Building a Community, one horse at a time

An unplanned delight in Orne

We spent this afternoon at Haras National du Pin. It is about 45 minutes north of Alençon and has been centre for breeding and training horses - including Percheron - since about 1660.

The invitation came from the Préfecture of Orne a couple of weeks after we had moved into our apartment in Alençon. It was a very nice invitation to join other nouveaux residents to be introduced to our new region.

I had no idea that we were heading for such an historic place, or that horses were involved. Over the years I’ve been part of dozens of community gatherings by municipalities large and small, and have found them to be uninspiring.

Orne though has someone on staff who collects the names of people who move here, and then organizes an event where they have some fun, enjoy some local wine and snacks, and listen to a nice speech by Christophe de Balorre, the Président du Conseil départemental de l’Orne.

We arrived on time, collected our Orne bracelet, and headed into the small stadium that is part of complex.

The entertainment was very equine, and very comedic, and ran for a good hour. Horses dancing, people dancing, horses with people on them dancing, trick-riding, and all manner of acrobatics, singalongs, and French humour. (Why is Nicolas Sarkozy so funny? And why did an ill-mannered Percheron get compared to les Anglais?)

The funny thing though is that by the time show had ended, I felt like I really had joined the community of les Ornais et Ornaises, just as I feel like I can call myself Alençonnais. Or even somewhat, Français.

That sense of community, of belonging, is the thing that holds me closest to France. Sometimes it’s governmental. Sometimes it’s a shared experience. But most often it’s the small, everyday things like walking into the bakery or butcher down the street and being recognised, or, this week, having people remember you as un Anglais and asking about the death of Elizabeth.

And it’s part of having every interaction with every person begin with a cheerful “Bonjour!” I don’t know why, but that simple greeting just changes everything.

At the end of the afternoon everyone was handed a very lovely gift bag with local cider, local Camembert cheese, and local cookies. And everyone left with a smile on their face, a warm feeling our hearts.

It was a wonderful introduction to the region that we live in.

Postscript: this is as much for me as for readers. France governmental structures go like this:

• Our country is France.

• Our région is Normandie. There are thirteen régions.

• Our département, is Orne. There are five départements in Normandie.

• Our arrondissement is Alençon. There are three arrondissements in Orne.

• Our commune is also called Alençon. There are 111 communes within the arrondissement of Alençon.

• There are more sub-sub-sub-divisions, but at this point it’s enough to know that we are living in 61000 Alençon.

Bonus: I now understand that the Préfet de l’Orne (aka the Prefecture) is the agency that administers the many programs that originate within the French state. And is different from the département of Orne.