The horse arrived in New Zealand early in the country's colonial history and has played a vital part in it's development, so why does equestrian sport and horse recreation lag so far behind in public recognition? 

Many riders and horse owners assume that the job of lobbying on their behalf is performed by the Pony Clubs Association, or Equestrian Sports New Zealand. However unlike many other countries, New Zealand does not have a national body that advocates on behalf of the horse nor one that represents all horse owners\horse recreation.  In the UK, there is the BHS, Australia and the USA both have Horse Council's.  But New Zealand does not have a national body that provides for, or advocates on behalf of either the horse, or horse riders. 

We do not even have a good idea of how many horses and riders there are in the country.  The best estimate of horse numbers is currently available from Agribase*.  However, many horse owners have never registered with Agribase, and the ESNZ and pony clubs are only just beginning to circulate information about the database to their members. The best information on rider numbers is base on SPARC's sport participation surveys, and this estimates participation in horse sports at around 5-6% of the population (well above the numbers that belong to ESNZ and Pony Club combined).

So does it matter if there isn't a national horse lobby group? Well, yes it does matter because many decisions that affect horse recreation are made at a national level.  Both central government agencies and politicians have influence over many things that affect horse riders.  For instance, if horse riders are an invisible group, national agencies will assume they don't need to think about horses or rider safety when planning roads, or about access for horse riders to public land when planning recreation areas and parks. MP's most certainly won't care about groups that don't make any noise - it really is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil!

At a Regional and local level, the same thing happens.  Councils really only think about issues that they receive submissions on. Local equestrian clubs and sports groups are often busy with their own activities, or perhaps unaware of the importance of submissions. They may even see lobbying for horse riders access or issues as something that 'someone else' does.

NZ Horse Recreation has been formed because a bunch of concerned riders realised there was no 'someone else'.  We are a rapidly growing group of horse riders who work on horse recreation issues together.  That means we write to politicians and planners, and make submissions on horse riding issues.  We also create media releases, and work with local agencies and groups to get better access for horse riders to public spaces. 

If you are concerned about road safety, lack of places to ride or other horse recreation issues don't wait for 'someone else' to do something, it is up to you! We all need to act together to gain recognition for the economic power of equestrian sports and recreation, and we all need to work together to raise the profile of horse recreation in New Zealand.

Join NZ Horse Recreation now. Visit http://www.nzhorseriders.info