Today’s announcement of the Sport England funding to governing bodies sees equestrian awarded a total investment of £1,765,821. Through National Lottery and Government funding, the figure represents an investment of £1,070,000 for a new Talent programme over the four year cycle (2017-2021), whilst an award of £695,821 has been granted to the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) to progress work with the core market for the next nine months, during which the process of transition to a new strategy will be completed.
Clare Salmon, Chief Executive of the BEF says; “Sport England’s confidence in the BEF to develop the future shape and direction of equestrianism in the UK is recognised with this holding award [core award]. It will allow us to not only continue to fund a number of our existing collaborative participation projects, such as Accessibility Mark delivered by the RDA, Young Equestrians from the Pony Club, and the BHS’s participation project, but will also enable us to embark on a strategy study to ensure we have a clear remit and direction for the BEF over the next four years.
“We are looking to adopt a very inclusive approach in developing the strategy, building further on our efforts to make the BEF a collaborative and outward-facing organisation, and will aim to engage with a very broad range of stakeholders across the equestrian landscape. We recognise that we need to deepen our understanding of current and potential equestrian enthusiasts so that we can promote the unique appeal of the horse for recreation, sport, and relaxation to the largest possible audience. To do this, the BEF has also commissioned an ambitious Usage and Attitude study, in line with Sport England’s new customer-led approach. These pieces of work have been backed by Sport England in addition to the funding announced today, and we are pleased and excited by their continued support through this period of change and modernisation, which will give us a clear and structured mandate and a firm foundation from which to drive growth and excellence in equestrianism.
“Following the confirmation last week of our UK Sport funding decision, today’s award for our Talent programme will enable us to build pathways for potential equestrians from the grassroots to elite level, by dovetailing support from our two major funding partners , and working with our member bodies to deliver a seamless approach.”
