April 8 marked 500 days to go before the start of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014, which will take place in Normandy, France, on August 24 to September 7, 2014.

This will be the seventh edition of these Games, which represent the biggest event in equestrian sports.

Mascot maker Rainbow Productions was commissioned to create Norman, the official mascot costume for the World Equestrian Games. On April 8 Norman was unveiled, marking the start of his duties as a promotional character costume for the sports event.

Norman was launched during an exclusive five-minute interview given by the managing director of the Normandie 2014 Organising Committee, Fabien Grobon, where the volunteers' program was also announced.