Wednesday, 07 August 2024
British Equestrian can announce the relaunch of our Find a Centre online tool, designed to help those looking to start their equestrian journey or return to the saddle to find an approved local riding centre.
All centres listed on the ‘Find a Centre’ tool are legally approved by their Local Authority, ensuring high standards of animal welfare. Additionally, many are approved by one or more British Equestrian member bodies – The Association of British Riding Schools, The British Horse Society, The Pony Club and Riding for the Disabled Association – which means that they’re fully insured, have trained safeguarding officers and qualified coaches, and have health and safety policies in place.
As part of our Horses for All strategy, we are committed to reviewing the barriers that prevent engagement – our goal is to ensure that equestrian activities are accessible and welcoming to all. Therefore, upon finding your local establishment on ‘Find a Centre’, you’ll be able to check what facilities are available, including whether the site is wheelchair accessible, and the type of activities that the centre offers, which might include equine therapy or facilitated learning.
The relaunch follows our comprehensive riding centre audit, which helped us establish greater insight on the equestrian centres currently operating in the UK, leading to an update of the Find a Centre tool to ensure that all information is up-to-date and relevant.
Samantha Holgate-Davey, Strategic Lead for Projects and Programmes at British Equestrian commented, “We know the positive impact that participating in equestrian activities can have for our physical and mental wellbeing by encouraging us to get more active, build relationships and spend time outside in nature. The ‘Find a Centre’ tool is key to supporting more people to access the benefits of our equestrian community, so it’s great to be able to relaunch this new and improved version.”
Abigail Bevan, Insight and Research Manager at British Equestrian continued, “It’s very exciting to be able to bring this tool back to its working capacity by accumulating the data of all riding centres across the country and sharing it in one place for everyone to access.”
We encourage everyone to explore the Find a Centre tool on our website and discover the joy of equestrian activities. Whether you are a seasoned rider or looking to get involved with horses for the first time, our tool will help you find the perfect riding centre near you.
We invite any riding centres that could not participate in our initial audit to complete our online form. Both affiliated and unaffiliated centres are encouraged to participate to ensure the sector's capacity is protected and developed.
All riding centres that took part in our audit, as well as those who complete the form, will be included in the database that provides the foundation of our Find a Centre tool. By logging your establishment with ‘Find a Centre’, it helps us work to support you more effectively by understanding your business structures and the services you provide.
For riding centres wishing to report closures and request removal from our Find a Centre tool, please email participation@bef.co.uk with your centre's name, address, and contact details for confirmation.
For any queries, please contact participation@bef.co.uk.