British Horse Society Scotland withdraws from the Scottish
Equestrian Association
Annella Cowan, Chairman of the Scottish Committee of The
British Horse Society, announced today (Monday, 18 April)
that BHS Scotland is to discontinue its membership of Scottish
Equestrian Association Ltd (SEA).
She said: “The British Horse Society has built up an
unparalleled international reputation for its work, which
covers a spectrum of equine interests not matched anywhere
else in the UK. It is essential, if the Society is to continue
to maintain its standards and further expand its work, that
we focus on the essentials and do not spend valuable resources
on peripheral issues which do not advance our aims.
“We have concluded that membership of SEA has proved
a distraction from our primary purposes of raising standards
across the board and bringing the benefits of equestrianism
to all sectors of the community.
“We appreciate that the loss of BHSS’s 4,000
members, and the 4,600 members of the riding clubs which are
affiliated to British Riding Clubs (a part of the BHS), will
result in a much smaller SEA which falls outside the top 10
governing bodies in Scotland. Nevertheless, we cannot justify
spending more staff time and members’ money on affairs
which do not yield a commensurate benefit.”
Mrs Cowan added: "The immediate focus of the Society's
activities in Scotland over the next month includes The Borders
Festival of the Horse, the launch of Tweed Trails and the
Horses Welcome pilot project, lobbying on stone mastic asphalt,
the BHS ragwort control Bill for Scotland and responding to
consultation on transition arrangements for the registration
of farriers in the Highlands and Islands.
“All this is in addition to the Society’s staple
of safety, welfare, training and access education work. The
Society will also continue to co-operate with other bodies
in advancing the interests of horses, riders and drivers,
repeating the success it achieved with Scottish National Heritage
(SNH), local access groups and Midlothian Council to secure
the opening of the Tyne Esk trails rides.”
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