Julie Hardouin, the hidden face of Team Bazire on social networks

Librarian in Paris and native of La Flèche (72), about twenty kilometers from the stronghold of her idol, Julie Hardouin satisfies her passion for JMB and photography through social networks. While the page bearing the image of Jean-Michel Bazire, which she created, celebrates its 10th anniversary, the 41-year-old Sarthoise looks in the rearview mirror and confides in Paris-Turf.

How did you come up with the idea of ​​creating a page bearing the image of Jean-Michel Bazire? We imagine, at the base, there is a passion.

Julie Hardouin (JH): I am from Sarthoise and my father, Michel, is a racer. Also, I have been traveling to racetracks since I was little. So I very quickly started following Jean-Michel. At first, it was in “little fan” mode. I asked him for photos and autographs every time I saw him at a racetrack. As I grew up, I started doing photography and took my own pictures. In 2011, I went to Paris for work. And there, I discovered Vincennes. I finally discovered the temple of trotting, which until then I had only seen on television. At the beginning, I stayed on the public side and little by little, I obtained invitations to access the stables. I took more and more photos and it seemed obvious to me. At the time, social media was booming and I thought: “Damn, Jean-Michel Bazire is number 1 in trotting and there is nothing on him. It’s really a shame.” I surveyed Jean-Michel’s entourage, because I knew very well that it was not with him that we should raise the subject since he is a little “disconnected” from all that (laughing), before creating the “Jean-Michel Bazire Fan-Page” page, just ten years ago.

Did you expect such a “snowball” effect, with the page gaining notoriety very quickly with a substantial number of fans?

JH: Honestly, no. Initially, it was a way for me to publish my photos and talk about team news. But very quickly, the horse racing media started to “tag” the page and it grew very quickly. One might have believed, at the beginning, that the fact that it was not Jean-Michel Bazire or someone working at the stable who managed the page was “blocking”. But in reality, there is such enthusiasm around Jean-Michel that the page has received a lot of attention and some fans are just waiting for that: to have news from the team. I started getting into the game myself by publishing the program, the results and the photos. Little by little, I expanded my “roadmap”, as community managers say, by following the fashion on social networks, to develop and grow the page. Sharing articles from the specialized press was no longer enough. I had to follow the fashion a bit, not just share links from the specialized press. Besides the starters of the day, I started to post the results and I tried to do a little unusual things with my own photos. The page has just crossed 55,000 subscribers. This is a new milestone. I always take the opportunity to thank everyone, because it’s not just me who is behind the page. If there were no followers, there would be no community and therefore all of this would be pointless.

How do you avoid getting “caught up” by the social networks you have created?

JH: When I’m not doing my programming and my publications, I’m with my camera, in Vincennes, during the winter meeting. In the good weather, during my summer vacation, I followed Jean-Michel to the provincial racecourses. Now, it’s less the case but photography and horse racing represent almost 80% of my hobbies. For the intrusive side of social networks, I quickly decided to block private messages. When I think back to what I was getting in the beginning, I was like, “Ooh there… No, stop! We’ll stop this right now.” The advantage with Facebook is that it is linked to Insta and we can schedule our publications on both networks. So regularly, in the evening, I schedule for the next morning, so everything is published by itself, at 8 a.m. the next day. But it’s almost become a routine, actually. I don’t even calculate how much time it takes me anymore. Sometimes I miss certain content, especially if the page is not identified. Ideally, I would have to monitor all the articles but then I would no longer have a life (laughs)!

Exactly, isn’t that time-consuming in the long run?

JH: Oh yes, that’s clear. It’s still volunteering but the passion is such that it’s hard to give up. I still have little bouts of sluggishness. Some evenings or mornings, I don’t want to turn the computer on again to do some programming… But finally, when the weekend arrives, I’m on the racetrack taking my photos and I tell myself that I don’t can’t stop, that it’s not possible. And when I see the comments from fans and more generally the expectations of people, who are almost asking for their publications, it motivates me. It’s still quite amazing: I just have to be sick for two days and I see comments from fans flourishing, as if they were lacking news on “JMB”. I did not create the page in order to gain any recognition; I did it initially in order to please myself and now, I please others.

Recently, Jean-Michel Bazire has entrusted the reins of the team to his son Nicolas, who officially becomes the team’s trainer. How did you manage this handover?

JH: I admit that at first, it came as a shock to me. The first morning when I saw that there were no more horses under JMB’s training, I said “Oh shit!”. Afterwards, we quickly had to think about the future of the page and the strategy to adopt. In addition to the “Jean-Michel Bazire Fan-Page”, I recently created a “Nicolas Bazire Fan-Page” page. I thought we were going to get lost there, between the photos of “Jean-Mi” and “Nico”, and it was also going to give me twice as much work (laughs)! So I put the page on “Nico” on standby and I renamed the page “Jean-Michel Bazire Fan-Page” thus: “Team Bazire”. Either way, the two are necessarily linked. I asked several people for their opinions and they all told me that “Team Bazire” was very good. I did my little informative note to explain the name change and I feel like it even gave the page another boost.

In addition to Jean-Michel then Nicolas Bazire, you have also highlighted the stable’s champions on social networks, such as Bélina Josselyn, Hooker Berry and now Liza Josselyn. For what ?

JH: I started with Belina Josselyn for whom I had a real crush. Then there was Hooker Berry and now Liza Josselyn. With “Liza”, I have fun changing the formula because I make her speak. When we read the “posts”, it is she who speaks. People were on board right away, and in fact, they’re responding to comments like they’re talking to the filly. The atmosphere is really relaxed and very nice. But I don’t manage all of Jean-Michel’s horse accounts. Davidson du Pontit wasn’t me and Jushua Tree neither, even if I know the young fan behind it very well. I provide him with photos and tips but I’m not the one who manages the accounts.

Do you carefully monitor the scores of your pages and in particular the number of subscribers?

JH: Yes, of course. Belina Josselyn has around 9,000 subscribers on Facebook and more than 1,700 on Insta. “Hooker” (Berry) has 2,000 followers on Facebook and is already almost overtaken by Liza Josselyn (1,600 followers). It may come as a surprise, because “Hooker” won the Prix d’Amérique, but his last meeting was not great and there is such enthusiasm around “Bélina” that “Liza” benefits from it. Belina Josselyn has a history and it still left a mark on many people. When people see “Liza”, the memory of “Bélina” immediately comes to mind.

Last question: what are your fondest memories with “Team Bazire”?

JH: The first that comes to mind is the American prize for “Bélina” because that day, I cried. It was a great emotion, I ended up crying in Pascal Bernard’s arms. It was huge. Since then, I have maintained a very close relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Bernard and I follow stud news with great interest. The story continues with “Liza”, it’s really crazy! The victory of “Jean-Mi” with Hooker Berryit was also beautiful because he put on a show in the straight. “JMB” as we like it. But the moment that struck me the most personally was the presentation of the Ecurie Bazire jacket celebrating Jean-Michel’s 20 Golden Sulkys. I set up an online fundraiser to have this jacket made and there was a beautiful ceremony organized. I was really happy to give it to him on the podium.

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