BETA National Equestrian survey 2006

The total number of horses in the UK - and how much their owners spend on them- is revealed this week in a new survey commissioned by the British Equestrian Trade Association. The National Equestrian Survey, the only independently conducted market research project in Great Britain, will show how the spending and riding habits have changed over the past seven years since BETA last conducted the survey in 1999.

The 2006 Survey has been conducted in two parts. The first set out to quantify the number of riders and privately owned horses as well as looking at attitudinal data about why people do and do not ride. The second stage sets out to qualify this data by asking over 1200 riders, owners and professionals about their spending and riding habit to provide a wealth of useful information to those within the industry as well as those wishing to enter the industry for the first time.

Key Findings:

Equestrianism in Great Britain

2.1 million people ride at least once a month with a further 2.2 million riding less frequently. This proves that as well as the solid core of regular riders, there is large potential for growth. The fastest growing group are women aged 25 - 44 years old with a slight increase in the number of men taking up horse riding.

The horse population in Great Britain.

Our research estimates that the total horse numbers in Britain has now exceeded 1.3 million, including all equines whether kept privately or kept by professionals in the industry.

Horse owners in Great Britain

We now estimate a private ownership population of 720 000 owners or primary carers, equating to 1.2% of the population.

The Economic Value of the Horse Sector

Our estimate of consumer expenditure within the equestrian sector is now around the

£4 billion per annum mark. This figure brings together the costs associated with owning and riding and has been reached by combining the new data generated by this research with additional figures also utilized in the Henley Centre Report.

The London 2012 Olympic Games

Many equestrian activities are Olympic sports and with London due to host the summer games a major opportunity exists to promote horse riding to the wider British public. It would be easy for the industry to take for granted the idea that all within it see London 2012 as being a good thing in itself so the opportunity was taken within the survey to ask questions specifically related to the London Games.

The findings clearly point to the fact that current horse riders and owners overwhelmingly see London 2012 in an extremely positive light. They believe it offers the British equestrian industry a golden opportunity and that as much capital as possible should be made out of it. Fewer than 10% of those questioned expressed the negative opinion that the Games were a waste of money whilst the only question where significant debate was raised concerned the choice of venue with just over 40% being positive about Greenwich Park but one third having some reservations about the location. Equally nearly a third offered no comment either way so it may be that many are unfamiliar with the location and what it may have to offer.

What is clear however is that all Olympic disciplines will be thinking along the same lines with everyone from aquatics to wrestling looking to cement their place in the public imagination. The challenge for the sector in the coming six years is clear. The opportunity is there and with a clear idea of how to make the most of it, it could be maximized to its full potential.

With the BETA National Equestrian Survey 2006 painting a picture of the current size and shape of the market, we will be in good position to identify what impact the run up to the Olympics has when the Survey is next undertaken.

See the whole pdf (PDF, 0.1MB) of the summary or go to the BETA website for more information www.beta-uk.org

February 22nd, 2006