Institutional Mission, History & Public Utility

Our Statutory Mission Statement

Historical Genesis: Rooted in the Soil of Saint-Victor-d'Épine

The story of the ASS EQUESTRE DU RELAIS DU CHAUSSE began with a clear realization among local residents, rural families, and horse enthusiasts in the canton of Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre. While Normandy is internationally acclaimed as the historical cradle of European horsemanship, the daily reality for many rural families was starkly different: equestrian facilities were increasingly orienting themselves toward elite show jumping competitions, expensive private liveries, and commercial boarding businesses with high financial barriers to entry.

For everyday village children, agricultural workers, and households navigating tight budgets, participating in horse sports or simply experiencing the tactile warmth of a horse was rapidly becoming inaccessible. Recognizing this widening gap, a coalition of local educators, equine caretakers, and civic leaders gathered at Le Chemin de Chausse to establish a radically inclusive, non-profit equestrian collective.

Registered with the Prefecture under the provisions of the French Law of July 1, 1901, the association chose from its very first day to reject all commercial trading motives. Rather than generating profits for private investors, our founding members committed to managing the pastures, riding arenas, and barn stalls as a shared public utility asset dedicated entirely to community health, physical conditioning, and intergenerational education.

The Non-Commercial Public Interest Model Explained

What does it truly mean to be an institutional, non-commercial equestrian association? In an economic landscape where recreation is often commodified, our status as a public-benefit association mandates strict operational disciplines:

• Absence of Profit Distribution: Every single centime generated through subsidized membership fees, regional grants, or communal donations is locked within the association's legal treasury. No dividends, bonuses, or private compensations are ever distributed to members or directors.
• Democratic Governance: All institutional policies, annual activity schedules, and capital investments are decided openly by our members during our Annual General Assembly under the democratic principle of "one member, one vote."
• Accessibility Guarantees: We maintain sliding-scale contribution rates based on family income quotients, ensure free participation for local school discovery days, and loan all certified helmets, safety vests, and grooming kits free of charge.
• Public Grant Transparency: We operate in close collaboration with the Departmental Council of Eure, the Regional Sports Directorate (DRAJES), and municipal leaders, submitting transparent annual financial and activity audits that verify how public funds are utilized.

Our Core Educational Philosophy: Humane Horsemanship & Empathy

At the Relais du Chausse, we practice an educational pedagogy rooted in ethological horsemanship—the science of understanding horses on their own biological and social terms. We reject punitive training methods, harsh bits, or treating horses as mere instruments for human athletic ego. Instead, every lesson begins on the ground, where students learn how equines perceive the world through their panoramic vision, acute hearing, and sensitive body language.

By learning how a horse expresses curiosity, apprehension, contentment, or exhaustion, our riders develop profound emotional intelligence. They realize that true leadership is never based on force or intimidation, but on calm consistency, patience, clear boundaries, and quiet self-control. These essential psychological qualities are directly transferable to everyday school and family environments, transforming shy or restless children into self-assured, empathetic leaders.

Territorial Cohesion and Rural Vitality in the Lieuvin Region

Rural territories often suffer from geographical fragmentation. Public transit options can be limited, and social spaces where diverse generations naturally interact are increasingly scarce. Our equestrian center acts as a crucial communal anchor for the hamlet of Saint-Victor-d'Épine and surrounding communes like Saint-Georges-du-Vièvre, Lieurey, and Épaignes.

On any given Saturday morning at our stables, one can observe retired agricultural workers sharing stable care techniques with secondary school students, while parents from diverse backgrounds collaborate on cleaning communal tack or preparing hot cider for the afternoon riders. By maintaining this welcoming, egalitarian space, we help counteract the social isolation that can silently erode rural communities, weaving a tight, supportive safety net of neighborly goodwill.

Environmental Responsibility: Stewarding the Normandy Bocage

The landscape surrounding our equestrian facility is part of the precious Normandy bocage—an ancient mosaic of small pastures enclosed by thick earthen banks and multi-species hedgerows of oak, beech, ash, and hawthorn. These hedges play a vital ecological role: they prevent catastrophic soil erosion during winter rainfalls, filter agricultural runoff, provide wind shelter for livestock, and serve as biological wildlife corridors for hundreds of endangered species.

Our association actively preserves this heritage. We reject synthetic chemical fertilizers and industrial weedkillers across all 18 hectares of our pastures. Instead, our horse manure is carefully composted and distributed to local organic community gardens. We plant native fruit trees and hedgerows each spring with our youth members, teaching the next generation that outdoor sporting recreation must always walk hand-in-hand with uncompromising ecological stewardship.

Strategic Five-Year Impact Roadmap (2026–2030)

To ensure our public mission continues to adapt to evolving community needs, our Board of Directors has established a comprehensive five-year strategic development roadmap:

Pillar I: Expanding Adapted Therapeutic Riding Capacity

We aim to expand our weekly capacity for individuals with disabilities by 40% through the acquisition of specialized mounting equipment and the continuous professional training of our volunteer horse handlers in sensory-cognitive adaptation techniques. We are actively formalizing structured multi-year agreements with regional specialized educational institutes (IME) and elderly residential facilities (EHPAD).

Pillar II: Advancing Ecological Infrastructure & Circular Energy

We are completing a sustainable rainwater harvesting system that will store over 35,000 liters of roof runoff for paddock cleaning and stable wash-bays, eliminating the use of municipal potable water for facility upkeep. Additionally, we are creating educational biodiversity trails with wooden signage along our perimeter paths, detailing local wildlife and traditional woodland management.

Pillar III: Fostering Youth Mentorship and Civic Volunteering

Through our structured "Equine Youth Ambassador" initiative, experienced teenage riders are paired with younger newcomers and children from low-income families, providing peer-to-peer tutoring in stable routines and basic horse grooming. This program empowers youth with recognized leadership credentials and formal certificates of civic commitment.

Pillar IV: Structured Alliances with Regional Healthcare Networks

Over the next triennium, the association is institutionalizing formal cooperative conventions with regional child psychiatry units, physical rehabilitation clinics in Bernay and Pont-Audemer, and local nursing homes (EHPAD). These partnerships will establish standardized referral protocols, allowing rural medical practitioners to prescribe adapted equine-assisted therapy as a recognized complementary non-pharmacological health modality for cognitive stimulation, chronic depression relief, and post-traumatic rehabilitation.

Pillar V: Preserving Ancient Equine Breeds and Cultural Heritage

Our roadmap includes active participation in regional breed preservation initiatives for traditional French draft and cob horses, notably the Cob Normand and Percheron. These calm, sturdy equines represent a living cultural heritage of rural Normandy. By integrating these gentle giants into our public vaulting and adapted carriage programs, we provide active, dignified working lives for heritage horses while educating young generations about Normandy's agricultural history.

Our Legal Charter: Strict Disinterested Management Under the Law of 1901

The statutory architecture of ASS EQUESTRE DU RELAIS DU CHAUSSE is defined by the fundamental legal principles of French associational law established on July 1, 1901. Our governance is characterized by what administrative law terms gestion désintéressée (disinterested management), which provides absolute institutional guarantees to our public and municipal donors:

• Strict Absence of Personal Enrichment: Neither the founding members, elected board officers, nor technical advisors have any proprietary ownership over the assets, horses, pastures, or bank accounts of the association. In the event of statutory dissolution, any remaining assets must be transferred by law to another registered non-profit organization or municipality pursuing public-benefit goals; they can never be divided among members.
• Prohibition of Commercial Speculation: The association does not engage in speculative equine trading, commercial advertising sales, or private breeding for profit. Horses acquired or adopted into our care remain lifelong members of our community herd until their natural retirement.
• Democratic Accountability and Open Registers: The financial accounts, bank reconciliations, meeting minutes, and annual activity reports are open for inspection by all registered members during our Annual General Assembly and are filed with the Prefecture of the Eure.

Our Herd: Lifelong Animal Welfare and Retirement Commitments

A non-profit equestrian organization must hold itself to the highest ethical standards regarding the sentient beings that make its mission possible. In conventional commercial riding schools, horses that become elderly, lame, or physically unable to carry paying riders are frequently sold off or sent to auction.

At the Relais du Chausse, we operate under a strict Lifelong Care Sanctuary Charter. Every school pony, therapy cob, and senior horse that serves in our programs is guaranteed a peaceful, permanent retirement on our own pastures. When a horse reaches the age or physical condition where carrying riders is no longer appropriate, their role transitions to gentle groundwork, quiet sensory grooming for disabled visitors, or simply grazing peacefully with their herd companions.

Our equine veterinary care protocol includes biannual dental examinations, regular preventive osteopathic adjustments, tailored senior mash nutrition, and specialized orthopedic farrier care. We consider our horses to be our respected co-educators and fellow community members, deserving of dignity, gratitude, and loving care throughout their entire natural lifespan.

Intergenerational Solidarity in the Lieuvin Countryside

The rural hamlets surrounding Saint-Victor-d'Épine are experiencing shifting demographic patterns. As agricultural mechanization reduced farm labor, younger generations have frequently migrated toward urban centers, leaving aging populations at risk of social disconnection.

Our association serves as a powerful antidote to this fragmentation. By bringing together school children, working parents, retired farmers, and local artisans around the daily care of horses, we foster organic intergenerational exchanges that rarely happen in modern life. Older village residents share traditional knowledge of weather patterns, harness care, and hedgerow ecology, while young volunteers introduce technological support, digital archival logging, and vibrant youthful energy. This cross-pollination of generations rebuilds the social fabric of rural Normandy, proving that an equestrian center can be much more than a sports venue—it can be a beacon of civic warmth, solidarity, and mutual human dignity.