Our neighbors, Romain and Dominique were invited to a horse competition at Haras d’Olympe, just 6 km south of Lectoure, this morning. They in turn invited us to go. Haras d’Olympe was started in 1902 by Count Bernard de Larry de L’atour, great-grandfather of the current owner. He created a breed of English Thoroughbreds that quickly acquired an international reputation. When the father of the current owner took over the estate, he reduced production of English Thoroughbreds in favor of Anglo-Arabs for show jumping, dressage, and racing. The goal of Haras d’Olympe is to control the production of the horse from breeding to completion. Many winners have come from their stables. The current owner, Pierre, hosted the competition today, with one horse chosen for French national training.
We enjoyed watching the horses go through various jumps and runs, then everyone moved to a large arena to watch the chosen horse. The owner’s wife gave Romain and Dominique, Papa and me, a walking tour of the estate and the various stables. We loved seeing the baby colts.
