Belle Baruch's Equestrian Life

Competing in Europe Part One

This series of clips from the 1920s or '30s begins with a group of riders formally presenting themselves to people in the stands at a horse show, followed by a sequence of Belle and Souriant show-jumping, Belle leading two horses around a field, another sequence of show-jumping, and concludes with a polo game played with donkeys.

Competing in Europe Part Two

These clips provide more scenes of Belle Baruch's competitive feats of riding and show-jumping in Europe in the years leading up to WWII. In the first section she is seen riding Souriant III at breakneck speed and clearing high fences and hurdles, arriving at stands crowded with onlookers. Then Souriant is ridden and walked by various men while Belle chats with friends in a field. The film concludes with another jumping sequence in which Belle appears to be dressed in a jockey's uniform.

The Concours de Bourbaki

This clip begins with a shot of Belle Baruch's partner Barbara Donohoe astride her horse, in front of empty racetrack stands. A groom is holding three other horses, one of which appears to be Souriant III. The film then cuts to Barabara and Belle riding and jumping hurdles, apparently the only riders at the track that day. The clip's title, "Concours de Bourbaki," is a mystery.

At the Stable in France

In the early 1920s Belle Baruch first visited Pau, a city in the French Pyrenees, a region popular with the international foxhunting set. She leased a house there, built a stable for her horses, and spent much of the next two decades living in France. In this clip, titled "Souriant after he won the Coup de Paris 1930," a groom leads the victorious horse from its paddock and Belle feeds him treats.

Horses at Bellefield

When Belle Baruch returned to the U.S. in the 1930s and built her home, Bellefield, at Hobcaw Barony, she brought her horses with her and had a stable constructed for them. This clip begins with shots of a horse, probably Souriant III, practicing jumping in an enclosure on the Hobcaw property. It is intercut with shots of Jean Darthez, Belle's horse trainer, and Belle, as well as a group of people including Bernard Baruch and Belle's sister, Renee. Following is a sequence of an older Belle riding Souriant in a field, and finally a very old Souriant making his way out of his paddock and running around a bit before going back into the stable.