The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) and its retailer and manufacturer members are joining forces for this year’s BETA Safety Week (28 March – 5 April).
The initiative is back to drive home the importance of correctly fitted, fastened and up-to-standard safety gear and equipment such as body protectors, riding hats, hi-viz, footwear and stirrups.
The trade association is collaborating with Air Ambulance UK for the first time to reflect the work that it does among the equestrian community.
All BETA retail members have been invited to participate in this awareness-raising campaign. Those signing up have received specially branded merchandise to help highlight the campaign to customers. Each one is listed on a dedicated BETA Safety Week page on the trade association’s website, beta-uk.org, so that they can easily be identified and located by consumers.
Retailers can also take part in the BETA Safety Week in-store display competition to win a luxury gift hamper.
Manufacturers are invited to supply items of promotional merchandise as prizes for competitions on Facebook and Instagram.
This year’s campaign sees the launch of the BETA Roy Burek Hat Fitter of the Year competition. The winner of the accolade, named for the late chairman of Charles Owen, will be announced at BETA International 2021.
BETA Safety Week is supported by top riders and leading equestrian organisations, such as British Riding Clubs and the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund.
“We are thrilled to welcome BETA Safety Week back for 2020,” said BETA executive director Claire Williams. “When we launched the campaign back in 2018, we had no idea how successful it would become, with support from retailers in the UK, mainland Europe and the United States.
“It also won significant backing from BETA manufacturer members, including some of the most famous names in the business. This year, we hope to reach out to even more riders and encourage greater footfall to our retailers’ stores.”
