2023-12-31 17:01:00
It is with great emotion that the population of Ath receives the announcement of the death, which occurred this Friday in Ellezelles, of Mr. Jean-Jacques Miclotte. Born on August 1, 1958, Mr. Miclotte was part of the “family” of the Bayard horse, a gigantic and essential figure of the Ducasse d’Ath. He had carried the famous steed for more than forty years, starting in 1973.
He became its leader before handing over in 2016. “Even if the decision was not easy to make, he remains calm” we explained here in August 2016, before giving him the floor.
“We are no longer twenty years old and we also have to know how to leave room for young people” said Jean-Jacques Miclotte in the summer of 2016. “I could have done it for two or three more years but we are going to end up on a rock and, even if I’m still in good health, you shouldn’t want to do the year too long.”
”If it is difficult for him to evoke a particular memory, as there are so many, Jean-Jacques wants above all to emphasize “the spirit of camaraderie in the team”.” “The most beautiful memories are making Bayard dance together, but it is also and above all the amazed look and joy of the audience. The most beautiful memories are all of this. There is only good,” he said again.
That Sunday, before taking part in the procession, when asked what he felt, Jean-Jacques was philosophical. “I think we appreciate the present moment more because I tell myself that this is the last time that I went to pick him up at the hangar, that this is the last time that I come here in front of the station with him …And sometimes in the evening, it will perhaps be tears, but, in any case, the feelings will be very strong.”
And the feelings of sadness are immense today at the time of Jean-Jacques Miclotte’s departure, in his family, within the Athoise Alliance and among those who knew and appreciated him.
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