Riding towards sustainable rural development? Promising elements of sustainable practices in equine tourism

International audienceOver the last 20 years equine tourism and leisure have been dramatically increasing, both in Europe and in the wider world (e.g. Equimeeting Tourisme, 2012; Pickel-Chevalier and Evans, 2014). As much of these equestrian activities are delivered in rural areas (horse riding tourism, but also festival and other forms of equine tourism), we explore whether their development has the potential to support sustainable development in the countryside. We ask whether equine tourism can be one of a range of positive responses to the challenges of sustainability, in terms of the sustainability triangle-social, economic and environmental – and, if so, how? What are the policies, strategies and actors (public/private) involved? What might be the difficulties and limitations for equine tourism as an agent of sustainable tourism development? This chapter is based upon data gathered from a number of recent studies into equine tourism in France and the Nordic countries. These studies used the case study methodology (Yin, 2009) which allowed us to access data using a wide variety of tools, including statistical surveys (in France) and in-depth interviews with equine tourists, equine tourism practitioners, development officers and authorities with a regulatory function in equine tourism (all locations). The data was combined with existing data from literature searches, and was focused using the tripartite definition of sustainability, applying it to equine tourism