It is not necessarily the first sector we think of, but French equestrian centers have been in great difficulty since the cessation of their activities due to the coronavirus. To help them, an auction of objects that belonged to the best tricolor riders was organized on the internet, confinement requires, and met with great success on Friday evening. Whips, saddle cloths, jackets for the French team ... around fifty lots were sold for a total of more than 34,000 euros. A sum which will be paid into the solidarity fund set up by the French Equestrian Federation.
"Their situation is really very serious"
Because with the crisis, equestrian centers not only no longer receive the public, but also face the maintenance costs of horses and ponies. "We know that their situation is very precarious. There are many equestrian centers that are going to close, they no longer know what to do with their horses and do not know if they will be able to feed them the following month. I do not know if this has been sufficiently publicized, but their situation is really very serious ", warns Alexandre Bekka, rider agent, at the origin of this auction.
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Only centers that have a horse boarding activity in parallel are doing a little better. Before the confinement, the sequestration centers employed more than 30,000 people, and the French Equestrian Federation even assures that they constitute the country's first private employer in the sports sector.
34,000 euros to 6,500 centers in France
The buyers' money from the auction will therefore be paid in full to the solidarity fund set up by the French Equestrian Federation, destined for 6,500 equestrian centers located throughout the territory.
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"It is a very big success, because when we had calculated the prices, if each object sold at its price, we were rather around 13,000 euros," says Alix Choppin, marketing manager within the house. Arqana who organized this sale on the internet. "It was a great surge of generosity."