A MATCH MADE IN HORSE HEAVEN
Equestrian Co-Directors Frdric Pignon and Magali Delgado may look like they came to CAVALIA straight from a Hollywood casting agent, but the truth is the attractive couple was brought together by horses.
“I was giving riding lessons and Fred came to give vaulting lessons,” says Magali, remembering the riding club where they first met 14 years ago in France. “We had the same passion, we wanted to do shows together, and so we thought it would be a good idea to put our energies together.”
After performing together in Europe, for two years in Santo Domingo, and making special appearances in Orlando, Florida in between other engagements Frdric and Magili married in May 2003. Held near their home in France, the decidedly “horsey” wedding took place shortly before their departure for Canada to work on CAVALIA. “We thought it was a good time,” says Magali, whose wedding bouquet included an abundance of carrots.
“There were 20 horses outside the church,” describes Magali. After the ceremony, the newlyweds climbed aboard two of their Lusitano stallions and began a two-kilometer ride joined by friends on horseback, with a reception of sorts in a pasture midway, where musicians were playing. The parents of the bride and groom traveled via a horse-drawn carriage. “I was riding Bandolero and I ‘loaned’ Dao to Fred,” remarks Magali, who has competed with Dao in dressage. Two of 13 Lusitano stallions appearing in CAVALIA,
Bandolero and Dao reveal their haute cole (high school) training when Magali rides them in the show.
