Philippe BONNEAU
The Vice-President of the Lower Normandy region, in charge of the ventures and policies of the equine industry.
“Promoting riding to make it accessible to everyone”
An extract of the article which was published in the Lower Normandy Regional Council’s magazine “Reflets”- May-June 2008.

What are the challenges with regard to Normandy’s candidacy for the World Equestrian Games in 2014?
Apart from the actual sports event, the World Equestrian Games will be the occasion to strengthen the areas of development of the equine industry in Lower Normandy. The industry is already recognized for its excellence in the fields of economy, research, sport etc. In Lower Normandy it represents an economic flow of 600 million euros and 9,500 direct jobs.
The challenge is to make Lower Normandy and its capital a region of equestrian sports and equine culture. We will do this by supporting the future equestrian stadium which will be built in Caen or in the nearby surrounding area, but also with the creation of a network of our riding centres, which sustain rural areas. In particular, the objective is to popularize riding and to promote all kinds of riding to make it accessible to everyone, which was the case for tennis in the past, for example.

Do you feel that Normandy is mobilized behind this objective?
There is a unanimous acknowledgement of the importance of horses in Normandy. The candidacy for the World Equestrian Games has received the backing of all of the regions of Normandy and of all of the local authorities, which goes beyond the political tendencies of elected representatives.
Apart from the challenge that such an event represents in terms of development and investments, which require a strong mobilization of the local authorities, these Games are a wonderful opportunity to work together on a project with a shared objective.

AS A REMINDER: The WEG in figures
As an example, here are the figures of the World Equestrian Games 2006, which took place in Aachen, Germany:
- A budget of almost €40, 000, 000
- 800 competitors from 61 nations
- 850 horses
- 1,700 employees and voluntary workers
- 580, 000 spectators
- 1,200 journalists and 300 photographers
- 460 million viewers
- 700 articles in the national and international press