Opinion

By Valerie E. Leighton, MA Social Justice and Human Rights, EC Registered Coach

Like many other equestrians who have been active in sport over the last few decades, no one needs to tell me twice that our sport is waning like the water supply in a mid-summer drought. Local venues are becoming scarce, big sponsors have fallen off the grassroots scene almost completely, and the costs of participation along with everything else keep climbing. Added to that is the increasing conversation regarding equine sport’s social license to operate hanging like a guillotine over the heads of equestrian competitors across the globe. These factors accelerate the general public’s opinion of equestrian sport as being elitist and inaccessible, preventing lifelong equestrianism for many before it ever gets the chance to blossom.

Related: Rethinking the Environmental Impact of Horses in Sport

If you’re like me, you may be used to hearing phrases along the lines of Why don’t you just travel out of province? or There are only a few “A” shows in the region now — that’s why my barn goes down to California or Florida for three months each year! 

Yet, we seldom hear long-term, practical, and sustainable solutions or community planning to save our local sport. There seem to be no solutions put forward for those of us who will have to quit if the costs keep hiking and the venues keep dwindling.

Where do the grassroots, rural-based equestrians go with this trend? How do we, as a national equine community, reclaim our spirit and power before we disappear into history’s quiet stable? 

The perception that equestrian sport is elitist and inaccessible does nothing to ignite the public’s passion for it. Photo courtesy of Valerie E. Leighton

For my undergraduate education, I had the privilege of traveling with my horses across Canada, from Nova Scotia to Alberta. That opportunity opened my eyes to how our sport has grown in some areas while diminished in others, from the grassroots to the elite. It also provided me with a few insights into areas within sport that make or break the success of active competitions — a subject which has become exponentially more important in the wake of the post-pandemic national economic downspin.

The first thing I noticed when showing in Alberta was the absolute barrage of sponsorship compared to the Maritime Provinces — every single piece of equipment in use at competition venues is sporting a sponsorship logo. And the gear available at vendor booths usually falls into one of two categories — upscale chic or farm folk rustic. This is a combination many equestrians wear with pride. Yet, the grassroots level in most regions simply doesn’t draw in sponsors like the big names, and even the larger shows are often limited to sponsors with deep and longstanding connections to the sport. How often have you attended a show and noticed a familiar family name in the prize book or on the championship cooler, or an equine family’s non-horsey business logo? I notice this almost every time I attend an event. This is deeply intertwined with my next observation.

The second thing that immediately got my attention in Alberta when competing at top venues like Spruce Meadows and Rocky Mountain Show Jumping was the high volume of foot traffic. More foot traffic means a larger audience, attracting better vendors and more sponsors, which then leads to better facilities and incentives for competitors. But how do we build up local viewership at the lower levels? In what areas is the sport lacking, causing it to be less accessible to public viewership? 

Let’s face the facts. Hunters, to the average Joe, can be boring at best and downright frustrating and confusing at worst. Jumpers may seem a bit more exciting, but without proper guidance on the rules or course tests, lower-level rounds can blend together and seem a bit drab or tactless. Add the decay and disarray of local and grassroots competition venues to the mix and you have a recipe for the sport’s slow demise.

Related: Geographically Challenged: Upper-level equestrians making tough choices

In summary, the equine industry is currently heavily reliant on existing social networks and deeply entrenched traditional systems to stay afloat. This is coupled with the fact that the industry itself is becoming increasingly niche, and history moves further away from a time when horses were regular parts of daily life. The public barely sees horses unless on a screen, and generally views equine sport as not a sport, period. If we, as an industry, wish to keep growing, that growth needs to come from the grassroots level up, rather than from the top down. If we lose grassroots equestrian sport, we’ve lost the battle for our social license to operate before ever even getting a true chance to defend our greatest love. Horse sport will simply be deemed pay-to-play and unattainable. 

Remember when you were that horse-crazy kid who wanted a pony more than anything in the world? Hope at the grassroots level clears the path for future Olympians to gallop all the way to the podium. Photo: iShuterstock/Anzhelina

Related: Amateur, Professional, and Elite - 3 Tiers of Equestrian Sports in Canada

What makes other sports more palatable, even with their big costs of operation? A big part of what makes other popular sports palatable to the public is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of your favourite athlete, to believe that with enough grit and talent anyone can achieve greatness. The financial factor is important in all sports but tends to be the focus in equestrian sport, due to hyper-fixation on the cost of care and fancy equipment rather than the effort required by athletes and their mounts.

My solution? To pull in fresh eyes, we need to be driving the conversation within public media. We need to distribute meaningful and impactful education regarding horses, athletes, and sport to the public. People can’t endorse or fall in love with things they simply don’t understand. This kind of public engagement doesn’t look like typical sponsorship sourcing; it means informational packages, community Q&A events, class specifications and rules posted for the public when advertising events, and enthusiastic announcers who cater to the audience’s understanding of the class. Accessibility to information goes an incredibly long way when growing an industry. This also presents great opportunities to bring in local speakers, small businesses, and equine services as educational tools for public engagement initiatives. We need to give the public reasons to love horses and be hyped up for equine athletes just as we equestrians are when we see their first-place ribbons and podium finishes. No more “gaitkeeping” — make equestrian sports more open, engaging, and relatable to the public so they can connect emotionally with the sport and its athletes. It’s time to let the public fall in love with horses, too.

Some of you might be thinking: Okay, you say the industry is at a post-pandemic inflection point and that we need to act now — but how? And why is it on us to make the public care about horses again? If that’s you, maybe it’s time to hunker down and binge a little Heartland — to wake up that horse kid inside who once wanted a pony more than anything in the world.

Better access to events and real competitive incentives — like prize money that actually covers the cost of showing — don’t just attract new riders. They build a stronger, more sustainable industry fueled by something we can’t afford to lose: hope.

Hope is what makes young athletes dream big. Hope at the grassroots level clears the path for future Olympians to gallop all the way to the podium.

My hope is for a future where rural equestrians of every background can dream without fear, and where no young rider grows up afraid of aging out of the sport. A future where our equestrian connection through sport can truly be nurtured for life.

Related: Advocating for Horse Use on Canada's Provincial and Regional Trails

Related: Social Licence to Operate in Equestrian Sport

Valerie E. Leighton bio

Main Photo: iStock/LottaVess