Organizers Confident That Equita Lyon 2020 Can Proceed

A key event on the world equestrian calendar, Equita Lyon, the Salon du Cheval de Lyon, and its Longines Equita Lyon Concours Hippique International, will take place from 28 October to 1 November 2020 at Lyon-Eurexpo. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 26 May.

The announcement that the 26th edition of Equita Lyon and its Longines Equita Lyon Concours Hippique International, would be going ahead from 28 October to 1 November, made a splash and restored the hope of an entire sector. The first support measure confirmed: a late-night opening until 10.30pm on Saturday 31 October, to allow visitors to be spread out throughout the day. The second measure also confirmed: all of the prices will be frozen for this 2020 edition, including those for ticketing.

Equestrian sport finally back in France and in Europe!

The Longines Equita Lyon Concours Hippique International marks the return of indoor equestrian sport in France. And the great news: the Longines Equita Lyon Concours Hippique International will continue to play host to four FEI World Cup legs, and is the only event in Europe which can boast of doing so. Indeed, the Rhône-Alpes event offers spectators a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup leg, an FEI Dressage World Cup leg, an FEI Driving World Cup leg and a leg of the FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy, the Pony Jumping World Cup. All the FEI World Cup Dressage and Driving classes and those of the FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy are open to everyone, who has an entry ticket to the exhibition. The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup offers beginners the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the key discipline of equestrian sport, with a large majority of the classes open to everyone, and aficionados can attend three highflying events, which all the best riders on the planet dream of adding to their list of wins: the Longines Grand Prix on 30 October in the evening, the Equita Masters on Saturday 31 October also in the evening and the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM leg on Sunday 1 November in the afternoon, (specific tickets required for these three events).

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The “Sport and Show” evenings on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October will showcase the world’s best equestrian artists in the Longines Equita Lyon Concours Hippique International arena. After the Longines Grand Prix and the Equita Masters, they will perform a unique artistic creation in the star-studded ring, where spectacular staging reveals the abilities and talent of each of them and always arouses the emotion and admiration of the spectators.

As for Western riding, which Equita Lyon has made one of its hallmarks, the NRHA European Derby will return after a first edition which was very popular in 2018. The reining Derbies, organised in Europe’s main countries, are classes reserved for horses in a certain age category. The Lyon NRHA European Derby is open to horses from four to eight years-old.

As always, Equita will play host to all the federal circuits upheld. Spectators in Lyon will be able to watch the French Tour’s jumping classes and the Dress Tour’s dressage classes, the Grand Indoor FFE AC Print jumping leg and the Amateur Gold Tour Esthederm and the National Style and Equitation Finals.

Among the exhibition’s 140,000 m2, on the edge of one of the Lyon-Eurexpo’s eleven arenas created for the occasion, boasting non-stop entertainment from the opening to the closing of the site, and around the many breeders and exhibitors who will meet up their audience again, there is no doubt that all the enthusiasts will find what they are looking for!

Information at WWW.EQUITALYON.COM

Three Questions for Frédéric Bouix, General Delegate of the French Equestrian Federation:

Several days after it was announced that the 26th edition of Equita Lyon would be going ahead, how has the French equestrian sector reacted?

FREDERIC BOUIX: First of all, this announcement is great news, allowing everyone, whether they are a competitor, a rider, an equipment manufacturer or an enthusiast, to have a focal point, an objective over time, during this period when we all find it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The crisis that we are experiencing has had a huge impact from an economic point of view on the entire horse sector in France. The initial estimations indicate a loss of 30 million euros excluding tax per week since 15 March, for riding schools and pony clubs alone. This announcement was synonymous with hope for the whole equestrian sector, and I want to applaud the work and the continual perseverance of the GL events Group and of Sylvie Robert, the President of GL events Equestrian Sport. The announcement that Equita Lyon 2020 will be held is a major commitment on their behalf, in an economic context which is difficult for key players in the event sector. So we would like to thank them for being there, where others have already been forced to postpone or cancel competitions scheduled in the autumn. Even if this crisis is not over, Sylvie Robert’s announcement, with an objective over time, allows us to envisage an end to the sad weeks that we have been experiencing for several months.

Can the equestrian community reasonably hold on to the hope that there will be other horse events from now until the launch of the 26th edition of Equita Lyon, from 28 October to 1 November?

FREDERIC BOUIX: Unfortunately, we don’t know and all the announcements that could be made will be subject to the government’s decisions. Since 11 May, we believe that activity is picking up again to some extent, but progressively and partially. We knew that this initial recovery phase would last for three weeks, before a second phase which should begin on 2 June. All of this is very progressive and some activities, such as equestrian tourism, will probably not have any possibility of recovery before the summer. So the announcement that Equita Lyon will be held is doubly symbolic. On one hand, it is the major event that all the enthusiasts look forward to every year; as I mentioned the announcement allows as all to look ahead, which is very important. On the other hand, in this very unusual year, Equita Lyon may well be the first major French and even European equestrian event, since the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup of Bordeaux, in February. Equita Lyon is great sport, with four FEI World Cup legs, but it is also a series of events and competitions for amateur and club riders for whom shows have also come to a standstill. Equita Lyon will be eagerly-awaited by everyone this year, perhaps even more so than usual.

Equita Lyon and the French Equestrian Federation are long-standing partners, which progress hand-in-hand, and support the sector. Will this partnership have a special significance this year in the context that you have described?

FREDERIC BOUIX: Undeniably. Equita Lyon plays host to a large part, if not all of the federal circuits, during the legs or the finals. We don’t yet know what formats we will be able to put in place this year as we lack visibility, with a season which hasn’t been able to get under way in some cases or has hardly begun in others. All of this must obviously make sense in terms of sport. But we will ensure that as many major federal sports competitions as possible will be organised during Equita Lyon, such as the Amateur Gold Tour Esthederm and the Grand Indoor FFE AC Print Finals. And with the support of GL events Equestrian Sport, the French Equestrian Federation will be inventive to offer great sport for different audiences, in all the disciplines hosted in Lyon: jumping and dressage of course, but also working equitation and Western riding.