Tribute to Bettina DRUMMOND
- Valérie CK
- 3 avr.
- 4 min de lecture
Dernière mise à jour : il y a 3 jours
The American Equerry Bettina DRUMMOND (1963-2025) passed away peacefully at her home on March 27, 2025, just days before her 62nd birthday.
📸 2019 Valerie CHARRIEAU-KHALILI - Last performance of Bettina & Mimi (Connecticut)
Few weeks before, she was still riding the horse Islero, even though she found herself short of breath when dismounting. Her life was devoted to horses. Trained from the age of six by Master Nuno OLIVEIRA and having done demonstrations and training courses for the Master's riding school from 13 to 27 years old, she dedicated herself to passing on her precious knowledge to educate horses with respect and care.
Our paths first crossed over ten years ago, when I was filming “Les Rencontres de l’Équitation de Tradition Française” in Saumur where she intervened as a speaker and coach. I had asked to interview her about her experience with Nuno OLIVEIRA. The day after the interview, I was surprised to receive a call from her that lasted over an hour. And again the next day.
A friendship had begun.
I immediately felt what an exceptional person she was.
I later learned that Master Nuno OLIVEIRA had asked her to be the Ambassador of this beautiful equation in the USA. She worked in this direction, and it is for this reason that the Cadre Noir awarded her the title of Écuyer d'Honneur in 2018, the same day that the memory of Colonel NECHATI (a Master whom Bettina DRUMMOND appreciated) was honored with the gift of a magnificent Persian carpet offered by some of his students (visible at the entrance to the Grand Hall of the Cadre Noir in Saumur).
I filmed her many times in Saumur, as she gave lectures or coached écuyers from the Cadre noir.
Nuno OLIVEIRA himself had noticed how much she had impressed the Equerries of the Cadre Noir at the age of only 19 !
"To the brilliant rider and my best student who so impressed the equerries of the Cadre Noir. With all my friendship."
In 2019, she asked me to film a workshop she was hosting at her home in Connecticut. It was a week of unforgettable experiences. The photo shown was taken during the final performance$ she gave with Mimi, her extraordinary mare who passed away in November 2024.
*"Mimi's last dance" movie is available on WeBinaRts of Bettina Drummond (free).
At that time, I was also working on my film project "L'ESPRIT du CADRE" (The Spirit of the Cadre) with Master Squire Jean-Louis GUNTZ, who was the Squire of the Cadre Noir who remained in the black tunic the longest. We also talked a lot together. He greatly admired Bettina (and it was mutual) and found it regrettable that there were no films about her transmission.
In 2020, after the lockdown, she agreed to take part in WeBinaRts to share her life story and her experience with horses. She confided in us about her family education, her encounter and apprenticeship with Master Nuno OLIVEIRA thanks to her mother Phyllis FIELD, and her work in the United States, especially rehabilitating abused horses which she had made a specialty of.
These WeBinaRts were conducted in French with simultaneous translation. At the time, she was little known in France. Thanks to 3V PROD/LYNK-YOU, who shared the recordings on Facebook and magazines, her work gained recognition in France and internationally — in Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia...
To go further and deeper into transmission, I launched the LYNK-YOU PERFECT, improvement program in 2022 primarily for her, so that she could share her valuable knowledge and help her fight her illness.
She designed 12 remarkable modules.
Our conversations have always been filled with sharing about art, and I wanted these Webinars to reflect that, beyond equestrian art. Because all the arts feed off each other. When I first met Bettina Drummond, she was more interested in equestrian art performances* with music or dance than in competitions. The third Webinar was thus dedicated to art. Some of these artistic equestrian performances are now available to everyone on the website. Her artistic soul is evident there.
*"Performance Art" can be found in Bettina Drummond's Webinars (free).
I can share an anecdote about "Sculpture Inspiration": that morning, Bettina had created an artistic equestrian performance inspired by the sculpture of artist Kevin Christman. She sent it to me via WhatsApp, and I immediately imagined editing it with music by Marin Marais. I sent it to her, and she told me she was thinking exactly about that music internally as she evolved. That was how we were connected.
The LYNK-YOU platform was created to share those WeBinaRts.
Today, for my friend and for those who share a taste for beautiful horse riding, I continue to maintain and grow this LYNK-YOU's universe.
To participate in this transmission.
Valerie CHARRIEAU-KHALILI
Bettina’s family is working on plans for a future memorial service (after Easter), which will be zoomed to allow friends, students and followers to “attend” virtually. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Comments