And here is terminus of my latest road warrior trips in my lovely Bretagne! This was done on the way back home and it was another first time visit in my Brittany; the town of Lamballe. I have heard about it as one of my collegues now works there and he is from the area but never visited until now. Better late than never the old saying goes, and I was glad I did. Let me tell you a bit on Haras National of Lamballe !!
The National Stud Farm of Lamballe was originally, a depot of royal stallions, created in the fall of 1783 in the only stable of a barracks in the town of Lamballe. Abolished in 1790, briefly recreated in 1825, this national stud found its final form from 1842, when it was responsible for making breeding stallions available to the owners of the 70,000 brood mares in its district. The National Stud played a major role in the development of the Norfolk-Breton, future Postier Breton breed, by importing Norfolk Trotter stallions from England. It is also behind the success of the demi-Ardennais stallion Naous, one of the founding stallions of the Trait Breton breed. With its buildings, it has a renowned honor saddlery, and a collection of 22 horse-drawn vehicles. It organizes many events, including the national Breton horse competition, as well as the largest equestrian festival in Brittany each September, the Mille Sabots.
The Lamballe National Stud is located right in the city center. Compared to other French national stud farms, it has buildings concentrated in a relatively small space, around 5 hectares. The stud farm has 12 stables, all built between 1825 and 1907. These red brick buildings, in Napoleonic style, present a similar functional architecture The oldest building of Haras de Lamballe is stable no 1, the walls of which date back to the end of the 18C, All the other buildings, stables, offices, tack room, are dated from the end of the 19C, Two rows symmetrical stables joined to the main entrance were built perpendicularly, on the old place called “La ferme du Pavillon”, A stable with stalls built before 1907 was restored in 2005 to become a place of artistic exhibition and educational activities, the “Ecurie des Arts” ,This stud farm also has a shed for horse-drawn carriages, a forge, a shed and a water tower, Nice !
The official Haras National of Lamballe : https://www.haras-lamballe.com/accueil-haras
The new town of Lamballe-Armor on its Haras National : https://www.lamballe-armor.bzh/accueil-lamballe-armor/temps-libres/tourisme/en-ville-et-alentours/le-haras-national
There you go folks, a dandy destination close to Rennes, and the beaches of Pléneuf Val André (see post) you will glad you visit the new Lamballe-Armor, still commonly call Lamballe. Again,hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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