As campaign gathers pace, how we’ve been here before.
The growing calls for riding horses to be banned are giving me an uneasy sense of déjà vu, writes Liz Benwell.
It’s becoming reminiscent of the campaign to save hunting that galvanised those within its ranks yet eventually failed to win over the public and politicians in 2005.
Yes, on 18 February next year, it will be exactly 20 years since that particular freedom was removed by statute. And now there’s a similar rally cry – including from some who have inexplicably been given a voice in The Daily Telegraph of all media - for a prohibition on horse riding.
In hunting’s case, a huge amount of work went into demonstrating the value of hunting to the rural economy via jobs and businesses. If riding gets outlawed, the effect on all our livelihoods will be completely catastrophic.
Questioning people’s right to ride horses has been rumbling for a while. Roly Owers at World Horse Welfare has long been warning of the need to protect equestrianism’s ‘social licence to operate’. And now his words - which some equestrians initially thought a bit far-fetched - are becoming a frightening reality.
The Charlotte Dujardin ‘horse whipping’ video has accelerated matters and put the subject into the mainstream.
If the subsequent debate has caused horse people to stop and think about how they treat and ride their horses, so much the better. But it’s also given the new breed of antis renewed ammunition.
We all know that riding won’t stop altogether. There have been numerous incidents of ‘unlawful’ hunting; some proven, some not. The same will happen with riding – and what about driving? – horses. And it won’t be a caring equestrian community that carries on…
Meanwhile, we must remain positive about how we enjoy our horses – and how they enjoy their time with us. And, importantly, make sure this is a truth. The horse world must have nothing to hide.
And maybe the time has come for equestrian businesses to state the case for riding horses to their MPs and local and national media – just as we did with hunting 20 years ago? Only this time, there’s much, much more to lose.
.
Photo by Gary Ellis on Unsplash
