An equestrian center is a structure whose main activity is to offer access to horseback riding to a wide public, from beginners to experienced riders. This includes the proposal of riding lessons, group or private, rides, training courses, pensions, horses in half-board etc. The main activity of the riding center is still teaching. Not all riding schools offer the same services and are sometimes specialized. Some are competition-oriented, focusing on one or more disciplines, others offer you the advanced practice of less classical riding such as Western riding, working horseback riding or ethological riding and some, called Handi-Clubs, offer people with disabilities the opportunity to ride horses thanks to adapted structures.
Riding schools appeared during the XXth century when horse riding was still reserved to an elite and to utilitarian (agriculture) and military work. Their arrival has helped to democratize our sport and to develop it, by allowing disciplines such as trail riding to become supervised and accessible to the greatest number of people. In 2013, there were 8,600 equestrian establishments in France and 5,000 of them were equestrian centers, in the form of private or associative structures.
The equestrian center has the necessary infrastructure for the practice of horseback riding: one or more riding arenas, even a riding school, a stable and meadows. Depending on the size and budget of the riding center, the infrastructure will vary and be elaborate. Some riding schools are equipped with a cross-country course, a gallop track, a round pen, etc. Of course, there is no riding center without horses: it is necessary to have horses adapted to all levels of practice to satisfy the riders and allow them to evolve. When the riding facilities are composed of ponies, it is common to call the sign “Pony-Club”. Finally, as the main activity of the riding school is teaching, it is important (and even compulsory) to have a person with at least a BPJEPS diploma to be able to give lessons.
The several types of riding schools
There are different types of riding schools that differ in the activities they offer. The French Riding Federation has set up quality labels to guarantee that the structure corresponds to the specifications of the profession, and it is regularly visited to be certain of the conformity of the infrastructures and the teaching over time.
The label Ecole Française d’Equitation (French Riding School) is associated with riding schools that offer a range of riding activities from beginners to advanced riding, including club competition riding. This label can be accompanied by a mention Pony Club of France or Horse Club of France according to the type of public that it welcomes and allows to value the riding center which makes the request.
Some riding centers offer an activity more focused on outdoor riding, including hiking. They are obliged, in terms of supervision, to have a guide within their structure who holds the ATE (Diploma of Equestrian Tourism Guide). If these horse riding centers offer a quality service and implement activities focused on nature, the study of landforms and maps as well as the discovery of heritage, fauna, and flora, then they can obtain the Equestrian Tourism Center label.
Another label which is more for stables than for riding schools, the Label Ecurie de Compétition (Competition Stable) highlights the structures which offer to riders of a certain level the necessary services for the training of a rider/horse couple or professional riders developing horses, so that they can go out in amateur or professional competitions. To this label can be added the mentions “Training of the rider/horse couple” and “Valuation of the horse of the sport” for several disciplines: CSO, Dressage, CCE, endurance, driving and acrobatics.
For equestrian centers that offer a welcome to people with disabilities, accompanied by an adapted teaching service, there is the Equi-Handi Club Label. Here again, it can be accompanied by mentions, one for clubs adapted to mental handicaps and the other for motor and sensory handicaps.
Some horse riding centers offer initiation and improvement in the discipline of driving and have all the necessary equipment and horses. To promote this practice, the Federation has chosen to label them as French Driving Schools.
Finally, some riding schools also offer to welcome students in sport-study. This allows students to live their passion for horses while having the means to pursue their studies. Accessible from middle school to high school, these riding schools have been awarded the federal Sport Etude label to encourage intensive horseback riding in parallel with successful schooling, as well as club and pony competition. Other riding schools offer a sport study program focused on higher level competition. The Sport Etude Excellence label is awarded to establishments that support young people from the 4th to the 12th grade in their schooling and in their access to international competitions and the Ace Championships.
How can I find a riding school near me?
Considering the number of riding schools in France and near your home, it is a bit difficult to find one. The easiest way to find a riding school is to go to the one you pass on your daily commute, or the one you have seen advertised or heard about. You can also search on a search engine the keyword “equestrian center” with your town or city, this will give you access not only to the websites of the best listed clubs, but also to the Maps with their various locations and contact information.
Otherwise, the French Equestrian Federation has set up several tools to help you find the riding school you need. You can go to www.ffe.com/Rechercher-un-club and enter the name of the city where you want to ride in the search bar. The site will list the accredited riding schools, other clubs, and stables as well as competition organizers. The search results are quite comprehensive and include contact information, easy access to their websites and locations, and a list of labels obtained by each of them. If you are looking for a club with specific characteristics, you can click on the link “Search with more criteria” or go directly to https://www.telemat.org/FFE/sif/?page=-club. This web page allows you to search for a riding school by keywords, location, label, discipline, and competition practice. You can also obtain the list of clubs by department and search for structures according to the number and type of facilities present presence of a riding school, number of boarding places (horses and ponies), surface of meadows and number of accommodations to welcome you.
Also, in October 2017, the FFE set up “A Cheval en France”. This new platform, with a pleasant and easy-to-use design, allows you to find labeled riding centers all over France for your equestrian activities on vacation: rides, hikes, sports, and tourist stays or pony and horse training. You just must choose a place, an activity, and a date, “A Cheval en France” will propose you all the existing offers. You can even add some search criteria such as the duration, the level, the number of participants and the adjustment of your budget. Once you have decided on the offer of the horse riding center that suits you best, the platform allows you to make a reservation request online. No need to spend hours comparing the websites of the horse riding centers of your destination, the “A Cheval en France” website allows you to do it quickly while giving you complete information about each activity.
Finally, in the same style as “A Cheval en France”, there is www.horseee.fr. This start-up, which is not directly linked to the Federation, presents itself as the TripAdvisor of the equestrian sector and proposes to the equestrian centers to be listed for free on the site. It is possible to book lessons, boarding, training courses or rides but the most important thing is to be able to leave your opinion. This will allow you to access the comments, positive or negative, of riders who ride in the structure and who have been there to help you make an opinion on the establishment.
When you are looking for a riding school for the long term, don’t hesitate to visit several of them to compare not only their offers but also their horses and the type of teaching. Many clubs offer trial lessons before you commit to paying a membership fee and a package of lessons. This is an opportunity for you to see if the riding center suits you, to test if the instructor’s pedagogy corresponds to your expectations but also to see if the atmosphere between riders is nice.
Don’t hesitate to be curious and to ask about the life of the club and especially the quality of life of the horses, because in some riding schools, the horses are sometimes ridden during many hours of weekly lessons. If you really love horses, you will quickly be disgusted by this type of structure.
Opening an Equestrian Center
Many horseback riding enthusiasts want to open their own riding school. It is important to know that running an equestrian structure requires an investment of money but also of time: there are no Sundays and holidays with horses. Before you start, be sure not to skip any steps. Start by asking yourself how motivated you are and what your assets are to succeed, but what will differentiate you from the surely numerous, other riding schools in the area. It is important to find a specificity, something that will make your structure unique. Don’t forget to make a business plan, to study the competition and to find a viable economic model, to make your structure last if possible.
Then you must start looking for a suitable land, large, to host your riding school. The size of the site will depend on the ambition of the facility (small, friendly stable or large, large-scale competition facility) and the number of facilities and horses you plan to have. It is assumed that the area in which your potential customers are located (“catchment area”) is about 20 minutes from your riding facility. It would therefore be advisable to set up in a suburban or even urban area, to try to reach as many people as possible.
Regarding the facilities, to offer a proper teaching service, you should at least consider a riding arena. A riding arena is not compulsory, but it is recommended to give lessons in winter or when it rains because many riders will be delighted to have the chance to ride indoors in these conditions. It is of course necessary to provide buildings for the horses’ life, i.e., a stable with boxes, paddocks and/or meadows, storage spaces for food, hay and straw, a shower, a saddlery… Don’t hesitate to look for a piece of land that allows you to consider future expansions in case of development. The layout of the equestrian center must allow for logical and easy circulation of horses, people and farm equipment that will pass through it.
Once you have land and facilities, you need the most important thing: horses. The choice of horses and ponies is crucial when you start a riding school. Obviously, this choice depends on the needs of your activity; you will not buy the same horses for a riding center that offers “classic” riding lessons as for a place that favors trail riding. You will need to find horses that will fit varied sizes of riders and different ages: ponies for the youngest and horses for the older ones. It is also important to think about adapting the horse to the various levels of your clients. If some horses are very versatile and suitable for beginners as well as for gallops 7, they rarely constitute the majority of the stable. Having a variety of horses will allow you to satisfy and retain your riders and will allow them to evolve and progress within the same riding center.
If it is important to have a main activity, a favorite discipline or another added value when opening a riding school, it is no less important to diversify your activity. Indeed, depending on the type of riders you are going to welcome, their expectations will vary between the desire to compete or the desire to just enjoy a moment of relaxation, you will have to succeed in satisfying everyone, even if it is not an easy task. Also think that the availability of your customers is very often on Wednesday afternoon, Saturday, or other days in the evening. You should therefore not hesitate to propose new activities outside these periods: why not welcome school groups or works councils for example? The hardest thing is to succeed in diversifying while remaining true to the identity you want your riding school to have.
Finally, some things are essential for the opening of an equestrian club. To offer quality teaching, you need one or more teachers with at least a BEES1 or BPJEPS diploma if you do not have one yourself, or an ATE for trail rides. Also, don’t forget that a riding school is still a business and requires management and administrative skills. Relational qualities are also required, and pedagogy is necessary, with children as well as with adults.
The regulations to follow for the creation of a riding school are strict and its respect is essential. The fact of receiving the public subjects you to the standards of the ERP (Establishments Receiving Public) in terms of reception, and safety (especially since horse riding is a risky sport). Do not hesitate to contact the public services to see more details about these standards. It is also important to think about the legal form of your establishment because it has repercussions on your finances. Then, it is important to declare yourself to the National Stud, to the Departmental Direction of Youth and Sports of which you are a member and to your town hall. These steps can be tedious and complicated but rest assured, there are specialists who can help you in these processes. Finally, the regulations concerning Equidae must be followed to the letter: horses must be identified by a microchip and vaccinated at least against influenza and tetanus, and even against rhinopneumonitis if they are going to participate in gatherings.
Obviously, it is very important to think carefully about the project before opening a riding school. There is a lot to think about in terms of activity, budget, investment, infrastructure, horses, desire, motivation and so many other factors for success. Don’t hesitate to surround yourself with professionals to make your project a success.
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