August 1, 2024 
“I always said, or maybe predicted, that Truman was going to jump the Olympic Games,” said breeder Aurore Merel with a knowing smile.
“People laughed a little bit, but I always knew my horse was a crack…he was a good colt with a lot of promising qualities. We could tell quite quickly,” Merel continued.
Yet the family of Elevage Breil, a small breeding stable in La Mouche, France, would have to wait a good 14 years before seeing their prophecy fulfilled.
For a stable that foals less than five horses a year, one might call the dapper bay gelding’s Olympic trajectory a statistical marvel. Or, perhaps, chance had little to do with the foundational success of the MyLord Carthargo x Kolibri pairing, just the discerning eye of some humble Normand breeders.
Today, any of Merel’s skeptics will have to eat their words, because as I write this Truman is busy growing acquainted with the gardens of Versailles for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with his faithful rider, Team Canada’s Amy Millar.
Truman’s story began when Merel first saw his sire Mylord Carthago at a show. The now reputed breeding stallion only had around 20 foals that year. But Merel had a good feeling about the horse and the harmony she saw in his body—and as she says, she works a lot based on intuition.
At the time, Merel was looking for a match to her formidable mare, Kastana. The broodmare already had a few foals but none that yet demonstrate top-level scope. Intrigued by the Carthago bloodline for their good quality canter, strength behind, and scope and planning for Kastana’s last foal, she wanted to choose a quality stallion and “give it the best shot.”
The “best shot,” and Kastana’s final foal, was Truman.
Merel and her husband Olivier Domergue passed the baton to the Canadians when Truman was six years old with the help of Olympian Yann Candele. The French-born Canadian saw the same star potential as Merel despite the horse’s slow start into the competition circuit.
“He was a fairly late foal. He hadn’t done anything at four, and he jumped a few classes at five. It wasn’t until he was six that he built up a professional career, and he was sold just before the young horse final in Fontainebleau. So, it was put together by Canadians,” said Merel.
Since then, Tiffany Foster, Yann Candele, and Ian Millar have all put a handful of classes under Truman’s girth before he met his match with Amy in 2019.
“Today, I think that he met the right person, the right rider. They make an exceptional couple and I am extremely proud of them for the years they’ve had together so far. We are excited because we will have the chance to go see them at the Olympic Games. The Selle Français Studbook kindly offered the seats and, naturally, we hope that he will come back with a medal for Canada,” said Merel.
As it stands, Canada has a pretty good shot, with Amy Millar and Truman posting a second-place finish in the CSI5* 1.60m at Spruce Meadows this July. Throughout their partnership, the pair has already accumulated more than €650,000 in prize money according to Jumpr.
Paris 2024 won’t be the first time Merel and her family will get to see Truman in action on French soil. Three years ago, they had a quaint reunion in La Baule.
“We were so happy to see him again, still the same and very much loved, and very close with his groom and rider,” said Merel.
While Truman has been consistently catching eyes from the moment his hooves hit the international circuit, I was lucky to get a peek at the quiet home life of his early years during a visit to Elevage Breil, about a 5-hour journey from Paris.
Paris 2024 is the glorious pinnacle of sport for athletes and the teams that worked behind the scenes for years to reach the world’s biggest global stage. The atmosphere in the city is electric, but as my 6:00am train voyaged to the countryside, falling quiet as passengers sipped their coffee or nodded off against the window, reality flooded back.
Maybe it was the seemingly endless rolling fields of Northern France, golden in the morning sun, but somewhere between Saint-Lazare and La Mouche, I was struck by just how far the road to Paris is for these athletes—horses and riders alike.
The Normand countryside is an idyllic place for top horses and riders to foster their beginnings. Harsh winters are balanced by peaceful and temperate summers. While you can’t make a quick jaunt to major cities like Paris, you’re well surrounded by equine professionals and world-class shows.
As equestrian professionals will attest time and again, both nature and nurture play a role in a horse’s development.
“Truman was always endearing, and a very friendly colt with a big personality. He was raised with his mother Kastana, who still lives with my sister at 34 years old, and in good health. Truman’s mom jumped up to 1.45m with Laurent Le Vot, a Breton rider, but she had an injury so she had few foals,” said Merel.
Still, she admits, Truman always had a fiery streak.
“He could be a bit naughty. You always had to lunge him before climbing in the saddle. I don’t know if that is still the case but it went on for a very, very long time. Hopefully, I’ll get the answer from Millars,” Merel laughed.
Boutique breeding operations like Elevage Breil can’t play the numbers game on the world stage, but there are advantages to their smaller size. You can raise horses—and a family—with a great deal of attention.
“We are lucky to have a small farm, it works quite well for us, and we are very proud of that. Our two kids [Antoine and Thibault] love horses, and Antoine is especially passionate about the sport,” said Merel.
“Antoine competes a lot and hopes to be a top rider one day, with dreams of riding in the United States…the little one, Thibault, competes with his pony, a little stallion.”
“Our farm, it’s a family farm. We make one or two foals a year ourselves, and we have a few owners. We were lucky to have good results already, for example, we won the 4-year-old French championship in Fontainebleau in 2023 with another Mylord Carthago, and also France’s 3-year-old Zangersheide championship,” said Merel.
“In any case, we are very proud of our breeding. Very happy with our idea. We hope that all this will continue. We will keep raising with love and by trying to make the right choices,” Merel said.
“Right now, we can’t wait to see Truman jump in Paris.”
Special thank you to Estelle Navet, who offered her time as a translator for Merel’s interview and supported this story with her expertise.
