An event that is not called an event. With these kinds of tricks, event organizations sometimes try to circumvent the rules in order to avoid applying for complicated permits.
Geert Starre of the Meppel Nature Conservancy is challenging permits that do not comply with nature regulations. He sees these kinds of initiatives with regret: “When you hear this, such an event with fifty horses, you might think: ‘That can’t hurt, can it?’ But you have to bear in mind that every day there are people who want something from this area: mountain bikers, runners with the dog and horses. heavily overloaded.”
According to Starre, the main task lies with the government. “She has to take control. Make it clear what disruption is already happening.”
Elsenaar agrees. “We are also talking to the nature manager, because we think it is just as important that nature remains beautiful.”
Customization would help, because now it is no longer understandable. “The rules of the nature manager state that if you are in nature with two people, it is already regarded as an event. So if I want to take a ride with a friend on a Sunday, we are already an ‘event’. If there is an party is organized where 5000 people come, that is also an event. There is quite a big difference between them. I think this is also difficult for nature managers. They have to draw a line somewhere, but where is a reasonable line?”
She doesn’t like organizing the event at a different time or in a different place. “After October you have to deal with the weather. Another location is a good solution in itself. But it costs us a lot of money. We now organize it at our own location. And at another location we have to pay for the terrain and pass that on I estimate that many participants will drop out.”