Accustomed to the Grand Palais (under construction until the 2024 Paris Olympics), the Saut Hermès discovered its successor this Friday, the ephemeral Grand Palais, installed at the end of the Champs de Mars, in front of the Military School.
And after two years of absence, it has become the first sporting event to settle in this new eco-responsible structure made largely of wood and with a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower.
Seduced by this place which was magnificently occupied by the monumental canvases of the German artist Anselm Kieffer, last January, Parisians can salute other artists until Sunday, in this case the best riders in the world and their mounts engaged in this show jumping competition labeled CSI 5*.
A hat-trick for Simon Delestre with the same horse?
It is the Spaniard Santiago Varela Ullastres, course designer of the Saut Hermès since 2018 and in charge of the courses during the last Tokyo Olympics, who puts on the track the greatest riders led by two double winners of the Grand Prix Hermès (planned Sunday afternoon): the German Marcus Ehning crowned in 2010 and 2014, and the Frenchman Simon Delestre who dreams of a historic hat-trick with his gelding Hermès Ryan after their triumph in 2018 and 2019. But the competition promises to be very high level with for example the Swede Peder Fredricson, world number 1 and his compatriot number 2 Henrik von Eckermann, the Swiss Martin and Steve Guerdat, the Belgians Jérôme Guéry, Pieter Devos and Grégory Wathelet or the Moroccan Abdelkébir Ouaddar, winner in 2016.
On the side of the French clan, necessarily motivated by this great meeting on their land, the Olympic champions of Rio 2016 Roger-Yves Bost (3rd this Friday of the first event), Philippe Rozier and Kevin Staut, are ambitious like Edward Levy and Mathieu Billot, present last summer in Tokyo, Olivier Perreau, Grégory Cottard, Alexandra Paillot and Alexa Ferrer.
Beautiful people on the track but also in the stands, with spectators who may or may not be specialists in show jumping but all attracted by the excellence of this Saut Hermès, twelfth edition of the name, and by the horse, its unfailing companion beauty by these renowned riders and by Denis Marquès and his equestrian ballet Alma Vaquera, closing of each of the sessions until Sunday.