Celebrate the HORSES 2025 Festival, from Paris to Chantilly, in La Ferrandaise restaurant among others

From June 21 to July 30, 2025, HORSES 2025 invites you on a multisensory cultural journey, celebrating the enduring bond between humans and horses. A year after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where equestrian events graced the gardens of Versailles and a giant mechanical horse named Zeus strode the Seine river, this dedicated event rekindles that passion through photography, dialogue, and fine cuisine.

Curated by Marie Secret and Sylvie Acheré, with the support of Catherine Haccius, the project centers on the evocative photography of Donna DeMari, a former fashion photographer turned equine storyteller. Her black-and-white images, rich in grace and intimacy, serve as the visual anchor for a series of Art talks, performances, and immersive dining experiences, in a path, where Art, gastronomy and our connection with horses meet, before gathering in one. By AP & AL 

Conceived by Marie Secret and Sylvie Acheré with the support of Catherine Haccius, this HORSES 2025 invites us to reawaken our emotional connection with the equine world, not through sport alone but through a convergence of art, gastronomy, and storytelling. At its heart lies the deeply evocative artwork of artist Donna DeMari, an American photographer, whose career began in the world of high fashion. Over time, her lens turned from couture to canter, capturing the dignity and silent grace of horses with the same reverence she once reserved for supermodels. Her intimate, timeless, unfiltered imagery serves as the backbone of this ambitious cultural program (photo credits: Christophe Charbonnel). 

HORSES 2025 unfolds across Paris and Chantilly, with three thematic pillars, which are sport, art & history, and fashion, all interwoven with the culinary arts, unveiling some highlights:

• June 20–22: Launch at Longines Paris Eiffel Jumping, starring DeMari’s photographs, displayed on a runway-style podium. The opening dinner, crafted by Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze, is an exclusive 8-seat culinary experience.

Another unique feature is the Gourmet Trail, extending from Paris to Chantilly, where partner restaurants reinterpret the iconic Chantilly cream, both sweet and savory. Each location features DeMari’s inspired artwork and engages visitors via a mobile quiz, exploring hidden equestrian history throughout Paris.

• July 8–9: At Art Monte-Carlo, performance artist Fantazio reimagines a Degas poem alongside DeMari’s visuals.

• July 17: At La Démocratie, artisan André Durand shares his process for making paper from horse manure.

• July 29: At Haras de La Cense, perfume designer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato explores the equine scent memory.

• July 30: At the Chantilly Stables, artist Valérie Delarue reinvents Pegasus, followed by a whipped cream workshop with the Confrérie des Chevaliers Fouetteurs.

Sample quiz question:
Which historical riding arena stood near the Louvre?
✅ Answer: The Manège des Tuileries (built in 1721 for young Louis XV).

What makes HORSES 2025 so distinct is its refusal to be boxed into a single discipline. Rather, it meanders, like a bridle path, through the realms of visual art, live performance, historical reflection, and culinary exploration. From equestrian iconography to olfactory memory, from the myth of Pegasus to the quiet craft of paper-making from horse manure, the horse becomes a prism, through which to examine our human sensibilities, past and present.

Conversation is key to the experience. In a series of curated Art talks, Donna DeMari welcomes a rotating cast of artists, writers, perfumers, and philosophers to explore the horse’s cultural resonance. These gatherings are intentionally intimate, limited to twenty guests per event, each one unfolding over lunch or tea in unexpected settings: an atelier, a stable, a modern art salon. The aim is not spectacle, but dialogue, a chance to slow down, reflect, and connect.

HORSES also traces an edible path through Paris and into Chantilly, reviving the light-hearted legacy of its namesake cream. A selection of bistronomic restaurants across the capital reinterpret crème chantilly, both sweet and savory, each pairing their creations, with a Donna DeMari‘s photograph and a touch of whimsy cream. 

Whereas diners are encouraged to engage with the city’s forgotten equestrian landmarks through a specially designed mobile app and quiz, uncovering traces of horses in places where they once ruled, like the Manège des Tuileries, a riding arena built for Louis XV in 1721, now vanished but memorialized in plaques and archives.

In the wake of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where equestrian events unfolded in the regal gardens of Versailles and a colossal mechanical horse, Zeus, strode through the opening ceremony on the Seine river. It seems that HORSES 2025 emerges as a poetic continuation of that spectacle. Running from June 21 to July 30, the event journeys from Paris to Chantilly, offering a multilayered celebration of the horse as both myth and memory, muse and metaphor. By the way Chantilly, with its aristocratic stables and deep-rooted equine traditions, becomes the natural crescendo to this summer journey. Here, the senses are invited to peak, through performances, olfactory experiments, and even whipped cream workshops, led by the Confrérie des Chevaliers Fouetteurs.

HORSES 2025 is not merely an art event, it is a meditation on presence and memory, a celebration of horses as witness and partner in our shared histories, long eclipsed by machines, still holds a mirror to our imagination and perhaps, our soul. 

From visual poetry to edible tradition, it seems that HORSES 2025 is a cultural odyssey, with an invitation to see, taste, and remember horses as true muses, symbols, and companions. Participating chefs include Alexandra Montagne (Nosso), Thomas Chisholm (Chocho), and Julien Alvarez (Ladurée), among many others, each offering a creative dish, inspired by this popular whipped cream and the legacy of horses.

🔗Details & reservations for Art talks and diners, contact: aire@bluewin.ch
🎠More info : www.donnademari.horse | www.octopusart.net

Just steps away from the Luxembourg Gardens and the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, La Ferrandaise restaurant is a warm and welcoming restaurant, that pays tribute to the Ferrandaise cattle breed, originally from Auvergne. It offers an authentic and refined take on traditional French bourgeois cuisine, crafted with organic, local, and seasonal ingredients. Founded in 2005 by Gilles Lamiot, a Master Restaurateur and staunch advocate for quality sourcing, the bistro has earned its place among the top gastronomic bistros in Paris, since the owner, personally selects his vegetables from trusted producers (photo credits: AP).

A seasonal menu is proposed, highlighting flavorful and artfully prepared dishes, such as a Banka trout tartare with roasted almonds, the market fish with chards, and the unmissable vegetarian dish. Dessert lovers can enjoy the gentian baba with poached pear, classic chocolate mousse, or a rhubarb tart, served with yogurt and honey ice cream. A Test Match set menu (€39 for starter, main, and dessert or €34 for two courses) is a great way to explore the house specialties. Every plate comes with organic vegetables, and is paired with a carefully curated wine list, from various independent French winemakers.

With its exposed stone walls, wooden beams, cozy private lounge, and vaulted cellar, you can be sure that La Ferrandaise offers a charming and rustic atmosphere, ideal for both intimate dinners and private events. The venue can host up to 50 guests, and tailor-made menus are available. For large-scale events, the restaurant can even offer  half roasted pieces on a spit, starting from 200 people, La Ferrandaise stands out for its genuine hospitality, commitment to terroir, and timeless culinary values. In a city, known for its changing trends, this bistro remains true to itself. Even the water is purified through reverse osmosis, reflecting the team’s attention to the finest details.

La Ferrandaise, 8 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris (France) / Phone : 00 33 (0)1 43 26 36 36. More details on their official website.