Entertainement session

Would you like to know more about the horse industry, a French sector of excellence particularly present in Normandy? Let’s discover it through a ride across the cultural heritage of equestrian activities, the presence of horses, donkeys and mules all over the French regions and the huge variety of scientific issues involved in the development of the equine sector.

Horse: this simple word often evokes lots of powerful images, emotions and feelings. Historically, horses and humans have been closely linked to each other in many ways, from the beginning of the domestication of equines in the Palaeolithic period to the vital question of how to keep in touch with nature in our modern environment. These many activities can be economic, sport, agricultural and cultural.

From the scientific point of view, horses also provide a field for research and knowledge development for a great variety of disciplines like health sciences, genetics, sustainable development technologies and humanities and social sciences.

The French horse industry illustrates how the equine sector can be an accelerator for territorial development, breakthroughs in sport, scientific progress and social cohesion. Let’s share some insights of these accelerations, as far as the wind blowing between the ears of a galloping horse!

Rosine TRAVERS studied engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique before becoming a State Engineer after graduating from the National School of Rural, Water and Forest Engineering (ENGREF – Ecole nationale du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts).

She has worked as a civil servant on agricultural and environmental policies for over 20 years, mainly for the French Ministry of Agriculture in territorial and central administrations. She has been in charge of various jobs concerning trade negotiations, water and soil management policies as well as in financial affairs and human resources.

She joined the French Horse and Riding Institute (IFCE) in 2024. As a territorial delegate, she is in charge of implementing the missions of the IFCE in the three regions of the North-West of France (Normandy, Ile-de-France and Hauts-de-France). These missions include supporting the French horse industry, producing and transferring horse and riding-related knowledge, developing training courses, promoting horse riding and high-level equestrian sports, ensuring equine traceability and upholding both the tangible and the intangible equestrian heritage.