Horse Riding 08-10-2014 Expanding the horse culture Elsezare, a horse riding company that will open in Barbarons in December, wants to have horses from La Digue recognised as a breed of their own. First Grand Anse, then Barbarons. Or rather, Barbarons first and then Grand Anse. On 22 September, TODAY announced that the promoters of a new project, Turquoise Trails had met with inhabitants of Grand Anse together with representatives of the Seychelles Investment Board (SIB) to present their new horse riding project due to open in June 2015. Yet, it appears that Barbarons already has a horse riding project on the go –the long-established Elsezare Equine Resort plans to launch operations this December. Is the physical proximity of the two projects going to be a problem? It all depends, says Ella S. René, the owner and manager of Elsezare Equine Resort. “I hear people say that Turquoise trails will be the first company to carry out equestrian activities, yet Elsezare Equine Resort has been established for five years now and we have been offering horse riding lessons to locals, have worked with schools”, she said, adding that the company has chosen not to communicate about its activities until its opening in December. “Our physical proximity is not ideal, especially since they are providing the same services and this will lead to some competition,” Ms. René told TODAY. However, she hopes that having another riding centre in the vicinity could help promote horse culture in Seychelles. “And this could perhaps lead to friendly competitions and joint events,” she suggested. Elsezare Equine Resort will possibly bring something different to the horse culture in Seychelles. “Our nine horses are locally bred and many are descendants of horses from the time of the settlers from La Digue. We are currently working on a project to have them recognised as a breed of their own. If we are successful then Seychelles may have its very own breed of horse!” said Ms. Rene. The horses are small pony-size horses “perfect for younger clients”, explained Ms Rene. This is why she says the target clients are children and youth. “Interactions with animals, especially horses, have many therapeutic and soothing effects on young souls and I feel will be beneficial to those who choose to learn to ride,” said Ms.René. Upon its opening this December, the company intends to work with schools and therapeutic agencies as a means “to give back to the community. We will provide a full range of services from riding lessons to trail rides, we’ll have a professional riding arena, round yards, a club house and many other facilities,” said Ms. René, adding that Elsezare also wants to incorporate trail riding as well as venture into the accommodation business “so that we can tap into equine tourism, something that has seen a lot of success in other countries.” The locally-owned company aims to promote animal-related services in Seychelles. The company has a small team of six people working on the project, three of whom are locals. Ms.René says that they have worked hard to build “a world-class equine facility to provide lessons, trail rides and other horse activities to people from all walks of life”. Following a long struggle to acquire land, the promoters finally managed to settle on a private property at Barbarons. Elsezare Equine Resort occasionally employs casual staffs but Ms.René told this newspaper that they intend to employ at least five more members of local staff by December. At the moment, Elsezare only offers basic riding lessons at the nearby football field as the facilities at Elsezare Equine Resort are not yet completed. The company is currently working closely with animal welfare and environmental agencies to promote sustainability and good animal care, the say.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 06:18:59 +0000
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