So, Where Do You Ride in Paris?

A fancy equestrian's guide to the best of Gallic galloping.

-  ALESSANDRA CODINHA

France has a long history on horseback, and nearly 2  million French citizens ride “regularly or occasionally,” according to the French Equestrian Federation. The Loire Valley city of Saumur—a three-and-ahalf-hour drive from Paris—is the home of the Cadre Noir of Saumur, the famed instructors from the Ecole Nationale d’Equitation (the French military riding academy), and the heart of the country’s equestrian obsession.

But Paris is Paris. Hermès began making saddles here in 1910 and still makes them largely the same way: a single craftsman spending around 30 hours on each one. (They are then specially configured for rider and horse, a process the house says makes them “double bespoke.”) Hermès has kept detailed records of every single saddle, creating the kind of boldfaced name–drenched little black book few brands possess. And unlike, say, a Birkin or a Kelly, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can trot up to 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and place a custom order (by appointment only).