Haras national du Pin

In 1665, under Louis XIV, Colbert created the royal studs administration in order to overcome the lack of horses which then prevailed in the entire kingdom; he also wished to improve French equine breeds. The army was then in dire need of horses, and the kingdom was forced to import them from abroad. As soon as the administration was created, royal stallions were selected and sent out to various areas; they were the only ones allowed to breed. Starting from 1668, the army still lacking in horses, private stallions were also allowed to breed after having been approved of by the State.

The area on which to build the first royal stud was chosen in 1714. The quality of the pastures and the easy access to water made Buisson d'Exmes, near Argentan, the perfect spot. The area was bought from Louis de Béchameil de Nointel,[N 1] State Counsellor, in exchange for other lands in Picardy. On the 2nd of April 1715, order was given to transfer the haras royal de Saint-Léger to Buisson d'Exmes.[1]

The estate today covers over 2,471 acres. The first stables were built starting from 1715 and the first stallions arrived in 1717. The architectural style is equivalent to the one of the “École de Versailles”, and Pierre Le Mousseux oversaw the works, following plans which had been drawn by Robert de Cotte, first architect to the Crown and the successor of Jules Hardouin-Mansart.[2][1] The current buildings (both the stables and the castle) were built under the reign of Louis XV, between 1715 and 1730. The writer Jean de La Varende nicknamed it “the Equestrian Versailles”.

Terraces of the castle were put in following the tradition of French formal garden.[N 2]

On 27 January 1790, the destruction and removal of the “Haras” were voted, but it narrowly escaped this fate, the National Assembly at the very last moment deciding to establish there a “depot of the best stallions in the Kingdom”. Nevertheless, the functions of the Haras were re-established only under the First French Empire, in 1810. The “École des Haras” was founded in 1840, and on 29 May 1874, a law decreed one should have studied there to occupy any function as an officer of the “Haras”.

The stud was occupied by the Prussians in 1871, then by the Germans (June 1940-June 1941). It found itself at the heart of the site of bataille de Normandie, close to Falaise, without sustaining any damages.

The change within the Haras nationaux (national studs) took place at the end of 2013, when breeding as such, the core of their function, was transferred to the private sector. However, the Haras national du Pin maintained its breeding activities thanks to a private cooperative of breeders, the SCIC (Cooperative Company of Collective Interest), which brings together various private breeders. The SCIC set their stallions in the 2nd stable. Some National stud stallions were also rented, in order to pursue their breeding career.

The decree of 2 July 2015 created the “Établissement Public Administratif” (a public administrative establishment) named the “Haras national du Pin”: the National Stud was detaching itself from the authority of the IFCE (French Institute for Horses and Riding), in order to be jointly managed by the Orne department, the Basse-Normandie region and the State. The Executive Board is presided by Laurent Beauvais, also Chairman of the Lower Normandy Regional Council.

The grounds of the National Stud stretch over the town of Pin-Au-Haras, but also over the neighbouring ones of Exmes, La Cochère, Silly-en-Gouffern and Ginai. All are classified as historic monuments.[3]

The estate is managed by the "EPA Haras national du Pin", the "IFCE" (French Institute for Horses and Riding), the "ONF" (National Forestry Office) and the "INRA" (National Institute for Agricultural Research), along with an experimental farm with over 1,000 heads of cattle.

In 2019 the IFCE announced it would stop financially supporting the stud (it was paying approximately 75% of the employee salaries) and declared the salary payments would cease as of 2022.[4]

• The castle's terraces: overhanging the Hautbois park, this viewpoint is one of the most beautiful of the estate. From the terraces, the public can admire the riding arena, built in 2014 to host the dressage test of the World Equestrian Games Event of the same year.
• The tack room of honour: this room presents a fine collection of carriage-driving harnesses, the craftsmanship of which is identical to that of the 19th century. It includes two types of harnesses: English style collars and breast harnesses. There is also a saddle bought by the studs to equip Ouadoud, a Barb horse stallion offered in 2009 by the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, to honour Franco-Moroccan cooperation.
• Equine breeds

**Draft horses: the Percherons, from the Perche region, are the star horses of the Pin stud. They are the ones pulling the traditional carriages. Black or grey, these horses weigh between 800 and 1200 kg. At the Pin, they are shown both ridden and in harness, and sometimes presented with 'Hungarian Post' stunts or sidesaddle riding. Exported worldwide, they are especially appreciated in the United States and in Japan. Japan in particular is the only country in the world to organize Percheron races, which gather thousands of spectators and also afford betting occasions. **'Hot-blooded' horses: several breeds are noticeable in the stud stables— Arabian horses, Anglo-Arabians, Selle Français, Lipizzans, Hanoverian horses, French Trotters, Thoroughbreds, Andalusian horses...

• Horse-drawn cars: The stud owns two warehouses full of collectible horse-drawn vehicles, part of the heritage of the Haras Nationaux. The majority of these vehicles are painted in the colors of the Haras Nationaux: navy-blue and red, with an "H" on the doors. Among those cars is one “Milord” (an elegant variation of the English Cab)— among the four to be found in French public collections; a phaeton; several breaks; a “coupé de voyage”... Those cars ——part of the image of the studs— still carry nowadays all the history and tradition of this three-centuries old institution.
• Furioso's grave: the internationally-known horse, Furioso, a Thoroughbred born in 1939, stood as a stallion at the National Pin Stud from 1946 until his death, in 1967. The ancestor of over 300 horses, including Lutteur B (Olympic champion in 1964 with his rider Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola), Furioso today has fathered many lines of jumping horses of exception. As an honour, Furioso was buried on the estate ; since then, his grave has been constantly covered in flowers.

• Le Pin-au-Haras
• Haras Nationaux (France)
• Haras de la Tuilerie
• Haras national de Pompadour
• Horses in Normandy

• The Haras national du Pin official site