Report - Section 1.2

1.2   The brief

The Tourism Company was commissioned in October 2002 by the High Weald Bridleways Group (HWBG) to undertake a research exercise on their behalf, identifying evidence about the nature and impacts of the horse-riding sector and any implications for East Sussex and the High Weald.

The work has been supported by a grant from the WARR Partnership, through its Leaderplus programme. Support has also been given in kind by the HWBG themselves, who have undertaken some primary research in the High Weald area and made this available, together with information that they have acquired through their experience of actively working to improve provision for off-road riding on bridleways in the area over a period of 13 years.

The objective of the High Weald Bridleways Group is: "to improve the amenities and conditions for equestrianism in the area of East Sussex roughly delineated by the Rother and Wealden districts as part of the High Weald AONB".

It is the intention of the HWBG to assemble a complete portfolio of information that they can use to inform and influence key organisations involved in equestrian matters in East Sussex, to include:

• Bridleway statistics eg user numbers;
• Evidence of the benefits of horse-riding (economic, ecological, social);
• The nature of the market for horse-riding;
• The rural tourism market and trends; and
• Evidence on the state of infrastructure and services.

It was agreed at the outset that consultants would undertake an initial scoping study of desk research which would have two main outputs:

• The collection and review of existing information (national and local);
• The identification of remaining knowledge gaps.

In this report, we have assembled the information that we have identified although initial research quickly confirmed our expectation that information about horse-riding is limited and fragmented.

Riding is "almost invisible". Much attention has been paid to the volume, value and requirements of walkers, and more recently of cyclists, in accessing the countryside. Riders frequently come a poor third. A quote from a participant in this year’s National Trails Conference, published in Byways and Bridleways 23/5/2002, captures this: "The fact that the (Countryside) Agency now sometimes refers to 'walkers, cyclists and riders' is a great step forward, but to me, we higher rights people still appear to be almost invisible to others."

This is not entirely surprising, when the relative volume of measured activity at a national level is considered. The General Household Survey, UK Day Leisure Visits to the Countryside and the United Kingdom Tourism Survey all consistently record recreational walking as a very substantial activity, cycling as significant, while riding is recorded at much lower levels. Sometimes no figure is given because it is not statistically significant. However, given the rural nature of riding, it is likely that national figures obscure significant regional and sub-regional differences.

Information on riding is dated. Very recent information about horse-riding is particularly limited. Three of the key surveys that have historically collected information about horse-riding have not done so very recently. They are:

• The General Household Survey (GHS), which included questions about participation in sports and leisure activities every three years up to and including 1996, but has not included them subsequently.
• The UK Day Leisure Visits Survey (UKDVLS), sponsored by a consortium of national agencies, including the English Tourism Council and the Countryside Agency, was conducted in 1993, 1996 and 1998. After a gap, the exercise is currently being repeated, with the results becoming available in 2003.
• The National Equestrian Survey conducted by the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) in 1995/96 and 1998/99. A repeat survey is planned, but results are not expected until late 2003.