Pauline Cavanie and Iquito Planchettethat’s 5 victories since July 2024. Trained by Franck Blandin, she calls him her “magic horse”. It was in September 2018 that a friend introduced her to horse racing: “I am a farmer by profession. I raise poultryshe explains. In 2018, a friend absolutely wanted me to try the sulky. That’s when I went to Franck Blandin. I fell in love with Espoir Darchethe first horse I drove. A few weeks later, I went to buy it at the Argentan sales.” The beginning of the adventure for Pauline Cavanie, who took her amateur license two years later. It was with her protégé that she began in May 2020, in harness, in Caen (9th), and it was then mainly in mounted trotting that she would be seen during her first two years of competition. “The problem was that I only rode on the day of the race, so it took me a week to recover. [rires]. It was in 2022 that I really started driving in races.”
“A drive without a whip, but with a smile”
Today, Pauline Cavanie has 17 successes, in just over 150 races. One particularity distinguishes her in the pelotons: she drives without a whip, “but with a smile”, as she says. “Now it’s easier, because the coaches are starting to know it. I don’t like the whip. At first, I didn’t use it and I couldn’t hold it. And in the amateur ranks, horses over 6 years old know the music by heart and give their hearts out on the track. The proof: whether Hémilio Pierji, Iquito Planchette or other horses, they managed to win without the whip. Furthermore, a huge thank you to all the coaches who still make me a driver and who trust me.” On Sunday, the current leader in the ranking of the Grand National des Amateurs (with 31 points) will try to win the prestigious Final with this son of Riesling : “We all want to win this race. You have to cross your fingers that everything goes well because the competition is there.” With 15 points ahead of his main pursuer – Matthieu Corbin and Incognito -, the duo Pauline Cavanie / Iquito Planchette must deliver one last beautiful copy on Sunday in the circuit to be assured of success.
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Wednesday September 25, 2024 in Cherbourg – Grand National des Amateurs: a seventh victory this year for Iquito Planchette
