The field was mowed, some areas cleared. The plot was getting ready to host, from August 22 to 24, Les Trois glorieuses, the annual equestrian meeting of Saint-Pierre-en-Auge (Calvados). Three days of locally eagerly awaited trotting races, installed in the countryside since the 1970s. The weekend following August 15, around forty volunteers rearrange a field usually used for breeding. Only two stands, with 200 seats each, remain on a daily basis. But the storm suddenly came to chase away the Norman heatwave.
“This Wednesday, August 12, in the evening, we had a strong gust of wind just before the storm,” testifies Thierry Andrieu, president of the Saint-Pierre-en-Auge racing company. The next day, he discovered with the technical teams “one platform completely destroyed, and the other very damaged. A pinion had been broken. Everything threatens to collapse. The two wooden structures went through the ages since the first races in Saint-Pierre in the 1930s, according to the manager. Sudden squalls shattered them. "The jails flew to the river," adds the manager.
3,000 people in two days were expected
With all this scattered debris and tattered stands, it was impossible to accommodate Les Trois glorieuses. A rare departure from tradition according to Thierry Andrieu: “It had happened three times, because of the weather which made the track impassable. Never because of such a breakage. The organization quickly found a fallback solution in Lisieux on the same dates. “There, we run on sand, unlike at home where it is on grass, in an agricultural field. The conditions will be better and we can expect tougher competition, ”points out the president of the Saint-Pierre races, worried about the small structures (80% Norman) which align themselves with his meeting.
The destruction of the temporary racetrack and the relocation caused a stir in the town. “I am disappointed not to be able to attend, regrets Pierrick, a butcher in the village. In the five years that we have moved in with my wife, we have always been going there. We meet clients, it's very nice. Eight hundred spectators come to the racecourse on each of these two days. With the drivers, their staff, and members of the organization, the total reached 1,500 in one day. Not bad for the delegated municipality of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives and its 3,500 inhabitants.
Financial consequences
Suffice to say that this unexpected consequence of bad weather will have a financial impact. In his bar-brasserie near the market hall, the boss does not hide his disappointment: “People come to eat before going to the races and sometimes come back afterwards, especially on Monday, market day! "The restaurateur will lose" several hundred euros ".
The other financial challenge will be the reconstruction of the stands, owned by the racing company, which awaits the passage of the expert and the conclusions of the insurance companies. Institutions have already come to the inquiries to consider support. “You have to be sure it's worth it. Behind the scenes, we sometimes talk about the end of small racetracks, ”blows Thierry Andrieu.
