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 Assisi Lifestyle Website |
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FRANCE DISCOVERS ASSISI ENDURANCE LIFESTYLE
Stephane Allio, CEO Havas Sports Italia, talked about the fundamental points that will feature AEL 2009 and naturally about the profound co-operation with sistemaeventi.it for this unique event. Everything to tell the story of Endurance and its values, not only under a sportive point of view.
The wonderful background of AEL 2009 has been explained by the Major of Assisi, Mr. Claudio Ricci (in the picture) who underlined the 'liason' existing between the city and its traditions, its history and its important natural wealth. The CEO of the Regional Umbrian Agency for Tourism Promotion, Mr. Stefano Cimicchi (in the picture on the left), spoke about the importance of Equestrian Sport and about the role played by Assisi Endurance Lifestyle 2009 for the Region of Umbria. Three values over all: balance, harmony and passion. The Audience included, besides many specialized journalists, Jean Louis Leclerc, coach of the French Endurance Team and Nicolas Wahlen, Organizer of the important Endurance Compiegne who congratulated sistemaeventi.it and its CEO, Mr. Gianluca Laliscia (in the picture below), on creating a very unique event. "Presenting an event as Assisi Endurance Lifestyle 2009 in France – Laliscia declared – represents a special moment of satisfaction. France is in fact one of the Leaders for the Sport of Endurance and talking about our event here is a an important occasion of comparison".
Assisi Endurance Lifestyle 2009 will be held from the 17th to the 27th of September 2009 and will be an international event created for the most important Endurance event of 2009, the FEI European Endurance Championship Open 2009. The interested eleven days will be focused on Sport, on Shows and also on important Meeting Moments about religious, economic, cultural and medical veterinary topics. Thanks to the important relationships with the Countries of Persian Gulf, Assisi Endurance Lifestyle 2009 will purpose a very innovative program. The event, for its location and for theist protagonists, is a very crossroads of people, religions and cultures. The planned Economic Forum will give in fact relevant opportunities for a meeting between Partners and all the Institutional and Economic realities of GCC. Inside AEL 2009 will be held also an Hippoterapy Conference and a Veterinary Symposiums where experts will present and discuss about the latest results of this sector. For the youngest, AEL thought about a dedicated area Pony e Bimbi , where there will be different activities like Pony Games, Endurance Pony, Horseball, Pony Club. Lastly, during the eleven days, besides the Opening and the Closing Ceremony, the Hospitality Village will offer many and many animation activities to all its guests, as the Endurance Gran Gala, 'food tasting moments', fashion shows and concerts with international artists.
Endurance.Net attends press conference
Next year, the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Franciscan Order, the European Endurance Championships are to be held in the Italian city of Assisi and an entire week of festivities have been planned to ensure that it will be the most memorable Championships yet staged. There will be, amongst other things, two Poker Championships, a fashion show and an acrobatic 'plane demonstration squad – to which the horses are particularly looking forward.
The Parisian launch of Assisi Endurance Lifestyle, as they have chosen to name the event, was held today in a plate-glass corporate building on the banks of the Seine. Havas, a 'global advertising and communications group', the sixth largest in the world, had invited all France’s equestrian magazines to the presentation - but, judging by appearances, we were the only people who’d come straight from feeding our horses. With central heating, fashionable looking advertising folk in impeccable black clothes, a film, a powerpoint presentation, translators, an explanation of why the Umbrian countryside is such a perfect place for endurance (it being the sport which most values the respect and love for the horse in nature), followed by a very decent array of canapés of which we - well, I - ate far more than my fair share, one realised that international championship endurance has had to move with the corporate hospitality times in order to survive. And these people felt like survivors. The EEC has been an Open event for the last seven years - which does not mean that the Gulf countries are the only non-Europeans represented. Australia’s Meg Wade regularly rides, as has Valerie Kanavy. But the event is heavily subsidised by the UAE, and next week the road show goes to Dubai. In the meantime, Jean-Louis Leclerc, the French chef d'equipe, wanted to know when the route would be finalised so that he could start making his team preparations (the answer: February). What we wanted to know was would the route be another fast, flat course suited to desert horses, or more technical? The answer depended on who we asked and what their definition was of 'technical'. One of the organisers is Italian team rider Gianluca Laliscia, who described the course as a good mixture of fast tracks and more difficult hill work, which he did not expect to be won at more than 17.5 kph. As for the going, it would be excellent, he said, as long as it doesn't rain.
Nicki & Richard, Team Nellie |
As we delved into our pockets to swap cards Richard discovered a nest of blue baler twine from this morning’s hay delivery and, quickly stuffing it back into his pocket, he asked Gianluca about his ride in Malaysia. Instantly, the boats chugging up the Seine, the snow falling past the glass walls of the corporate building, the goody-bags with their beautiful coffee-table books about the C13th basilica of St Frances all melted away and we were totally involved, riding alongside as he recounted how the Italians had 4 team members left in at the start of the last loop….how he’d had a whole load of horse left under him, had flown round at 22kph, presented at the end in one minute - but his horse had overreached and was really lame; his kids had cried in the vetgate…. And suddenly we are really, really looking forward to it.