The Château de Chantilly, the Margency Children's Hospital (HEM) of the French Red Cross, and visual artist Caroline Desnoëttes collaborated on a cultural project as part of the Culture and Health initiative in Île-de-France. It was supported financially by HEM, the DRAC, the ARS Île-de-France, the association Sur un Lit de Couleurs, and sponsorship from the Décathlon Foundation and the Dassault Group.

The young patients discovered the world of horses through visits to the Domaine de Chantilly, including the castle, the grand stables, and the Living Horse Museum. Over the course of more than a year, they created, alongside the artist, astonishing saddle pads using expired medical supplies. Tubing, chemotherapy gloves, oxygen masks, infusion clamps, nasogastric tubes, and bandages became, in their hands, materials of surprising richness. Over the months, photographer Fabrice Gaboriau documented the workshops, visits, educational activities, the parade, and the HIPPOSANTÉ exhibition.

Lien: Catalogue HIPPOSANTE / Château de Chantilly

• Fériel Fodil, Acting General Administrator of the Domaine de Chantilly
• Philippe Da Costa, President of the French Red Cross
• Fatima Oudghiri, Director of Margency Children's Hospital, French Red Cross (HEM)
• Béatrice Pichon, Head of Sponsorship and Institutional Relations at Château de Chantilly
• Sophie Bienaimé, Artistic and Equestrian Director of the Grand Stables at Château de Chantilly
• Sophie Justin, Steward of the Grand Stables
• The riders of the equestrian company: Lisa Courtaud, Mathilde Pouteau, Estelle Berland, Nathalie Lecoultr
• Marie Mouterde, Conservation Assistant, in charge of the Living Horse Museum
• Jérôme Leclaire, Public Relations Officer
• Menehould de Bazelaire, Director of Cultural Heritage at Hermès International
• Melissa Hiebler, Executive Assistant - Cultural Heritage, Hermès
• Sylvie Picolet, Head of the Mediation Department at the Army Museum
• Thierry Gillet, Winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Secretary General of the Jockeys' Association
• Pierre-Jean Alaux, CEO of Ecurie Bucéphale
• Seysey, Composer
• Fabrice Gaboriau, Photographer

We were delighted to accompany budding artists on their journey of discovery into the world of horses. We admired the courage of these children from the Margency hospital, who experienced a magical break from a life filled with challenges. The horse is, and will always be, a societal link that transcends time and space. This emotionally charged collaboration with Caroline Desnoëttes is one to preserve. Why not turn this exhibition of the children's artworks into a traveling exhibit for 2022, opening the door to other projects?

Fériel Fodil, Acting General Administrator of Chantilly castle

The young patients of HEM often face a healthcare journey that resembles a true obstacle course. These children tackle the challenges of illness with great dignity, courage, and strength. An image came to my mind when thinking of them, that of a horse race, where each horse jumps over all the obstacles in an exhausting and fast-paced race. Just as the horse finishes its race by crossing the finish line, the child will complete theirs by leaving the hospital.

Inspired by this image, I wanted to create a dialogue between the world of hospitalized young patients and that of horses. Both the child and the horse show remarkable endurance in overcoming hardship. They are also fragile and vulnerable, each in their own way.

By initiating the HIPPOSANTÉ project in partnership with Margency Children's Hospital (HEM) and Château de Chantilly, I aimed to draw enough vitality from the world of horses to help distance the children from their illnesses. Over the course of more than a year, I accompanied over a hundred young patients, aged 4 to 18, in a cultural, artistic, and equestrian discovery. Throughout the workshops, held in specialized pediatric, post-transplant, and oncology wards, the young artists rose to the challenge of creating 10 ceremonial saddle pads in HEM's colors using expired hospital supplies: tubing, syringes, ostomy pouches, chemotherapy gloves… Without a doubt, playfulness, joy, humor, curiosity, imagination, inventiveness, patience, and the children’s gentle touch were ever-present in every workshop.

To fuel the young patients' inspiration, I punctuated the workshops with numerous exceptional visits and educational activities: at Château de Chantilly, the Hermès Museum, the Army Museum, Enghien racecourse, and the Versailles stables. Thierry Gillet, champion of the Arc de Triomphe, spent a day with the young patients at HEM, along with the mare Osie, who served as a model for saddle pad fittings under the amazed gazes of the children, who were deeply moved to see a real horse.

Over the months and workshops, the transformation unfolded, and the medical materials gradually left their functional roles to become a mermaid, a garden, a spring, a rainbow, a manta ray... or a wedding dress. These unique saddle pads adorned the horses, and the equally creative riding helmets crowned the children. Together, they proudly paraded in the arena, guided by the riders under the grand dome of the Château de Chantilly’s stables. The parade of 10 extraordinary caparisons, set to Seysey's music, elegantly narrates life in the hospital. The artworks then joined the collections of the Chantilly Living Horse Museum for an astonishing and moving temporary exhibition.

The exceptional partnership with Château de Chantilly, along with the visits, educational activities, the parade, and the HIPPOSANTÉ exhibition, contributes to enhancing the self-esteem of the young patients. Its positive impact on their healthcare journey is undeniable, and surely, the encounter with the world of horses will continue to grow with the children and nourish their imaginations.

Caroline Desnoëttes