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• An intriguing account of the 2008 re-enactment of this traditional race to Paris 

 
La Route du Poisson is an international sporting event, held every two years, to commemorate the days when the transport of fresh fish from the beaches of Boulogne to the markets of Paris was undertaken by teams of draught horses. Originally launched in the late 1990s to help promote the fine French breed, the Boulonnais, this celebration of the strength, stamina and skill of working horses has grown to include teams of heavy horses from across Europe.

This year 15 teams took part - from the UK, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. Each team comprises 11 pairs of horses (that's over 300 heavies thundering their way to Paris!) with driver, groom and a host of vital support staff ranging from lorry drivers, through caterers to change-over teams and the all important team officials.

The main part of the competition is a 312km relay race divided into 21 stages of distances varying from 11km to 19km. Some sections are signed, but most of them have to be navigated by the groom who is given a map just ten minutes before the start. The relay begins in Boulogne at 8am, carries on through the night, and ends close to Paris around 26 hours later. Each stage is undertaken by a different pair of horses but using just the one vehicle for the whole journey - barring accident or incident, in which case a replacement vehicle is allowed. Fish products are carried the whole way to add an air of authenticity.

Whilst speed was of the utmost importance in the days when the freshest fish commanded the highest prices, the modern Route du Poisson is more about precision timing and the horses' welfare is paramount. So the race is handicapped. Each horse is weighed, measured and thoroughly vetted prior to the start and then each pair is given an optimum time in which to complete its stage. Going too fast is heavily penalised. The secret to success in the relay is coming in bang on time and getting the vehicle swapped from the incoming to the outgoing pair as quickly as possible.

The relay is the highlight of this fantastic spectacle but there are also parades and a number of skills tests that each team must perform. This year we had an obstacle course to drive, a timed boat pull on the beach at Boulogne, a dressage test to music, a cone driving competition, a short cones course which had to be driven using verbal commands only and a couple of quick-changes of vehicle away from the relay environment. For the first time this year, each team was also involved in a short, dramatic pageant performed at the end of the gruelling 26 hour race.

Members of the British Heavy Horse Driving Trials Club have competed in La Route du Poisson since its inception with varying degrees of success. 2005 was the best performance ever, with a third place, and we were hoping to emulate that success this time around. Interestingly, the team was made up of largely continental breeds - the Sampson and McDermott families with Percheron, Richard Branscombe also with Percheron, Jane Wordsworth with Comtois, and The Working Horse Trust with Ardennes. Our only pair of Shires had to withdraw which left Daniel Brown, Dave & Gaye Botting and Steve and Sue Jones waving the flag for the British breeds with their Suffolk horses.

The team smoothly sailed from Dover to Calais on Tuesday September 16th. Vetting of the horses took place on Wednesday at Le Touquet and the competitions got underway on Thursday with the Obstacle Course. John McDermott, with a pair of Percheron, tackled the demanding course with gusto and came in 9th - his position then dictating our starting position in the relay and other special events.

On Friday we had two parades to attend - one in Le Touquet in the morning the other in Boulogne in the afternoon. At this point things started to go a little awry. Whilst Richard Branscombe, Jane Wordsworth and The Working Horse Trust set off around Le Touquet with representatives from the other teams they were unaware that drama was unfolding back at base camp. One of Keith Carter's Shires had gone lame and would have to be withdrawn from the competition. This meant a hasty turn-around for The Working Horse Trust who were despatched to take Keith's place in the Boulogne parade together with Steve Jones and his Suffolks. For the British Team officials it meant a difficult re-scheduling of the relay stages and for Claire McDermott and Richard Branscombe and extra stage to take on. Whilst all this was going on, Robert Sampson was taking part in a change-over competition involving four in hand - he came 10th.

On the beach at Boulogne on Friday evening the boat-pull competition took place. A pair from each team pulled a traditional, small wooden fishing boat along a 100m timed course. The horses were not allowed to break out of a walk, nor to stop and re-start. A smooth, continuous pull was required and marks were also awarded for style. Disappointingly our pair, which included a mighty powerful Percheron stallion, didn't want to take part in this event and refused to budge beyond the 25m mark. They could have done it easily, but simply didn't want to - which just goes to show how the best trained horses can sometimes show you up!

The relay began early on Saturday morning with the teams, driving four in hand, leaving Boulogne in a staggered start. A few kilometres out, the front horses were taken off leaving the wheelers to complete the course. Throughout the day and night the teams continued their journey toward Paris and the race-course at Chantilly. Along the whole of the route, no matter what time it was, spectators gathered to cheer on the horses and drivers and at each change-over town enthusiastic crowds and fine French hospitality gave the whole affair a lively carnival feeling. Naturally, there were hitches along the way. We had problems with our communication equipment; one of our drivers had a very nasty encounter with a tree, during one of the night stages, dismantling the lighting rig and breaking her groom's thumb. One of the change-over teams got lost not once, but twice, a lorry tyre blew out en route to one of the skills tests and one or two of the lorry drivers had trouble following their instructions to pick up or drop off their horses (the lorries were not allowed on the same route as the horses, incurring heavy penalty points if they strayed). But all in all the relay was an exhilarating and challenging event which finished for us at around 10am on Sunday morning when Tom Sampson drove his team of four Percherons into the arena at Chantilly to rousing applause from his fellow team members.

It is impossible to describe how much effort goes into organising and executing this event. There were over 40 people involved in the British effort alone each with an important role to play. It takes a whole year of preparation and training to get the horses and humans fit and then, of course, there is funding to obtain. It is a credit to Rowena McDermott, co-founder of the British Heavy Horse Driving Trials Club and our Chef d'Equipe for La Route du Poisson that we can forward a team and put in such a feisty performance in what, for us in the UK, is still a relatively new sport. We came 9th overall this time - 7th in the relay and 11th in the skills tests. Not as thrilling a result as last time, but still immensely satisfying for everyone who had worked so hard just to be there.

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