Constance Menard (born 17 May 1968) is a French professional dressage rider and equestrienne. She started training with Michel Autran from the

Cadre Noir The Cadre Noir (; en, Black Cadre) is a corps of ecuyers, or instructors, at the French military riding academy École Nationale d'Équitation at Saumur in western France, founded in 1828. It also performs as an equestrian display team. Its na ...

in 2003. She has been placed in more than 40 international Grand Prix (dressage), and is a member of the French team .

Career

The daughter of Jacques Menard, a professional French dressage rider, Constance Menard started her own career twenty years ago, choosing dressage as her forte after having practiced all horse riding disciplines. Constance Menard has been a Grand Prix rider since 2001. She is a member of the French national team. For several years Constance maintained her own stables near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, before qualifying as riding instructor in 2005 after graduating from the national riding school at Saumur. She now lives in

Saumur, France Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur station ...

, where she trains daily with her coach, Lt. Col. Michel Autran, ecuyer (riding master) of the Cadre Noir. On August 9, 2005, Menard suffered a near-fatal accident when a bale of hay weighing almost fell on her. Both collarbones and three vertebrae were broken, and her sternum was bruised.Constance Menard Severely Injured in an Accident
, August 12, 2005, ''Eurodressage'', accessed December 4, 2008 Constance Menard is also an instructor, teaching students at riding schools all over Europe, including

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

. She judges at dressage competitions around France.

Major events

In 1986, Menard won her first Junior and Senior Championships in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. In 1992, she was the French Champion. In 2004, she won the

Bushmills Bushmills (From Irish ''Muileann na Buaise'') is a village on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Bushmills had a population of 1,295 in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available unde ...

National Grand Prix. In 2005, Menard won the Grand Prix Special of

Vejer Vejer de la Frontera is a Spanish hilltop town and municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the right bank of the river Barbate. The town of Vejer de la Frontera occupies a low hill overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar and surround ...

and

Lipica Lipica may refer to several places: Poland *Lipica, Poland, a village in the Province of Warmia-Masuria Serbia *Lipica (Tutin), a village in the Municipality of Tutin Slovenia *Lipica (border crossing), a border crossing near Lipica bet ...

, and participated in the European championship at

Hagen Hagen () is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (met by t ...

, where she helped her team to seventh place. In March 2006, she won the Marc-en-Baroeul (France) National

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

.Championship Events
accessed December 4, 2008 In 2008, she rode at the Beijing Olympic Games.Constance Menard Bio
''NBC Sports'', accessed December 4, 2008.

References

External links

Official Web Site
- http://www.cm-classic.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menard, Constance 1968 births French female equestrians Living people Sportspeople from Paris People from Saumur Sportspeople from Maine-et-Loire