Zizou Does Dressage? Who Knew?

February 11th, 2007 | by: Laurie | View Comments

I just got this fantastic video of Zinedine Zidane learning to ride a horse. Why? So he could take part in the show, “Les stars se dépassent pour Ela.” (This loosely translates to “The stars transcend themselves for Ela.”) This is a fundraising show for one of Zizou’s pet projects, Ela, the European Association against Leukodystrophies. (Hey, the initials match up in French, okay?)

In the show, famous personalities spend a month or more learning a new skill to perform on TV to raise money to fight Leukodystrophies. (Similar to the Jerry Lewis telethon, but shorter. And with people who are much more pleasant to look at than Jerry Lewis.)

Zizou learned to ride a dressage horse. He had never ridden before, (and when they show his first ride, you can tell!) But by the end of the month… Well, let’s just say I’m impressed. This is a fun video to watch. I always especially enjoy watching Zidane with children. I think he could take or leave most adults, but just watch his face when he’s around kids. He comes alive.

One other thing I must say: I used to ride, and watching this made me SO jealous! What a magnificent animal!

Oh, and the horse isn’t bad either.

(Come on, you knew that was coming. I’m lucky my husband has a sense of humor.)

And thanks to reader Anusree for the video!