In 1665, under Louis XIV, Colbert created the royal studs administration in order to overcome the lack of horses which then prevailed in the entire kingdom; he also wished to improve French equine breeds.

The quality of the pastures and the easy access to water made Buisson d'Exmes, near Argentan, the perfect spot.

[N 2] On 27 January 1790, the destruction and removal of the “Haras” were voted, but it narrowly escaped this fate, the National Assembly at the very last moment deciding to establish there a “depot of the best stallions in the Kingdom”.

It found itself at the heart of the site of bataille de Normandie, close to Falaise, without sustaining any damages.

The change within the Haras nationaux (national studs) took place at the end of 2013, when breeding as such, the core of their function, was transferred to the private sector.

The decree of 2 July 2015 created the “Établissement Public Administratif” (a public administrative establishment) named the “Haras national du Pin”: the National Stud was detaching itself from the authority of the IFCE (French Institute for Horses and Riding), in order to be jointly managed by the Orne department, the Basse-Normandie region and the State.

The Executive Board is presided by Laurent Beauvais, also Chairman of the Lower Normandy Regional Council.

The grounds of the National Stud stretch over the town of Pin-Au-Haras, but also over the neighbouring ones of Exmes, La Cochère, Silly-en-Gouffern and Ginai.

These contribute to the “Jeudis du Pin”, and also offer presentations of their horses on weekends during the spring and summer seasons (from April to September).

In 2014, dressage and cross-country tests for the 2014 World Equestrian Games[5] Eventing took place in the “Parc du Hautbois”, gathering over 50,000 people.

Japan in particular is the only country in the world to organize Percheron races, which gather thousands of spectators and also afford betting occasions.