Societies and Organisations
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THE BRITISH EQUESTRAIN FEDERATION
www.bef.co.uk

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

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