Noel calls for change at The British Horse Society
BHS president Noel Edmonds today (Thursday 22 June) called
for change at the Society.
Noel said the BHS should hold onto the best of its work but
“have the courage to let go of the rest”.
He said that an increase of four to five percent in membership
a year was not enough because more than four million people
in Britain were associated with horses and riding and the
BHS membership was only just over two percent of them, with
97 percent not joining the BHS.
Noel asked: “Are we prepared to be different, to be
controversial, to have enemies, to be inclusive?
“Are we doing enough for children in cities and those
around the world who want to be involved with the BHS? Are
we prepared to become involved in the celebrity culture?
“Why don’t we address the fact that we are breeding
an obese generation?
“This is a great opportunity for us. I want to propose
we think long and hard about change”.
British Horse Society Chairman Patrick Print today spoke
of the Society’s “tremendous achievement”.
Mr Print, a Fellow of the BHS, highlighted progress made
by the BHS in a wide range of areas during 2005, at the Annual
General Meeting, at Saddlers’ Hall, London.
He said: “Membership of the Society increased in 2005
by some 2,400. If you compare this with the annual increases
of 271 in 2001 and 336 in 2004, you will see what a tremendous
achievement this was.
“More than 10,000 people took BHS exams and the Register
of Instructors continued to grow, as did the number of approved
riding and livery establishments.”
Mr Print also mentioned the work the BHS had done with the
British Equestrian Federation on the United Kingdom Coaching
Certificate (UKCC), and the success of the BHS Safety Department’s
Road Safety CD-Rom.
He added: “The review undertaken by the MoD, with the
very active co-operation of the Society, to minimise the dangers
posed to horses and riders by low-flying helicopters culminated
in a reduction by the RAF in the number of low-level helicopter
sortees.”
He mentioned BHS Welfare’s Challenge Rides, which raised
£37,000 in 2005, and the Access Department’s programme
of training events.
And Mr Print concluded with a commitment to improvement.
He said: “We must do better, not because we are bad
but because only a constant commitment to improving standards
befits a Society with the history and position of the BHS.
“The way we relate to each other, the way we treat
our examination students, the way we hold ourselves out to
the wider community of equestrian organisations - all of these
and many other aspects of our work need constant attention,
honest self-assessment and rigorous action to improve performance
if, in 25 years’ time, my successor is to look back
on a quarter of a century of uninterrupted excellence and
high achievement by The British Horse Society.”
Mr Print also paid tribute to two Trustees who retire today,
Alison Fuller and Dr Harry Greenway. A full transcript of
Mr Print’s speech is reproduced below.
The AGM was held in the City of London at Saddlers' Hall
by kind permission of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers and
also featured the presentation of awards for outstanding service
to the Society.
The President’s Award was won by former MP Dr Greenway
for his 33 years of service to the BHS.
The Society’s Awards of Merit were presented to Jo
Batty-Smith BHSI, the BHS’s first National Examinations
Moderator; Carole Broad FBHS, Chairman of the Examinations
Advisory Group; Linda Howson, who served as Chairman of BHS
Scotland Access Committee from 1997-2006.
Awards of Merit were also presented to Billy King, Chairman
of Chislehurst and District Riding Club, in Kent, for around
15 years; Carole Mewton, BHS Devon County Committee member
for more than 20 years; and British Riding Clubs stalwart
David Briggs who also received the British Riding Club Life
Presidents’ Award.
An Honorary Fellowship Certificate was awarded to Paul Fielder
FBHS.
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