Anne-Violaine Brisou

Initially, her favourite discipline was Eventing. But through her family’s Pottok pony farm, she was to meet her future husband, Jean-Pierre, who embarked on driving with a pair of ponies. Soon, he was entrusted with a pair of horses by an owner. A third horse was then bought, but it struggled to work as a pair and so he asked his wife to drive it alone. This horse was called Boy des Combes. Together, he and Anne-Violaine have won a string of medals and titles over the past decade. Now established in Chantilly, an area long associated with horses, the Brisous have developed simple but practical facilities. With the support of horseracing organiser France Galop, Anne-Violaine can now train every day in the grounds of the training centre, an exceptional setting that the couple put to good use, primarily through the Chantilly Attelage driving trials association. The association has around 30 members, including 7 who compete in national and international driving events, and enables the Brisous to organise training courses for drivers.