Through Mathieu Normand
Published on 10 Dec 20 at 8:14
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The establishment of school ride on horseback in the Grieu district at Rouen was expected for the start of the September 2020 school year, but it is encountering difficulties. To the point that Fantine Costil, the project leader with her association Cheval en Seine, believed that the adventure was over in December. This is not the case, but we will have to wait a little longer to see the association’s carriage roam the neighborhood.
The City has already paid a subsidy for the material needs of the association, it had not anticipated the need for a financial contribution for its operation. “It’s my job,” underlines Fantine Costil. I can’t do this for free. After the January petition, this is yet another blow.
A “highly anticipated” project
The community does not wish to abound in the operation. “If we do it for a project, it must be done for everyone,” says Jean-Michel Bérégovoy, the deputy in charge of participatory democracy during the selection of the project in 2018. However, 18 files had been selected at the time. : “It is not possible”, he slices.
The thorny situation and the discovery of an internal mail exchange made Fantine Costil believe that the City was going to give up. This is not the case, assures the deputy in charge of the issue in the new term, Laura Slimani: “It seems logical to me that when we have already invested in a project, we allow it to see the light of day. Especially since the project is eagerly awaited in the neighborhood. “
The City is always looking for a financing solution, partners or an economic model that will allow the association to operate. She is still giving herself several months to get there. This pushes back the project “at best in the spring, or even next summer”.
Dangerous ground for horses
The use of horses could also be rethought, to have “a more global function in the neighborhood”. “This could benefit residents, while raising awareness of the issue of animal welfare and the place of animals in the city,” suggests Laura Slimani.
A meeting is planned soon with Fantine Costil. “I am open to lots of possibilities”, underlines the latter, who seeks to develop equine projects on the territory of the Metropolis. While waiting for progress, his horses have left the eco-pasture installed in the neighborhood for another land.
“The fruits of the sycamore maples present on this land are falling right now,” she explains. They are toxic to horses. I can’t leave them there from fall to spring. Another point that will have to be resolved if the project finally sees the light of day.
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