3 million horse riders

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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mattheus
Posts: 5044
Joined: 29 Dec 2008, 12:57pm
Location: Western Europe

3 million horse riders

Post by mattheus »

from the "Be Nice & Say Hi" article.

Does anyone else find this amazingly high?

"
The most recent British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) National Equestrian
Survey (2010-11) indicated that1:
• 3.5 million people (six percent of the GB population) have ridden a horse at
least once in the past 12 months
...
...
Sources (correct as of October 2013)
1 BETA survey 2010-2011
"
landsurfer
Posts: 5327
Joined: 27 Oct 2012, 9:13pm

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by landsurfer »

Not in the slightest ........ there are hordes of horse riders ... many share a horse !!!

The patented "Whiteside Horse Ownership" simulator
(I used to have Fell ponies) ;

Stand naked on a hill top in the pouring rain.
Drop a house brick onto your bare foot.
Set fire to a £20 note.

Repeat until you run out of £20 notes !!!

Great truths of life, number 345 ... All women, irrespective of age, size or shape .. look good in jodhpurs !
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
mattheus
Posts: 5044
Joined: 29 Dec 2008, 12:57pm
Location: Western Europe

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by mattheus »

:)

That's a minor variation on the powerboat racing simulator!

Anyway: I'm now wondering if this is down to the number who are "invisible" i.e. to us non-horsey types.

Our 10-rider club-run this morning saw 4 horses. This was above average (and included a leg through the Valley of The Race Horse!). But of course we didn't visit any eventing, or stables, or ... wherever people are riding their horses off-road! I asked a club-mate to guess the figure; his answer:

"Maybe 10,000?"

[Hopefully Pa will see this thread and comment, having married into the horsey world recently ... ]
Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6259
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by Bmblbzzz »

The figures seem to come from here:
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Equestrian%20Statistics.pdf
The most recent British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) National Equestrian
Survey (2010-11) indicated that1
:
• 3.5 million people (six percent of the GB population) have ridden a horse at
least once in the past 12 months
• Seventy three percent of riders are female, although there has been an increase
in the number of male riders over the past 10 years
• In 2010, eight percent of riders considered themselves disabled in some way
• A quarter of all GB riders are below 16 years old; 20 percent are above 45 years
old
• Leisure riding is the most common equestrian pursuit, although riding lessons
and non-affiliated competing also increased in 2010-11
• Of riders who ride once a week or
less, 46 percent cited access to
safe off-road riding as a factor that
would increase their riding
opportunities
• The estimated GB horse
population, including both private
and professional ownership, is just
below one million horses
(988,000)
• The estimated cost of the upkeep
of horse is £2.8 billion – £3,105 per
horse
• Other indirect consumer
expenditure associated with
equestrian activity is estimated at
£557 million
Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6259
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Supposedly more up to date figures from the British Equestrian Trade Association:
The British Equestrian Trade Association’s National Equestrian Survey 2015 – conducted by Two Circles – highlights new spending patterns and changing trends over the past five years. It uses robust methodology, accurate statistics and educated estimates to present a fascinating insight into the equestrian sector today. Key findings include:

The economic value of the equestrian sector stands at £4.3 billion of consumer spending across a wide range of goods and services each year. This has increased from £3.8 billion in 2011.
Riding for pleasure, at 96%, was the most popular equestrian activity, with 59% of riders taking part in non-affiliated competitions.
The overall number of those who ride has fallen, from 3.5 million in 2011 to 2.7 million in 2015.
There has been a decline in regular riders, from 1.6 million in 2011 to 1.3 million in 2015.
However, there has been significant growth in the number of riders aged between 16 and 24, rising from 368,000 in 2011 to 403,000 in 2015.
There remains a strong gender bias, with females representing 74% of the riding population. In 2015, there are an estimated 962,000 female regular riders compared with 348,000 males.

http://www.beta-uk.org/pages/industry-i ... mation.php
pwa
Posts: 17366
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by pwa »

Horses are a costly pastime, so I expect the economic downturn after 2007 has reduced activity.
landsurfer
Posts: 5327
Joined: 27 Oct 2012, 9:13pm

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by landsurfer »

pwa wrote:Horses are a costly pastime, so I expect the economic downturn after 2007 has reduced activity.


And led to an increase in Tesco Lasagne sales .... :lol:
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by Flinders »

pwa wrote:Horses are a costly pastime, so I expect the economic downturn after 2007 has reduced activity.

Yes, plus that changes to the way 'rates' work have put up business rates charges for riding schools by up to 400% for some riding schools. Add to that the very large cost of insurance (as you can imagine), and many have gone out of business. The place I used to ride is now livery only.

Just recently on school owner I know told me that in the trade it's now being said that in the future there will be no riding schools, and only kidsrich enough to have their own horse will be able to learn to ride. Sad, as some of out top riders started off at riding schools, some of them riding by working in exchange for lessons.

It's going the way of instrumental/classical music now peripatetics are being lost- only the rich kids will be able to even try it.
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: 3 million horse riders

Post by Flinders »

( Re numbers- a few years ago it was the case that there wee more horses in the UK than there were before the car- but I suspect that's changed more recently- the cost of keeping one is going up above inflation at a time when real wages are falling.)
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