Who are we?
EquiRencontre - a passion
HORSEPEOPLE WITH A PASSION.
The EquiRencontre is held in a different province each year. It is thus organized by a different ARTE (Regional Equestrian Tourism Association) each year as well. However, we all have one thing in common: the desire to introduce the greatest number of people to the joy of trail riding.
This year's team
ARTE Brabant
The committee of the Regional Equestrian Tourism Association (ARTE)-Brabant & Brussels is an informal group composed of the FFE (Belgium) members who volunteer in Hainaut Province and/or are “resource people” in specific areas: trails, an equestrian sport, etc., and/or are voting members at the Federation’s Annual General Meeting.
Get-togethers, horses, and trail rides
Fédération Francophone d'Equitation
Belgium’s French-speaking riding federation, FFE, brings together horsemen and horsewomen of all sorts — riders, drivers, horse lovers, donkey aficionados, etc. — be they amateurs or professionals, under the banner of respect, passion and sharing.
For the FFE’s members, horses and donkeys have been partners, not tools, since the Federation was founded in 1972!
Sports
Whatever the equestrian sport in which you engage, winning is not paramount. The pleasure of improving your technique or discovering new landscape and the joy of sharing special moments with your steed are what counts most. Our activities? Dressage, jumping, eventing, riding sidesaddle, archery on horseback, carriage and work horses, riding and driving for the disabled, hippotherapy, cutting cattle, doma vaquera, Equidance(R), Equifeel(R), Equility(R), children's classes, ethology, polo, Ride&Run and Ride&Bike events, vaulting and gymnastics on horseback, Western riding, equestrian shows and theatre, trail riding and carriage rides, and working with donkeys and mules.
Certificates
This multi-facetted committee is in charge of certifying the progress made by riders through certificates awarded upon passing the requisite tests.
Services & Departments
Here are just some of our services and departments: Club affiliations, HippoNews magazine, List of riding clubs, Insurance, Defence of paths and trails, Routes and mapping, Gifts and perks, Animal Welfare, Pleasure Horse Qualification Tests and Clinics.
Regions
The members of the FFE are subdivided informally into local chapters by region. These regional chapters, known as "ARTE" (the abbreviation for the original title of regional equestrian tourism associations in French) are integral parts of the FFE.
Since 2001
The non-profit A.W.T.E. asbl (for Walloon Equestrian Tourism Association) was created in 2001 by a group of trail riders from the national equestrian tourism association Antenne Nationale de Tourisme Equestre founded fifty years ago.
Discovering horse trekking
The A.W.T.E helps riders discover the joys of trekking, of going from a quick hack to spending several days on the trail. It does this with the help of a network of riding trails and relay stations, but also trained horse-trek guides.
Routes
The A.W.T.E. creates themed routes, trails between lodgings and loops around member accommodations.
Recognised by the Secretariat for Tourism
The A.W.T.E. - the only association to further regional tourism for riders and carriage drivers in Wallonia, has been recognised by the Walloon Region's General Secretariat for Tourism as a force in the development of tourism, and more particularly as a provider of tourist facilities for horse riders, carriage drivers and cyclists.
Approved equestrian accommodation
To offer ever more new adventures, the A.W.T.E. has given its stamp of approval to more than fifty farms, stables and other entities that take in trail riders from Walloon Picardy to the German border, along with links with France, Luxembourg and Germany. It helps its members improve the accommodations that they offer horse and rider/driver.
Association Wallonne de Tourisme Equestre
The Walloon Equestrian Tourism Association (A.W.T.E.) is tasked with
– organizing a general campaign to promote equestrian tourism in Wallonia,
– setting up a “Gîtes et Relais Equestres de Wallonie” (“Equestrian Lodges and Relay Stations of Wallonia”) label,
– creating connecting trails between lodges and themed routes,
– organizing activities to promote equestrian tourism, such as meets, gourmet circuits, and rallies around noteworthy places or themes in the five provinces of Wallonia,
– protecting the riding trails that exist in the five provinces of Wallonia and
– taking an active part in developing ecologically-friendly equestrian tourism for riders and drivers.
