The region is brimming with wonderful, often unique initiatives. Cécile Leduc is a fine example of this. We met her in Bérat, where we had the opportunity to explore equestrian tourism with great curiosity. As the owner of a livery stable housing around fifty horses belonging to private owners and seven of her own, Cécile is the founder of “Randonnées Equitables”.
After several years working as an instructor and guide at a riding centre, she decided in 2015 – together with her partner Bruno – to convert part of their 100-hectare estate into stables, whilst retaining part of the land for farming, where they grow barley and hay to feed the horses. Her interest in tourism naturally led her to quickly develop a package combining exploration of the local area with her passion for horses.
This package offers experienced riders all-inclusive breaks of between two and three days in the local area or in other regions. For Cécile, this represents a real feat and a significant networking effort. Each trek involves finding accommodation for the horses and their owners, scouting the trails to ensure they are suitable, and sourcing local producers to supply this nomadic group. For this is one of Cécile’s specialities (yes, she used to run a restaurant too): wherever she goes, she offers travellers meals prepared by her own hand, using only produce sourced from local producers near their current location.
Building on her success, Cécile now enjoys a loyal clientele who return year after year. Although the need to transport the horses limits the distances they can cover, she creates new bespoke holidays every year to offer her group fresh experiences. The group is sometimes joined by accompanying guests, guided by Bruno on mountain bikes or in a horse-drawn carriage.
Cécile and Bruno are therefore passionate enthusiasts who put their heart and soul into their project, as evidenced by the immaculate condition of the stables, their ‘Equestrian Tourism Centre’ accreditation, and their ‘animal welfare’ certification…
However, their activities are not limited to tourism, as they are involved in numerous wonderful projects. The next step would be to strengthen and expand training in horse-drawn carriage driving, thereby enabling them to hire Marion on a full-time basis; she currently works at the stables one day a week. At the same time, Cécile works with the organisation 3PA, which contributes to education and training on the ecological transition through partnership projects that reintroduce the horse as a working animal (log hauling, waste collection, public transport).
In all her work, Cécile contributes ethically to promoting the local area and mobilises local resources.