The Lasallian student has qualified for the final of the French Grandes Écoles championship.
"Moments that will stay with you for the rest of your life". On Thursday June 13, Margaux Boyer was exultant on the track at the Longchamp racecourse. The 4th-year Agro Alimentation & Santé engineering student had just finished third in her qualifying race, a place that propelled her into the final of the Championnat des Grandes Écoles, THE horse-riding competition reserved for students.
The race took place at this prestigious racecourse, in the midst of competitions involving professional jockeys, as part of the JeuxDi. "It was a unique experience for Margaux, who admits she didn't immediately realize where she was.
"It's crazy to be racing at Longchamp, in the middle of all this public, and I'd never competed at a high level before! I told myself that whatever happens, whether or not I qualify for the final, it will remain an exceptional experience."
"I'd never ridden a racehorse before".
Margaux's equestrian career has been as exceptional as the competition itself.
"I've been riding since I was a little girl. At the age of 4-5, I was riding Shetland ponies in my club near Paris. Naturally, I continued riding when I moved to Beauvais, but I wasn't really interested in competitions apart from 2-3 show jumping competitions.
It was through Uniriders, the UniLaSalle Beauvais riding association, that I heard about the Championnat des Grandes Écoles. I applied without really believing it, and was surprised to receive a positive response. I'd never been on a racehorse before. This opened the door to a 48-hour introductory course in Chantilly, in mid-December, to learn how to ride a racehorse, as it's very different from "classical" riding. Then, at the beginning of January, the Championnat des Grandes Écoles team sent me to a trainer in Chantilly in the company of Laura Carpentier, also qualified for this competition."
Up at 4am for training
A sporting commitment that wasn't so easy to manage while studying at UniLaSalle.
"I used to go to Chantilly every Saturday morning, but I regularly went during the week too. I'd get up at 4-5 a.m. to go up and then follow it up with a day of classes afterwards. Despite that, I loved it! The prospect of getting a closer look at the world of equestrian racing, where it's so hard to get into, was a real motivating factor."
2 Lasallian students in the final
Of the 44 students who qualified for the Championnat de France des Grandes Écoles, only 12 will reach the final on Saturday July 13. Among them are Margaux Boyer and Capucine Gerfaud-Valentin, students at UniLaSalle Beauvais and UniLaSalle Rouen respectively. Despite a fine race, Laura Carpentier and Clotilde Doukhan, from the Beauvais campus, unfortunately failed to finish in the top 4 of their heat and thus qualify.
UniLaSalle wishes Margaux and Capucine the best of finals!
Crédit photo : The Soft Horse (Wiktoria Szczesniak) - Championnat des Grandes Écoles
