Mélie Philippot and her "pony-lion" are a big hit!
“Magnificent” or “what a show” are just some of the spectators' reactions after the show put on by Mélie Philippot and her pony-lion...as the crowd roars in approval.
Mélie Philippot describes herself as a very "unusual" person. In fact, to get where she is today, the Picardy native had to turn her love of horses into a steady job. And it was not always easy. She did stints withsome of the most prestigious theatre troupes and schools. From a very young age, Mélie started to work with horses as part of a travelling circus, which, she said, “was a wonderful experience but I didn’t want to make a career of it, it was just something that I loved doing and then when I turned 18 I realised this is what I wanted, to work hard and make a living out of my love for horses.” She cut her teeth with the very best, including the Musée Vivant du Cheval de Chantilly, where she says “I didn’t have the level to get in, but after a year and a half of hard work both sides were happy.” She then joined the Académie du Spectacle Equestre de Versailles before jaunting off to Patagonia to take care of horses belonging to Florent Pagny, the French singer.
Mélie is obviously a hard worker and her show with the pony-lion reflects her determination. Luma, the name of the 9-year-old miniature pony owned by M.Philippot, has been a work-in-progress. In Mélies’ words: “Luma has been working on his dressage for over five years and when we joined the Compagnie Diego & Co three years ago, the idea for the fake lion’s mane was born.” The show was first presented in Germany and the buzz was immediate – 300,000 hits in just one week. Since the promising start, the show has been in hot demand. The duo has performed in England, Germany, Belgium and here at the Alltech DEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy, where they perform daily in the Village.
When he is not transforming into a lion, Luma can be tough to manage. According to Mélie “he is very smart and knows perfectly well that when he puts on the lion’s mane it is time to go to work and when we take it off, he becomes a real nightmare.” Like a real lion tamer, Mélie uses, in jest, a whip to bring the wild pony-lion to heel. Mélie, who also performs in an entertaining cabaret show, hopes to work another ten years with Luma.