Can Waregem’s Year of the Horse turn a European championship into a lasting legacy?

Flemish ministers Annick De Ridder and Ben Weyts joined Waregem mayor Kristof Chanterie and equestrian officials in Waregem on Tuesday, 25 August, to launch the Lotto Year of the Horse

For Belgium-based followers, the immediate attraction is sporting. Belgium will defend the European team title on home ground, while the championship will help determine qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. FEI president Ingmar De Vos described Waregem 2027 as one of the following year’s most prestigious international championships. Organisers expect roughly 100 competitors from about two dozen countries and more than 8,000 spectators on each competition day.

The event also represents an unusually ambitious attempt to draw a line between elite competition and public participation. Project manager Katrien Geraedts said the Year of the Horse would include an interactive roadshow visiting 20 locations, educational material for primary and special-needs schools, introductory riding sessions, club activities and routes for riders and carriage drivers. Sport, para-sport, education and horse welfare are all meant to feature. A free supporters’ village is planned at the championship, while organisers say admission on the final Sunday will be free.

That broader programme matters because jumping’s international success can conceal its distance from families without access to horses, clubs or specialist knowledge. Paardensport Vlaanderen says the Belgian federation’s two regional leagues represent 13,500 competitive and 65,000 recreational members. The federation also describes Belgium as one of the world’s busiest countries for international jumping events. The campaign’s real test will therefore be whether children and newcomers encounter opportunities that continue after the medals have been awarded, rather than simply a year of promotion.

The public investment has produced a sharper political argument. In June, the Flemish government classified the championship as a top event and approved a project subsidy of up to €1.8 million for organiser Golazo Sports, covering the event and its activation programme. Waregem is contributing about €300,000, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Separately, the city council approved a €1.5 million redesign of the Sport Vlaanderen site’s stables and outdoor areas, with subsidies from Sport Vlaanderen; the planned boxes are larger, but their number falls from 84 to 72.

De Ridder argues that the championship combines sporting, social and measurable economic value, while Chanterie says Waregem’s spending fits the municipal budget and will strengthen its position as a European equestrian centre. Independent Flemish MP Maurits Vande Reyde challenged that case in the Flemish Parliament, questioning why taxpayers should subsidise an event run by a profitable private company and asking for the expected return to be specified. The government’s response rests on projected visitor spending, international visibility and the campaign’s work with schools and clubs. No independently audited forecast of the eventual economic return has been published in the sources reviewed.

Waregem is a natural host rather than a decorative Belgian backdrop. Its Gaverbeek site already supports racing, jumping, eventing and para-dressage, and the city’s horse culture is anchored by Waregem Koerse. Yet this championship belongs to a wider European circuit: riders will represent national federations, the Lausanne-based FEI governs the competition, and Olympic qualification raises the stakes well beyond Flanders. This is not an EU-organised event, and no EU institution has announced a formal role.

The next phase is practical. Organisers must complete the infrastructure work, publish detailed competition and visitor arrangements, and deliver the roadshow and school programme across Flanders. By August 2027, the sporting result will be clear within five days. Whether the promised lasting impact for young people, riders, clubs and horse lovers has been created will take considerably longer to judge.