

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 ...

by the statesman

Edmond Blanc Edmond Blanc (22 February 1856 – 12 December 1920) was a horse breeder as well a French politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1893 to 1894, and from 1898 to 1902, representing Hautes-Pyrénées. He also served as ...

(1856-1920). The

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation o ...

became home to many important

stallions A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck ...

, including one of the leading sires in France and English Triple Crown Champion

Flying Fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

, as well as others such as Winkfield's Pride, Val d'Or, Ajax I,

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Tedd ...

Hermis Hermis (foaled 1899 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Background Hermis was a chestnut horse bred by Hiram Berry: H. A. Engman owned his dam, Katy of the West. He was purchased as a two-year-old by Cincinnati thea ...

and

Coaltown Coaltown (1945–1965) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse of whom ''The New York Times'' said "was probably the most underrated Thoroughbred of the 20th Century." Coaltown was nicknamed "The Goose" by the stable empl ...

. Haras de Jardy gained such a reputation that it was visited by horse owners and breeders from around the world, including

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in 1905,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1957 and

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

in 1961. After Edmond Blanc's death in 1920, his wife operated the business. In 1920-21, her horse

Ksar Ksar or qsar (Maghrebi Arabic: wiktionary:قصر, قصر ''qṣer'' or ڭصر ''gser'', plural ''qṣur''; Berber language, Berber: ⵉⴴⵔⵎ ''aghrem'' or ''ighrem'', plural: ''igherman''), plural ksars, qsars, ksour or qsour, is the Nor ...

scored back-to-back wins in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 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 ...

; ten years later, he was the leading sire in France. The property was eventually sold to

Marcel Boussac Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...

, who owned it until his death in 1980, after which it became the property of the government. Today, it is a public park with a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

and home to the largest

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 i ...

center in the country.

References

Official Website and history for Haras de Jardy Equestrian Center
(French language)

(French language)
Wikipedia page about Haras de Jardy (French language)
{{coord, 48, 49, 35, N, 2, 9, 12, E, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title 1890 establishments in France Horse farms in France Parks in France Sport in Hauts-de-Seine Organizations established in 1890