The History of Horse Parades
No. 1 - 1972 - Made up of carriages belonging to the French
National Stud, the renowned "Madeleine-Bastille" and riders from the
Ile de France Regional Association of Equestrian Tourism, the parade set
off from the Bois de Boulogne and finished at the Salon located at the
Place de la Bastille, in the Gare de la Bastille.
No.2 - 1973 - The second edition set off from the Pont Cardinet
and finished at the Parc Floral, where the Salon du Cheval was held that
year.
No. 3 - 1974 - The third edition featuring carriages from the
French National Stud set out from the Gare du Pont Cardinet and crossed
Paris, finishing at the Porte de Versailles, the Salon du Cheval's new
venue, with the participation of the "Malle-poste" (mail coach) which
came from Deauville.
No. 4 - 1997 - The Parisian Parade was re-launched. The parade
set off from and finished at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre
where the exhibition was taking place. 150 riders and roughly twenty
carriages took part in it.
No.5 - 1998 - The same route was used for the parade.
No.6 - 1999 - Ditto.
No.7 - 2000 - 180 riders and 22 carriages travelled along the
route which passed by the Gare Montparnasse, the Bastille, the Place de
la République, the Opéra and the Louvre.
No.8 - 2001 - 185 riders and 25 carriages were present.
No.9 - 2002 - 285 riders and 48 carriages were present. The route passed by the Bastille, the Hôtel de Ville and the Louvre.
No. 10 - 2003 - 362 horses took part in the parade and were either ridden or hitched up to carriages.
No.11 - 2004 - 343 riders and 60 carriages were present. This was
the last time that the parade set off from and finished at the Porte de
Versailles Exhibition Centre. The organisation of the parade was no
longer compatible due to the number of exhibitions being held there at
the same time.
No.12 - 2005 - 316 riders and 45 carriages were present. The parade
set off from the Bois du Boulogne as the Town Hall had given its
approval for this to happen. The route changed and passed by the
Trocadéro, the Invalides, the Eiffel Tower and the return journey was
through Boulogne.
No.13 - 2006 - 322 riders and 44 carriages were present. The
parade set off from and finished at the Bois de Boulogne, passing by
the Porte Maillot, the Madeleine, the Opéra, the Louvre, the Invalides
and the Trocadéro on the way.
No.14 - 2007 - 259 riders and 35 carriages were present. The
horses were blessed by the Priest of the Madeleine and the parade then
passed by the Opéra, the Louvre, the Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, the
Trocadéro, and the return journey was via the Avenue Foch.
No.15 - 2010 - The parade will set off from Longchamp Racecourse.
Participants will either be members of the Association Française
d'Attelage (the French Driving Association -AFA) or the Comité Régional
d'Equitation d'Ile de France (the Ile de France Regional Equestrian
Committee -CREIF). The route will pass by the Gare du Nord, République,
the Grands Boulevards, the Opéra, the Louvre, the Invalides and the
Trocadéro.
No.16 - 2011 - The parade will set off from Longchamp Racecourse.
