The BEF was set up in 1972 as the senior co-ordinating body
for the British Horse Society and the British Show Jumping
Association.
Members
Affiliated to the Federation Equestre Internationale
(FEI), the international governing body of equestrian sports,
the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) represents the sports
of Show Jumping, Eventing, Dressage, Horse Driving Trials,
Endurance Riding, Vaulting and Reining.
Each of the sports has a national governing body which is
affiliated to the BEF. Also affiliated is the British Horse
Society which represents the interests of the recreational
rider and the Pony Club, which is concerned with young riders.
Four new members to the Federation in 2002 are Association
of British Riding Schools, British Equestrian Trade Association,
British Reining Horse Association and Scottish Equestrian
Association.
Through its twelve members the BEF represents over 165,000
riders in Britain.
Tasks
The BEF seeks to ensure that equestrian sports, industry
and the 165,000 competitive and recreational riders that are
registered with the 12 Member Bodies, communicate with one
powerful voice and are heard by significant national and international
bodies.
The BEF is the international level governing body for horse
sports in the UK, working on policy issues with the FEI and
co-ordinating the UK calendar of events, disciplinary procedures,
doping control and overseeing the training of international
judges, stewards, vets and course designers.
At home the BEF plays an active role in representing the
common interests of its member bodies to organisations such
as the British Olympic Association, Sports Aid Foundation,
Central Council for Physical Recreation, Farrier Council,
Worshipful Company of Saddlers to name but a few.
Government
The BEF and two major racing industry bodies, the Thoroughbred
Breeders Association and the British Horse Racing Board, form
the British Horse Industry Confederation (BHIC) which represents
the concerns of the equestrian community to the Government.
BEF is represented at the Rural Affairs Forum by the Chief
Executive of The British Horse Society.
Taxation on equestrian premises, the status of the horse
as an agricultural animal, and the inclusion of equestrian
concerns in government white papers are all issues which the
BHIC seek to address on behalf of horse owners.
The BEF is recognised by the Sports Councils in Britain as
the governing body of equestrian sport in the UK and for this
reason is the only organisation through which Government funding
can be accessed.
World Class and the Lottery
Applications for Lottery funding are made by the member
organisations through the BEF. Funding from the Lottery Sports
Fund has allowed much needed training programmes to be implemented
and is already having a significant impact on the success
of our riders. The opportunity offered to riding by UK Sport
and Sport England’s World Class programme is unrivalled.
Above all else, it can establish a lottery-backed system in
the sport that will ensure that all riders who demonstrate
potential have the opportunity to fulfil their talent. In
turn, this will enable the sport to continue to maximise its
successes on the World, Olympic and Paralympic stages and
ensure that an effective rider development system contributes
to the UK becoming the leading and most respected riding nation
in the world by the early part of the next decade – our
headline target and single focus of this programme.
Equity
In relation to Equity, BEF
a) aims to ensure that all people, irrespective of race,
gender, ability, ethnic origin. social status or sexual orientation,
have equal opportunities to take part in equestrianism at
all levels and roles;
b) seeks to educate and guide BEF members, their employees
and volunteers on the ownership, adoption and implementation
of its Equity plan;
c) intends to raise awareness of Equity through the implementation
of this policy and the adoption of the Equity Action Plan;
and, as a result of this process
d) aims to monitor, review and evaluate progress in achieving
the stated aims and objectives and to feed back to member
bodies on progress made.
BEF will ensure that its recruitment and selection procedures
are fair and transparent, and meet the appropriate legal requirements.
Each member body will ensure its own procedures meet these
requirements.
To find out more about the BEF visit their web site www.bef.co.uk
