Le Domaine des Ecuyers
Living horses throughout History
Vivre le cheval à travers l'histoire
Le Domaine des Écuyers de l'Histoire's passion is to make you travel through centuries !
Throughout our show season, our horses and us travel across France, Europe and even the world to show you the past life, from the XIth to the XIXth century. From the jousts of the Xvth century to the refined military horsemanship of the XVIIIth century, by way of the greatest battlefields, we light up the eyes of young and old alike. The shows we perform are reenactment, meaning that we reproduce what happened centuries ago, so accurately as possible. If you want to come to our shows, please visit our schedule.
If you organize an event and you are interested in our services, you can contact us.
About us
Le Domaine des Écuyers de l’Histoire merged from les Écuyers de l’Histoire, a reenactment association created in 2010, and le Domaine des Écuyers, which exists since 2012.
Over the years, the association of les Écuyers de l’Histoire acquired an international reputation and a rare professionalism level concerning the reenactment, thanks to the work and the dedication of its president and founder, Michaël Sadde. Le Domaine des Écuyers, managed by Émeline Macret, has always been partner with les Écuyers de l’Histoire, being the equestrian and material base, and the training centre of the members of les Écuyers de l’Histoire.
So the merge was natural, with the goal to keep alive the original wish of these two structures : share their passion, Horses and History.
We can revive 7 periods of the French history. Our strength lies in our volunteers’ professionalism, passion and rigour, and in the quality of our costumes. We do our best to revive the habits and customs of the past centuries and make them known to the public, novice or experienced. The structure can perform in educative presentations as well as in battles throughout Europe, or in sound and light shows.
Through our different presentations across France and Europe with our horses, and across the whole world for our jousters, we answer to castles, historical sites, local authorities, or on the occasion of commemorations…
We offer to the spectators the possibility of become actor of their own discovery and develop their knowledge, and make an enrichment time of their leisure time.
For any request of for more informations, please contact us. We would be pleased to study together what will best for you. We are here to handle your equestrian show and make you live History… on horseback !
Eras
XIth century - Norman cavalry
"Dex Aïe !"
We are proud to personify for you the dangerous cavalry of William the Conqueror ! We represent it on the battlefields for a few years now, including the battle of Hastings.
XIth century - Norman cavalry
"Dex Aïe !"
For years now, we are the heralds of the solid lance jousting in France. Wearing armors being more than 40kg, our knights compete with entire, not blunted lances. We made this choice because those lances provide massive impacts, and overall are historically accurate, which allows to present the joust to the public as closely as possible to what it could be back in the XVth century. Reenacting faithfully the ''sport des Roys'', the sport of the kings, and its values of honor and courtesy, is one of the main activities of Le Domaine des Écuyers de l'Histoire.
But our reenactments of the Xvth century tournaments do not stop with the jousting : we present other medieval sports, like the melee (a fight of knights with bats), the hunting games and the skill at arms played by ladies and squires alike, and the foot combat.
In 2015, Michael Sadde is at the initiative of the first solid-lance-joust in France : the Saint Michael Tournament Order, which takes place every year in the castle of Plessis-Bourré. We also organize the European Real Lances Jousting Championship and a new international solid-lance-tournament in Oradea, Romania.
Michael Sadde is one of the best jouters in the world, European vice champion and world vice champion, he have circled the globe and competed against the greatest jousters on 3 continents. In the world of reenactment since 2006, he create Les Écuyers de l'Histoire in 2010 and he trained most of its members.
XIth century - Norman cavalry
"Dex Aïe !"
This regiment acted during the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Spanish War. We present elegant, admirably trained horses, breathtaking costumes… We offer you a jump into a cloak-and-dagger world, beside bold warriors wearing armor, laceworks, paned sleeves, and beside proud ladies galloping with feathers and skirts fluttering in the wind. We rival with dexterity and panache, to make you discover military games or haute école dressage figures. Educational presentation or battlefield reenactment, we will answer to your desire !
XVIIIth century - The King Louis XV house
"Alterius Jovis Altera Tela"
We reenact the riders of the King Louis XV’s House : brigadiers, musketeers, lovely ladies, attired in all the refinement and excellence of the XVIIIth century. One of the goals of reenacting this period is to perpetuate the traditional French horsemanship, following the teaching of great horsemen like Nestier, Pluvinel, La Guérinière… Discover the utility of dressage and haute école fight (passage, spanish walk, levade, croupade, cabriole…), the military strictness of the tight formation, the foil duels and dexterity games, destined to train the best warriors of their time… The ladies demonstrate grace and talent by standing up to the men, they prove that sidesaddle riding isn’t an obstacle to get an equestrian as high as men’s. Foil fencing, haute école, skill at arms, hunting, no discipline is closed to them. Come see the equestrian feats of the Age of Enlightenment.
Chouanne Cavalry
"In Sapientia Robur Sic Reflorescent"
For this period, we personify the royalist troops of the Prince of Talmont, who fought against the republican army in the North-West departments, during the French Revolution. True to the local history of the Mayenne where we are situated, le Domaine des Écuyers de l’Histoire propose to come back to those troubled times of the Revolution, to the hidden camps and forest skirmishes, in the footsteps of the Chouans…
First Empire - Black Hussards of Brunswick
"Nunquam Retrorsum"
The troops of the duke of Brunswick fought beside the British armies during the Napoleonic Wars. For you, we revive these intrepid riders, for ceremonial drills, marches, commemorations, battles, manœuvres demonstrations and cavalry exercises (fencing, skill at arms)...
XIXth century - Victorian Era
"En avant, Calme et Droit"
With this newly created period, we present civil riders from the Victorian Era, which corresponds with the Third Republic in France. Come to encourage our sportsmen and sportswomen, who rival in jumping and skill at arms, or admire the dressage and haute école feats, inspired by the great horsemen and talented circus horsewomen.
The side saddle riders
"Dulcedine Et Tolerantia Meum Amicum Domo"
Our side saddle riders are present in all the periods except the XIth century and First Empire. We propose ‘’multi-eras’’ shows about the ladies’ equitation. This way of riding is both traditional and original, and, less than disabled, the ladies of all eras can realise the same exercises than the gentlemen, thanks to the training given by Émeline Macret, one of the best side saddle riders in France. The ‘’Écuyères’’ of the association present, for your recreation, pas de deux, equestrian display, foil fencing, and escort elegantly these gentlemen. They perform fully dressed, from the XVth to the XIXth century. Émeline Macret is European champion of historical side saddle riding back in 2016, and she is asked by event organisers throughout Europe for side saddle presentations in different countries.
