Key moment in journey to improve equal opportunities in equestrian industry

The British Ethnic Riders Federation is celebrating a milestone as it continues to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the equine industry.

The organisation, formally the British Ethnic Riders Forum, has officially moved from being a community group, to a community interest company (CIC).

The news means that it puts itself in a stronger position to expand its reach and support more members, and to address racial discrimination concerns in line with the Equality Act 2010.

The company’s leadership team includes founder Sandra Murphy, who has more than 55 years of experience in the equestrian industry, coach Malika Keijzer and Jermaine Gregory, who is a committee member at Amnesty UK and has 20 years of experience in sales and marketing.

Its main objectives are competition – both hosting and participating for riders to showcase their talents – member support through training, mentorship and resources and community building. The organisation wants to strengthen networks and foster a community that celebrates and embraces equality, diversion and inclusion.

Ms Murphy told H&H this is a “monumental move”, following years of work behind the scenes.

“This is about allowing young people to have the same opportunities as other young people,” she said.

One of the organisation’s key objectives is to raise funds for and develop the British Ethnic Riders Activities Centre of Excellence (BERACE). This will be a place where riders can get experience riding at higher levels, to put them in a position where they are able to progress in the industry and in competitive horse sport.

“We want to be able to bridge the gap to be able to pass on to the industry well-trained, well-skilled ethnic minority riders,” she said.

“We want to raise the funds to purchase a property with land in a rural setting where we can have horses and bring young people out of the inner cities and give them opportunities to have skilled trainers and excellent facilities. This will give young people the opportunity to be on a par with their peers.”

Future plans also include an industry charter, which individuals and organisations will be able to sign to say that they are not going to discriminate against ethnic minorities and will provide equal opportunities.

Training and participation in competitions is already under way, with plans to expand this in future.

“Now we are a CIC, raising funds is extremely important – however it’s not just about money, we need expertise and people who are willing to ally with us and help and support us in any way they can,” said Ms Murphy.

She added that the federation is already working with inner-city riding schools and with the BLOC project, initiated by Dr Linda Greening – the head of EDI&I at Hartpury – which encourages young people at university and colleges to look into rural activities.

“We want collaboration with all other rural activities as well. It’s not just about riding and sport, this is about all rural activity – we want to be able to accommodate that at the BERACE centre as well,” she said.

Ms Murphy and the team also thanked British Equestrian for supporting through Sport England’s Together Fund and for the help from Sported, to help make the transition to a CIC.

This month has also marked a significant development in supporting young people from under-represented communities into the British racing industry. The Riding A Dream Academy, which was set up following Khadijah Mellah’s historic win in the 2019 Magnolia Cup, has formally become part of the British Racing School.

The academy, established in 2021, runs taster days, residential weeks and a year-long scholarship.

“We are very grateful to the British Racing School, which have delivered all of our programmes through their world-class team of instructors,”

“Together, we have introduced hundreds of young people from under-represented communities into racing, with many now working in the sport. By working even more closely, I am excited about the scope we will have to introduce even more young people to this amazing sport,” said Khadijah, co-founder of the academy.

The equestrian industry’s Horses For All strategy, created by British Equestrian (BEF) and its 20 partner organisations, is making progress following its launch in December 2023.

“We have developed a very comprehensive diversity and inclusion action plan (DIAP) and have done a lot of work to outline how we are going to meet short, medium and long term commitments we made in the strategy,” BEF head of participation and development Mandana Mehran Pour told H&H.

She added the group that led on developing the strategy, which had representatives from different member bodies, has been formalised into an ED&I working group to help activate actions from the DIAP.

“Alongside the working group we are looking at developing educational programs and resources to ensure a consistent level of knowledge and awareness for the wider industry,” she said.

“A lot of work is already under way and we are excited about the positive impact these efforts will have on our community.”

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