French Equestrian Federation

The French Equestrian Federation (FFE) (French: Fédération française d'équitation) is a non-profit organization responsible for the management, promotion and development of equestrian disciplines in France. It also contributes to the selection of sport and leisure horses.

French Equestrian Federation
SportEquestrian
JurisdictionFrance
AbbreviationFFE
Founded1921
AffiliationFEI
Affiliation date1987
HeadquartersLamotte-Beuvron
PresidentSerge Lecomte
SecretaryFrédéric Bouix
Official website
www.ffe.com
France

The FFE is a member of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI by its acronym in French) and the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF by its acronym in French).

In 2017, the FFE had 644,800 members. It is France's third-largest (single-sport) sports federation in terms of the number of members, the fourth-largest in terms of the total number of federation memberships,[1] and the second-largest equestrian federation in the world.[2] Women account for 83% of the FFE's membership, and 27% are under ten years of age. One of the federation's challenges is to encourage young people growing up to continue riding. Between 1984 and 2011, the number of FFE members rose by 374%.[3]

History

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General

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The French Equestrian Federation was founded in 1921. In 1963, an Association nationale pour le tourisme équestre (ANTE) was created with the support of the Haras nationaux, and grew thanks to the new popular craze for leisure riding.[4] In 1971, the Poney Club de France appeared, thanks to the renewed support of the Haras nationaux, reaping the rewards of the penetration of pony riding among children.[4]

Thus, until 1987, the French horse world was divided into three independent entities, before the French Equestrian Federation was created that year, unifying and grouping the entities. Delegations were nevertheless set up: the Délégation nationale aux sports équestres (DNSE); the Délégation nationale au tourisme équestre (DNTE); and the Délégation nationale à l'équitation sur Poneys (DNEP).[4]

In 1999, the FFE's statutes changed, and the delegations were dissolved, although the specialties were still represented on the Steering Committee, which comprised a Horse Committee, a Pony Committee, a Tourism Committee and a Competition College.[4]

Sports modernization Act in 2000

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The Sports Modernization Act of 2000 led to the creation of new statutes. These, creating the CREIF (Comité Régional d'Equitation d'Ile de France by its extension in French), were approved by the equestrian centers with 94.24% of the votes cast. The former independent bodies : Comité régional de tourisme équestre, Délégation régionale à l'équitation sur poney (DREP) and Ligue régionale des sports équestres were grouped together under the CREIF umbrella, thus guaranteeing the continuity of their specificity. The CREIF inherited the Ligues de Fontainebleau, Versailles, ARTE and DREP Île-de-France through a merger-absorption process. This administrative restructuring is in line with regional state administrations and political bodies.[5]

The CREIF now heads 8 departments: Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Val-d'Oise, representing more than 600 equestrian associations and establishments affiliated to the FFE and more than 100,000 licensees, its mission is to encourage, promote, develop and organize equestrian activities in all forms and practices.[6][5]

The CREIF is one of the FFE's 23 deconcentrated bodies, following the law on the modernization of sport.[5]

"Lamour" law 2005-2006

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By order dated 2 and 3 2005, the FFE lost its approval and delegation from the French Ministry of Youth, Sports and the Voluntary Sector. The Federation is accused of failing to bring its statutes into line with the so-called "Lamour" law no. 2003-708 of 1 August 2003. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries also withdrew its approval by order dated 6 October 2005.[7]

The main reason why the FFE has not updated its statutes is that the Lamour law de facto imposes an under-representation in voting rights of commercial equestrian clubs, which represent the majority in number, to the benefit of non-commercial structures.[7]

In 2004, Serge Lecomte's re-election as FFE president led to legal proceedings initiated by the unsuccessful candidate, Jacqueline Reverdy. The FFE was placed under judicial administration, entrusted to Monique Legrand, following the annulment of Serge Lecomte's election by the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance.[7]

To ensure continuity of public service, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF by its acronym in French) temporarily exercises the prerogatives lost by the FFE following the withdrawal of its approval and delegation. In particular, it has authority over the organization of competitions and high-level sport. A specialized Equestrian Commission has been set up. Various agreements between the FFE and the CNOSF enable activities to run smoothly, particularly for competitions and top-level sport.[8]

The FFE's new statutes were adopted at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 19 June 2006, raising hopes of normalized relations between the French government and the FFE. As a result, in September 2006, the FFE was once again approved by the public authorities.[9]

In a decree dated December 21, 2006, the Minister for Youth, Sports and the Voluntary Sector once again granted the FFE the delegation provided for in article 131-14 of the French Sports Code, thus putting an end to several years of conflict between the association and the public authorities.[10]

In 2008, the FFE's statutes underwent further changes. The head office was moved from Boulogne-Billancourt to the Federal Equestrian Park de Lamotte-Beuvron.[11]

Members

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Number of members by year[12]
Year Total members Women Men Year-on-year change Comments
1984 145,071 - - - - - -
1985 147,108 - - - - +1,4 % -
1986 160,235 - - - - +8,92 % -
1987 166,915 - - - - +4,17 % -
1988 199,952 - - - - +0,02 % -
1989 166,154 - - - - −0,48 % -
1990 214,007 - - - - +28,8 % -
1991 230,575 - - - - +7,74 % -
1992 239,282 - - - - +3,78 % -
1993 258,808 - - - - +8,16 % -
1994 274,873 - - - - +6,21 % -
1995 325,670 - - - - +18,48 % -
1996 345,882 - - - - +6,21 % -
1997 364,686 - - - - +5,44 % -
1998 391,624 - - - - +7,39 % -
1999 411,657 - - - - +5,12 % -
2000 434,980 - - - - +5,67 % -
2001 432,498 319,640 (73,91 %) 112,858 (26,09 %) −0,57 % -
2002 447,139 332,798 (74,43 %) 114,341 (25,57 %) +3,39 % -
2003 462,955 348,045 (75,18 %) 114,910 (24,82 %) +3,54 % -
2004 484,760 368,699 (76,06 %) 116,061 (23,94 %) +4,71 % -
2005 513,615 394,767 (76,86 %) 118,848 (23,14 %) +5,95 % -
2006 523,696 406,241 (77,57 %) 117,455 (22,43 %) +1,96 % -
2007 553,560 434,838 (78,55 %) 118,722 (21,45 %) +5,7 % -
2008 600,805 477,172 (79,42 %) 123,633 (20,58 %) +8,53 % -
2009 650,805 524,195 (80,55 %) 126,242 (19,40 %) +8,32 % -
2010 687,334 558,932 (81,32 %) 128,398 (18,68 %) +5,61 % -
2011 705,783 580,000 (82,18 %) 125,783 (17,82 %) +2,68 % -
2012 706,449 582,788 (82,50 %) 123,661 (17,50 %) +0,09 % -
2013 694,480 574,728 (82,76 %) 119,752 (17,24 %) −1,69 % -
2014 689,043 570,709 (82,83 %) 118,334 (17,17 %) −0,78 % -
2015 673,026 557,821 (82,88 %) 115,205 (17,12 %) −2,32 % -
2016 663,194 549,935 (82,92 %) 113,259 (17,08 %) −1,46 % -
2017 644,800 535,165 (83,00 %) 109,635 (17,00 %) −2,77 % -
2018 628,262 521,656 (83,03 %) 106,606 (16,97 %) −2,56 % -
2019 617,524 513,492 (83,15 %) 104,032 (16,85 %) −1,71 % -
2020 601,166 502,550 (83,60 %) 98,616 (16,40 %) −2,65 % -
2021 665,873 557,724 (83,76 %) 108,149 (16,24 %) +10,76 % -
2022 625,258 530,266 (84,81 %) 94,992 (15,19 %) −6,1 % Dated 3 March 2022

List of presidents

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Since its creation in 1921, the Federation has been headed by the following personalities:[4]

  • 1921 : Georges du Teil
  • 1931 : Détroyat
  • 1942 : Eugène Edouard Decarpentry
  • 1943 : J. de Juigné
  • 1951 : A. Polet-Ternynck
  • 1959 : Pierre Guichené
  • 1963 : Renom de France
  • 1970 : Jean Caucanas
  • 1973 : Édouard Pouret
  • 1976 : Christian Legrez
  • 1985 : Jean-François Chary
  • 1988 : Jean Soyer
  • 1989 : Loïc Le Masne de Chermont
  • 1993 : Pierre Durand
  • 1998 : Jacqueline Reverdy[13]
  • 2004 : Serge Lecomte
  • 2005 : The FFE is placed under administration by Monique Legrand following the annulment of Serge Lecomte's election by the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance.
  • 2006 : Serge Lecomte

References

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  1. ^ "Chiffres clés du sport 2009" (PDF) (in French).
  2. ^ "Assemblée générale décembre 2006 FFE" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  3. ^ "La Commission Européenne tient la bride de la filière équestre" (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Histoire, rôle et présidence de la FFE". Fédération Française d'Équitation (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Le Creif : Historique". Le Comité Régional d'Équitation d'Île de France (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Les départements". Le Comité Régional d'Équitation d'Île de France (in French).
  7. ^ a b c "LOI n° 2003-708 du 1er août 2003 relative à l'organisation et à la promotion des activités physiques et sportives (1)". Légifrance (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  8. ^ "ENJEUX ET CADRE JURIDIQUE". Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Commission spécialisée équitation" (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  10. ^ "Commission spécialisée équitation du CNOSF" (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  11. ^ "Coordonnées fédérales". FFE (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Statistiques - Fédération française d'équitation" (in French). Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Jacqueline Reverdy en selle". Libération (in French). 1998. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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