The ordinary general meetings of the French Equestrian Federation (FFE) and the National Equestrian Tourism Committee (CNTE) were held Thursday at the Lamotte-Beuvron Federal Equestrian Park, in Loir-et-Cher. All resolutions were adopted with scores between 88.52% and 96.63% of the votes. One year before new elections, which will call for renewing the federal committee and the president of the FFE, this 2023 vintage was very calm, against a backdrop of a return to the reduced VAT rate for all the essential activities of equestrian and pony centers -clubs.
The resumption of activities continues despite an inflationary context
As of August 31, 2023, the French Equestrian Federation (FFE) had 9,657 members, a stable number, and 675,186 licensees including 158,663 competitors. During this vintage, running as always from 1is September to August 31, “the resumption of activities has continued while observing a slowdown since the second half of 2022 due to inflation. This increase in the cost of living impacting family budgets has led to a slight decline in the number of first-time users”, analyzes the FFE in a press release published yesterday. Concerning competitions, we note the return of a level of activity close to that before the health crisis for the Pony and Club levels, while the Amateur and Pro levels are still slightly behind. Furthermore, all the French championships met with their usual success.
“The return to adapted taxation” and a VAT of 5.5% for equestrian activities are the culmination of several years of constant mobilization. “The FFE has established itself as a reference point of contact with public authorities”. After two years impacted by the health crisis, the 2023 vintage marks a return to balance for all activities and even marks growing dynamism in the equestrian tourism sector.
Successes of the past year
Through its elected and permanent representatives, the FFE continues to put in place tools and resources aimed at supporting the development of equestrian activities. It also works to defend the interests of its clubs by representing them to public authorities. This is explained by:
– The promotion of equestrian activities through 360° communication campaigns, the creation of development offers for clubs and their support throughout the year in the implementation of these recruitment and loyalty operations.
– The positioning of the Federal Equestrian Park as a tool serving equestrianism, a true family home for riders and host to numerous equestrian events. In 2023 a new event called Rendez-vous de Sologne was launched.
– Strong mobilization to make the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games an opportunity both on a sporting level and for the promotion of equestrian practices. The “On Horseback for Paris” campaign was launched and support from the French team strengthened, in particular thanks to the support of EquiAction, the FFE endowment fund. France collected forty-four international medals in eleven disciplines in 2023.
– A desire to be proactive on social issues: highlighting animal welfare without concession, positioning the horse at the heart of society through the “Horse and Diversity” approach, development of equestrian practices for all and mediation with ponies and horses.
– Promoting the benefits of outdoor horse riding, which is growing strongly throughout the region. Equestrian tourism celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2023 while France’s commitment to the International Federation of Equestrian Tourism (FITE) continues, with the re-election as president of Frédéric Bouix, general delegate of the FFE.
– The promotion of the horse professions and the structuring of the training of professionals of today and tomorrow, to meet the expectations and recruitment challenges in the sector.
– The international export of the French model of equestrian development, with ninety-two partner clubs around the world.
“Preserving our unity is one of the challenges of the future”, Serge Lecomte
“The FFE is a special federation in the sporting world, with thirty-two disciplines which all have their specificities. The role of the FFE is to bring together these different families whose common point is horses but who often work in separate areas. Maintaining this unity, which allows the FFE to have influence with public authorities, is one of the challenges of the future”estimates Serge Lecomte, president of the FFE. “Equestrian activities are largely the responsibility of the private sector, between education and agriculture, which differs from many other sporting activities. This is a subtlety to take into account. Our primary motivation is to bring good living to our fellow citizens and to enable children to grow well. Horse riding is a factor of personal development which requires first being better with your horse before being better than others. The FFE allows the establishment of adapted regulations, adapted taxation, equestrian routes, etc. It is essential for equestrian activities to find their full place in society. For those who want to get involved in the collective, to develop activities at the departmental and regional level, the FFE supports initiatives and allows us to achieve collectively what we could not do alone.”
“For the first time, this reduced VAT rate will be included in the law”, Frédéric Bouix
“The Government, as part of the 2024 finance bill, announced a return of taxation to 5.5% on 1isJanuary for equestrian activities. The final adoption of the text will take place at the end of the year after the shuttles between the National Assembly and the Senate. This marks the end of administrative complexity, and we will be alongside the clubs to support them. We know that nothing is ever final and we will continue to deploy the same energy to ensure that equestrian businesses have appropriate taxation. For the first time, this reduced VAT rate will be enshrined in law”welcomed Frédéric Bouix, general delegate of the FFE. “I thank Serge Lecomte who has been carrying this issue with energy for more than thirty years, and Catherine Bonnichon de Rancourt, director of European and institutional affairs of the FFE, for her investment alongside me in this issue in order to obtain this return to a reduced VAT rate. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Philippe Audigé and the teams of the National Horse Riding Group for this collaborative work.”
“We have a lot of ambition for the couples who are members of the French team”, Sophie Dubourg
“The national technical direction is a collective which works on sport, training and development, as close as possible to the permanent services of the FFE. In this Olympic and Paralympic year, with less than two hundred and fifty days before the event, the emphasis is placed on the preparation of potentially selectable and medal-winning couples”recalls Sophie Dubourg, national technical director. “In consultation with elected officials, we have updated the ‘On Horseback for Paris’ lists, which target couples with Olympic and Paralympic potential. Let us also salute all the non-Olympic disciplines which won medals in 2023. From these lists, we are putting in place tailor-made support for riders, horses, owners and the ecosystem in place. As with clubs, economic viability is an important subject for high-level athletes. The objective of the National Sports Agency (ANS) is that no participant in the Games is in a precarious situation. For this, the FFE helps them, from its own funds and through its EquiAction endowment fund, on three other essential axes: private training, the salary of a house rider/groom and the longitudinal monitoring of the horses. . The ANS and the regional equestrian committees also co-finance jobs for high-level athletes with a fixed-term contract renewable in the two years preceding the Games. We have a lot of ambition for the couples who are members of the French team and we invite you to encourage them.”
“In 2023, equestrian tourism, within the FFE, will record 71,852 licensees and sixty years of French equestrian tourism have been celebrated. The genesis was traced in four central notebooks of ‘The Estafette’. On December 8 and 9 at the Federal Equestrian Park the Sixty Years of Equestrian Tourism Meetings will be held.relates Valérie Dalodier, president of the CNTE. “This year, communication kits were sent to the organizers of the Grand Régional de Tourisme Equestre (GRTE). Thirty steps have been proposed and this dynamic must be continued. The date and location of Equirando 2025 have been revealed: July 25 to 27 in Bagnoles-de-l’Orne in Normandy. Concerning roaming, GéoCheval is continuing its development with a mobile application which will see the light of day in 2024, while the CNTE continues to work with all the stakeholders and developers concerned by equestrian practice. The CNTE is also active internationally in conjunction with the FITE.”
Voting results
Ordinary general assembly of the FFE
– Moral and discharge report 2023: 96.24%;
– Financial report and discharge 2023: 92.59%;
– Auditors’ report: 96.63%;
– Forecast budget 2024: 91.21%;
– Amounts of contributions due by affiliated or approved equestrian groups for 2025 (applicable to 1isSeptember 2024): 88.52%;
– Mandate to the Federal Committee for loans, acquisitions, exchanges and alienations: 95.14%.
Ordinary general assembly of the CNTE
– Moral and discharge report 2023: 89.56%;
– Financial report and discharge 2023: 88.65%;
– Forecast budget 2024: 88.65%.
The entire moral report (reserved for members)
Watch the video of the moral report of the FFE and the CNTE for the 2022-23 financial year
2023-11-25 16:49:52
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