The horse-riding market - France (2023)

1.2 Global market

The equine industry encompasses horses, ponies and donkeys. It can be described in terms of four segments whose production, transformation, development, trade and utilization processes are diverse but not independent: racing, sport-leisure, work and meat . It therefore encompasses numerous sectors, such as riding schools and equestrian equipment.

The global market for the equine industry has been estimated at nearly *** billion US dollars in ****, and involves *.* million full-time jobs. [***].

If we focus more specifically on the equestrian equipment market, we can see from the graph below that the trend is for this market to increase in size, with a CAGR (***) of *.**% between **** and ****. It is thus estimated that this market, which was valued at **.* billion US dollars in ****, will reach a value of **.* billion US dollars in ****.

Riding equipment market size trends World, ****-****, in billions of US dollars Source: ****

1.3 French riding market

Thanks to information provided by the Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation (***), it is possible to analyze changes in the size of the equestrian center market in France. It can be seen that the evolution of this market has been very irregular between **** and ****, with an initial trend towards stability between **** and ****, then a significant increase of **.*% between **** and ****, and a slight decrease of around *% between **** and ****. The size of the riding school market in France has therefore been estimated at €*.*** billion in **** .exact data is not available for the years ****-****, but it can be noted that **** was a difficult year for the horse-riding market due to the pandemic.however, it should be noted that **** was a difficult year for the horse-riding market, due to the pandemic, and that business picked up again in ****, as horses are associated with outdoor activities.

The increase in sales in this sector can be explained in particular by the rise in prices, due to a VAT rate set at **% in **** by the European Commission and applicable to horse boarding and teaching.

Trend in the market size of riding schools France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

1.4 Covid's impact on the equestrian market

The many restrictions put in place by the government to combat the Covid-** pandemic have had a very negative impact on the equine industry. Indeed, due to the confinements and closures of equestrian centers, all sectors of the equine industry saw a drop in sales in ****. This decline was particularly significant for trotter trainers: down **% in March **** compared with March ****, and down **% in April **** compared with April ****. Equestrian establishments also recorded a significant loss in sales: **% in March **** compared with March **** and **% in April ****, compared with the same period in ****. [***]

However, with the end of restrictive measures and the return to nature of the population trying to regain contact with the outside world, riding centers and competitions have seen a resurgence in activity, with the number of licensees increasing from the start of **** and still today. In fact, the number of post-Covid licensees rose from ***,*** in **** to ***,*** in ****, providing optimism for the future. [***].

Loss of sales in the various sectors of the equine industry France, **** compared with the same period in ****, in % Source: ****

2.1 Growth in the number of horse riders

In order to practice horse riding in an equestrian center, you need to be a member of the Fédération Française d'Equitation (***). The evolution of the number of FFE members is therefore an important determinant in analyzing demand for riding schools.

The graph below shows that this number has been falling steadily since ****, with a very slight increase of less than *% between **** and ****. In fact, the number of FFE licensees fell by around **% between **** and ****, from ***.* thousand in **** to ***.* thousand in ****. This can be explained by therise in prices (***).

However, since ****, the trend has reversed. Indeed, equestrian activities experienced a spectacular rebound between **** and ****, recording a one-off increase of almost **%, or **,*** licensees. The year **** lost **,*** licensees compared to ****, but the progession remains high at **% compared to ****. [***]

Growth in the number of FFE licensees France, ****-****, in thousands of members Source: ****

2.2 Rider profile

We saw in section *.* the importance of FFE licensees in analyzing the horse-riding market. It is therefore interesting to analyze the profile of these licensees in order to better understand the determinants of demand in the horse-riding sector.

First of all, the graph below shows the distribution of the different licenses offered by the FFE: Practitioners, Competition and Green License. It can be seen that the majority of licensees are in the practitioners category, representing **.*% of licenses, compared with **.*% for the competition category and just *.*% for the green license, which is more specific to trail riding.

Distribution of FFE licensees France, ****, in Source: ****

women represent **.*%

**.*% of men

***,***

Distribution of FFE licensees (***), by gender France, ****, in Source: ****

*-** year-olds (***)

**-** age

(***)

Distribution of FFE licensees (***), by age France, ****, in number of licensees Source: ****

2.3 Geographical breakdown of demand

With the same aim of better understanding the determinants of market demand for horse riding in France, it is interesting to analyze the geographical distribution of FFE licensees. Île-de-France predominates, with **,*** members, followed byAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes with **,***, Nouvelle-Aquitaine with **, *** and Hauts de France with **,***.

Geographical distribution of license holders

Source: ****

3.1 Growth in the number of riding schools

The graph below shows the trend in the number of riding stables between **** and ****. This number has remained relatively stable, with a CAGR of *.**% over this period, rising from *,*** establishments in **** to *,*** registered centers in ****.

Number of riding stables France, ****-****, in number of centers Source: ****

It is also interesting to analyze the evolution of the number of riding schools according to the type of establishment: Associations (***). The number of riding schools has thus remained relatively stable for these two categories, which nevertheless represent a very different proportion of riding schools: around **% for associations and **% for private establishments.

Number of riding schools, by type France, ****-****, in number of centers Source: ****

3.2 Geographical distribution of riding stables

As far as the geographical distribution of riding schools in France is concerned, they tend to be concentrated in the southern regions of the country: *,*** registered in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, *,*** in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and *,*** in Occitanie. Île-de-France is in fourth place, with *** equestrian centers registered in ****.

Geographical Distribution of Equestrian Centers

Source: ****

3.3 Riding market players

given the variety of sectors encompassed by the equine industry and, consequently, the scope selected for this study (***), as shown in the table below:

Source: ****

It's interesting to note that teaching and pensions are the main revenues for riding schools. In fact, they account for **-**% and **-**% of these establishments' revenues respectively. [***]

As far as riding equipment is concerned, major non-specialized retailers of sports clothing and equipment, such as thes, such as Decathlon, offer more affordable options for equestrian equipment, although the range may be less varied.

Online traffic

The similarweb website allows you to compare the traffic of different players. However, the values shown in the graph below should be analyzed in relative rather than absolute terms. In fact, it's complicated to obtain the exact number of visits per month, but since the same method is applied to all sites, it's possible to establish a real comparison between them.

We can therefore draw up the following ranking:

Online traffic of equestrian market players France, June ****, in thousands of visits Source: ****

We can see that brands that don't focus solely on online sales still manage to attract more traffic to their sites. This can be explained by the fact that ...

4.1 Prices for riding centers and equipment

Riding schools

Riding center prices vary according to the type of customer, the type of course and the region concerned. In fact, to get an estimate of prices in the Paris region, you'd need to add around **% to the values shown in the table below. In fact, this table shows the different price ranges corresponding to the different types of courses and customers.

Source: ****

Please also bear in mind the price of licenses: €** for under-**s and €** for over-**s. Prices for other FFE licenses and subscriptions can be found on the FFE website.

Riding equipment

The main items of equipment required for horse riding are: helmet (***), riding pants, protective vest and riding boots.

Average prices and types of equipment are shown in the table below.

Source: ****

4.2 Activities offered by riding schools

There is a wide variety of activities recognized by the FFE and offered by equestrian centers and clubs. Most riding schools and clubs offer riders the opportunity to train in one or more of these activities, and then take part in the competition associated with the discipline in question.

The main disciplines are summarized in the table below.

Source: ****

4.3 Riding market supply trends

As in many other sectors, technology has also reached the equestrian market.

To illustrate the innovations present in this market, we can use the example of Hippolia, the only competitiveness cluster dedicated to the equine industry.it brings together and supports project leaders, startups, VSEs, SMEs, ETIs and major groups, as well as research teams, training establishments and institutions in the industry. To date, the cluster has more than *** members.

For example, in ****, Hippolia organized an international trade show "Equita Lyon", bringing together * start-ups, most of which apply technology to the equestrian field. These start-ups are presented in the table below.

In this way, Hippolia has developed an ecosystem, Horse'N Tech, which stimulates technological innovations in the equestrian sector and was recognized by the State in ****, so that it is now associated with the French Tech sports thematic network.[***]

Other start-ups are emerging in the equestrian field, such as the web platform, Equimov, which enables online booking of accommodation (***) and equestrian activities throughout Europe.

5.1 Riding regulations

In this section, we look at both the regulations governing equestrian establishments and those governing the professionals associated with these centers.

Regulations governing riding schools:

Equestrian establishments are subject to the rules governing Public Reception Establishments (***).

These rules are set out below and detailed in the links above:

Good repute, Emergency organization, Insurance, Display obligations, Accident reporting.

Those applicable to riding schools in particular are as follows:

Allocate each horse an electronic transponder, an identification document (***) and a SIRE registration number, Keep a breeding register (***), Provide a veterinary surgeon for each holding with * or more equidae, Keep a transport register for all horse transport activities carried out as part of an economic activity, and for journeys of over ** km.

In addition, a declaration to the Système d'Information Relatif aux Equidés (***) is required for equestrian centers.

Regulations governing professionals:

Professionals working in equestrian centers must hold one of the following state diplomas:

Brevet professionnel de la jeunesse, de l'évolution populaire et du sport (***), specializing in equestrian activities, Diplôme d'État de la jeunesse, de l'éducation populaire et du sport (***), Diplôme d'État supérieur de la jeunesse, de l'évolution populaire et du sport (***) mention sports ...

6.1 Segmentation

6.2 Analyse financière des entreprises du secteur

• Française d'organisation de matériel équestre (PADD)
• Club hippique de Neubourg
• Les Ecuries de Saint Syr
• Proximal
• Ekkia
• Horze
• Waldhausen
• Voltaire Groupe
• General au service du cheval
• Harcour
• Akemis
• Antarès Sellier
• Azhary
• CWD Sellier - Lim France
• Devoucoux Sellier - Lim France
• Dyon
• Equidees
• Equistro (Vetoquignol)
• Fouganza (Decathlon)
• Kramer Équitation
• La Boite à Tapis
• Tacante
• Eiffel Jumping
• Cheval Liberté - Nancy Cheval
• Samschield
• Privilège Equitation