Back story of a jump

Pierre le Goupil tells how Le Platane Héritage (Heritage Plane Tree) was created

I built this fence from a section of plane tree two or three years ago.

In the South of France, nearly all country roads were originally lined with these trees on both sides. Before World War II, they were planted to provide shade for animal-drawn carts. Later, with mechanization, roads were covered with asphalt, which is quite sensitive to the sun's heat and needs protection from melting.

Furthermore, these tree lines are often planted too close to the road, making them hazardous. As a result, there are now progressive efforts to cut them down and replant new trees several meters back.

This is how we came to have some wood available for free in Le Pouget.

I love the shape of their trunks—gnarled and crooked, with a beautiful shimmering khaki bark. Below is another example of a rustic brush fence built from these trees.

I made the brush layer from thuja (a type of cypress tree) branches. I simply tucked some of the smaller branches under logs screwed to the front of the main beam, purely for a stylistic effect. The base layer is made from bay laurel branches, which we can easily forage from the surrounding scrubland. The result is rustic, simple, inexpensive… And very jumpable.

Pierre le Goupil, Olympic and 5* course designer