Luc Jalabert is also one of Camargue’s great figure that cherished Méjanes and left a considerable heritage.
Son and grandson of bull farmers, Luc live around Méjanes since forever.
Dressed in a gardian costume, he and his friends, Gerald Pellen and Jacques Bonnier participate in mock horse-mounted corridas. In 1975 he kills his first bull in our arenas. Guided by the Cavaliers de l’Apothéose, he takes the alternative from the legendary senior torero Alvaro Domecq, the 14th of July 1978 in Méjanes. In 1980, Luc and Marc Jalabert take over the management of the Arènes de Méjanes and the horse-riding path.
Luc’s rejon horses are installed in the Méjanes’s stables. Eugène Guillot, whose father works as the domain’s steward, remembers coming back from school when he was ten years old and excited to attend the rejon horse’s training. Sometimes, Luc even let him mount the most notorious horse, Trinidad, Which made him especially proud! In 1986, Luc wins the Golden Rejon against Angel Peralta. His last corrida will happen in Madrid in 1992, as a tribute to Angel.
After retiring from the ruedo, Luc Jalabert becomes apoderado, impresario and Ferias organiser.
That’s when he and his brother creates the Feria du Cheval de Méjanes (Méjanes’s Horse Feria)!
Inspired by Jerez in Spain, the concept is completely new in France. All the great celebrations are usually about bulls.
The success is instant. Twenty thousand people come to the first event happening over four days. For the following years - although Luc and Marc Jalabert are already in charge of the Arènes de Méjanes and the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer arenas - they develop the Horse Ferias at two different locations.
Without forgetting the Camargue’s traditions, the ferias allow the wide audience to enjoy high-quality horse shows and corridas as they invite renowned horse-riding schools to participate in the show. Amongst them are the Cadre Noir de Saumur, the National Portuguese School, Pierre Jonquères D’oriola, who won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics, and Lucien Gruss. You can attend at the Feria du Cheval de Méjanes, remarkable competitions of disciplines such as horse ball, obstacles race, and Lusitano Horses’ French championship.
The Feria du Cheval de Méjanes inspired many other similar events like the Béziers’s Feria, the shows at Les jardin de la fontaine in Nîmes, Cheval Passion.
Lola, his daughter, confides in us that “Dad liked the domain because everything was possible in such a fantastique environment. He could create events that would never be seen anywhere else. The Réjoneadors felt at home in Méjanes.”
Michèle Ricard cares for Luc Jalabert the same way that she does for her children, to whom she transmitted her value for merit, hard work, and passion for the region’s traditions.
Lola and Jean-Baptiste Jalabert always organize the Golden Rejon during the great Feria du Cheval de Méjanes.
