In July 1968, Charlie Andrieux sets foot in Méjanes a year before Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon. The most incredible adventure of his life starts here.
The young 17 years old man comes from a difficult background. Shunted between the Parisian region’s suburb and the Creuze region’s farms, he arrives at the domain as an apprentice.
We are in Méjanes, at the time when lives on the domain, Guitou who works at the horse-riding path, Mister Bernard and his son Jean-Claude, Antoine Méloni, Gabriel and his son Gérald Pellen, Louis Thiers, César Giron and others.
Moved when hearing these names, Charlie confesses that he was told that the Camargue was only about wild horses when he was a young boy. He mainly discovered that the Camargue and especially Méjanes are about men and women who took him as part of their family. People that passed on everything that needed to be known and that taught him everything about horses. “I was 16, and they were 50, they gave me everything : their passion, their energy, their soul…”.
With Paul Ricard’s gardian, Antoine Méloni, Jean-Charles sorts, cares for, and prepares the Camargue bulls. He accompanies him to all the races and meets all the famous figures of the region. He remembers having a terrible fear of handling bulls when he used to work with Spanish ones. He keeps memories of him and Fanfonne seeing the mares galloping in in front of the Arènes de Méjanes. Memories of Jericho and Tango, Gérald Pellen’s rejon horses. He used to paint their hoofs in gold for the corridas.
One day he drives to the Castelet Circuits with Paul and Michèle Ricard to see the construction’s progress. When Charlie shares a meal with Paul Ricard for the first time, he is so impressed by the man that he forgets his ages when asked about it.
Charlie then starts working in the stable of the neighbor’s domain located in the Parisian region. This is where he teaches Michèle Ricard’s nephew to horse ride.
Then Paul Ricard sends him to do his compulsory military service in Compiègne, where he is in charge of breaking army horses.
Charlie’s adventures continue by Jean-Richard’s sides for a few years. He learns about acrobatics and stunts and develops horse shows. In 1977, he starts missing the spirit of Méjanes and all the great moments he spent in the south.
He returns to the southern sun and creates Les Cavalier Voltigeurs de France (the French Acrobatic Riders) to offer astounding shows with the Hasta Luego stable. They also train as stunt actors and perform stunts on movie sets (about a hundred shots until now). You probably know the Movie Ben-Hur for which they organised the famous chariot race sequence.
Every year, Charlie Andrieux takes part in La Feria du Cheval de Méjanes (the Méjanes Horse Feria). He meets with great pleasure all the people that taught him so much. He is also still a jury member of the Étoiles de Méjanes alongside Jean-Yves Bonnet.
In 2019, watching Lorenzo’s fantastic show in Méjanes, Charlies is proud to see that the young boy he taught how to do the Hungarian post a few years back is doing really well.
NB : Charlie, is you are proud of Lorenzo, on our side, we are proud admirers of your career that took off in Méjanes !
