Table des matières
Equestrian art has arrived at Domaine de Rocheville! From October 17 to November 26, 2026, in Parnay, just a few kilometres from Saumur, two artists united by the same passion for horses are showing their work as part of the Off Cheval festival: photographer and draughtswoman Nathalie Todd and painter and draughtswoman Simonne L’Hermitte.
Visitors will first discover the special bond between riders and their horses, then the tribute that art pays to them. More than 40 works, including photographs, graphite drawings, pastels, charcoals and paintings, fill the estate’s tasting room, in the heart of the Saumur Champigny vineyard.
Nathalie Todd and Simonne L’Hermitte: two Artists, one universe
Simonne L’Hermitte, originally from Deauville, seems to have lived a thousand lives, driven by an irrepressible need to create and to share: painter, former art teacher, fashion, set and film designer, author of educational books…
A rider herself, she now puts her skills at the service of a deep respect for the equestrian world. Her quest: to convey the majesty of the horse and what is not always visible, its lightness, its impulsion and its commitment.
Nathalie Todd is a fine art photographer, painter and self-taught draughtswoman. Born in the Netherlands, she lived in England for many years before settling in Normandy, where she shares her daily life with her own horses. She first expressed herself through photography. It was while making jewellery that she discovered her talent for drawing. Today, she photographs horses on the one hand and draws them in graphite pencil on the other, seeking to capture the unique personality of each one.
Nathalie Todd : the art of graphite and the photographic eye
For Nathalie, horses have always been her first passion. As a little girl, she begged her parents to sign her up for riding lessons and has never stopped since. She got her first horse at 18 and has owned horses continuously for forty years.
She restores the horse to its rightful place at the heart of our history, that of an indispensable partner:
“They carried the weight of human history, ploughed our fields, discovered our continents and fell at our side.”
Photography: revealing the vobility of the horse
At the beginning, Nathalie Todd above all loved photographing horses in motion, galloping free. Over time, she became aware of their deep sensitivity and their beauty, both inner and outer, and this is what she now seeks to capture. Her high-contrast portraits on dark backgrounds have a style all their own, more dramatic than that of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the French photographer who deeply inspired her with his studio photographs of horses.
Her conviction: all horses should be photographed the way we photograph people, with respect, to show their true nature. A horse portrait deserves a place in any home, even one that never had equestrian art on its walls.
Graphite: movement in serenity
Each of Nathalie’s drawings begins with a photograph she has taken herself. Whether galloping horses or portraits, graphite, a medium of gentleness and calm, allows her to show that movement can also be expressed through serenity.
Among the works on display, Woody holds a special place: he is her own horse, and the drawing reflects, in her words, his character and his wonderful nature.
Among her memories as a photographer, she recalls covering a private gathering of Queen Elizabeth for the British magazine Horse & Hound: “very kind and gracious”, while the photographer herself was extremely nervous!
If she could choose a dream location to photograph a horse, it would be Notre-Dame. And her next challenge? To take up oil painting one day.
Simonne L’Hermitte: a palette of many techniques
On polo fields, racecourses or in dressage arenas, Simonne sketches horses in full motion, before bringing them back to life in her studio. The critic Jérôme Garcin already wrote it in Le Nouvel Observateur in 2012: she does not draw horses to immortalise them, she sketches them alive.
Remarkably versatile, she explores a wide range of techniques:
- pastel, for colours and nuances;
- charcoal, to play with shadows, contrasts and movement;
- tar on kraft paper, her signature, for textural effects;
- gold leaf and sculpture (wire, plaster, wax, bronze).
Her career path is just as varied: after teaching art, she notably created dresses for the couturier Louis Féraud. Her passion for art came before her passion for horses, and her motto comes down to one word: accuracy (justesse).
A few anecdotes from her career: the arrival of a monumental steel horse in the ambassadors’ salon of the Hôtel Normandy in Deauville, lifted by a hoist before passing through the window; or the visitor who burst into tears in front of one of her tar works at the 2014 World Equestrian Games. Among her most cherished pieces is one of her first tar works, depicting Bartabas, exhibited at the Galerie Rolin in Rouen.
For Rocheville, she has created a special series, joyful and appealing. Her wish: that visitors leave with happiness and pleasure. Her next dream? A fine exhibition devoted to her living models.
Two perspectives, one shared nobility
At first glance, everything sets the two artists apart. Nathalie offers portraits on dark backgrounds, chiaroscuro effects and subtle shades of grey.
Simonne brings electric blues, ochre backgrounds, lively lines, tar and texture.
Yet their worlds echo each other: the same respect for the horse, the same quest for nobility, elegance and accuracy, the same desire to show each horse as a unique being.
Horses as a common thread
Saumur is horse country, regarded as the French capital of riding and equestrian arts. At the Cadre Noir, the riding masters keep alive the tradition of French equestrianism, inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. For more than thirty years, the Art Cheval festival has celebrated this unique relationship, and its little brother, the festival Off Cheval, turns public and private venues in the area into open galleries every autumn.
Domaine de Rocheville has taken part in Off Cheval since 2022. This year is therefore our fifth participation, following Laure Saigne in 2022, Renaud Hadef in 2023, Kévin Bardin in 2024 and Sonia Meschine and Cyrille Mercier in 2025. It is a wonderful way to highlight artists’ views of the equestrian world.
Visiting the Off Cheval exhibition: over 40 works in the heart of the vineyard
The works of Nathalie Todd and Simonne L’Hermitte hang on the walls of our tasting room. It is a wonderful opportunity to pair art and wine.
Your visit can continue with an immersion in our winemaking world. From the tasting room and its large bay windows, you can look out over our vinification areas, then perhaps explore our contemporary winery and our troglodyte cellars on a guided tour (by reservation).
And to end this lovely break, treat yourself to a tasting of our organic wines, or enjoy a glass on our terrace, with a view of the Parnay hillside.
And if a work wins your heart, good news: the artworks are for sale.
Off Cheval exhibition: practical information
- Dates: October 17 to November 26, 2026
- Location: Domaine de Rocheville, Chemin de Béniquet, 49730 Parnay (7 km from Saumur)
- Free admission, Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm
- More than 40 artworks for sale
- Tasting: taste and buy the estate’s wines
- Access: free on-site parking, wheelchair accessible