Capitalising on a good feeling

Having read an article in Horse and Hound today regarding people taking up riding following the incredible success at London 2012, it got me to thinking. Many non-horsey people regard the sport as elitist and exclusive, a hobby of the rich (but that's a whole other post that I've already shared), and in a time when people are scrimping and saving to even afford the essentials, it's hard to convince people to take up a sport that could potentially cost them an arm and a leg.

From a personal point of view, since I began working following my graduation, I found I was surrounded by people who neither rode nor even cared about horses. I was happy to share my hobby with people if they asked, but never spoke about it unless prompted. When I made good friends with some of my colleagues, they took to asking how my last riding lesson was, but that was as far as it went - until the Olympics. Having had my BBC Olympics app going on my phone on every break, people gradually began to watch the eventing, and then the dressage, with me. Suddenly, before I knew what had happened, people who had never been near a horse in their lives were asking me how we were doing, what our chances of getting in the medals were. When I came back off my break to (rather dramatically) announce that Charlotte Dujardin was a double gold medallist, people were unexpectedly enthusiastic. Even those that I hadn't spoken to that day came up to me a couple of days later to tell me they had watched 'the dancing horses' and thought of me, asking what it was all about and how the riders got the horses to do what they did. My friends began coming to watch my riding lessons, asking if they could come back week after week and actively enjoying it (although a couple were more scared than they would admit!).

The problem with all of this, as far as I can see, is that people already in the sport perhaps haven't done enough to encourage this influx of interest. Take my riding school for example - I haven't seen anything encouraging people to start up lessons, to find out more about the sport, and I consider this a wasted opportunity. Why not offer half price taster lessons, or open days? Why not encourage existing riders to bring partners or friends for a go to see what all of the fuss is about? I appreciate that there is a mountain of red tape to get through at equine businesses, but without new customers, how can places like this survive? Offering half price introductory lessons for a period of a month would hardly set them back a lot, especially if only 50% rebook future lessons at full price. Or if half price is too much to stomach, how about an introductory course of five or ten lessons at a slightly discounted price? Encouraging people to come back whilst making them a good offer - win-win! Lessons at my riding school cost £22 for an hour, and whilst I am willing to go without other things to afford these lessons, people new to the sport aren't likely to tolerate it, as they don't have the passion and enthusiasm already there to want to pay it.

I have felt, at times, like a one-woman publicity machine in my place of work for riding as a sport, and I'd like to think that my passion for horses encourages people to want to give it a go, but it's not up to me to convince them to take that final leap - it's up to the businesses that need the custom to find ways of making them do it. Many places have seized the moment and got more people on the books, so if they can do it, then why can't the others? Bringing more custom and money into the sport is only going to be beneficial, so what are they all waiting for?

Equestrianism: It's a rich person's world

Whilst the unparalleled success of the equestrian teams at London 2012 has brought more attention to the sport than it's seen in too long (I will let comments about 'dancing horses' go as long as people appreciate that it's not nearly as effortless as it looks!), there is still this strong vein of belief amongst the non-horsey public that you have to be rich to ride.

I am not going to disagree with the plain truth that owning horses and riding is a million times easier when you are rich, but the vast majority of riders and owners I know work hard for a living and weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouths. On a personal level, I was born into a distinctly unhorsey family. My dad often jokes that he can't tell one end of a horse from another (he has seen me ride all of once), and my mum's only experience with them was a rather unfortunate pony trekking incident in her teens which she wasn't overly enamoured with. When I cheerfully announced at the age of ten that my new passion in life was horses, it took a further two years for my mum to give in and book me a riding lesson, hoping that my interest was temporary and I would eventually go back to wanting to be a ballerina. Once the lesson was booked, she had absolutely no idea what I needed to wear and what would happen, and so for weeks I trundled around on a very forgiving pony wearing wellies and a borrowed skull cap.

I will give full credit to my mum, however, for supporting me in my newfound love for horses at the age of twelve. We may have had very little money, but she saved hard to afford fortnightly riding lessons for me, and bought me my riding boots and hat only once she was sure I was going to stick at it. I was lucky enough to win a riding holiday through one of my beloved pony magazines at the age of thirteen, and for a good three years after that, my mum saved up and paid for me to go on another week-long riding holiday every year, as well as paying for weekly lessons and the numerous activities and shows I went to do during the school holidays. Once I had a part-time job at the age of seventeen, she paid for my weekly lessons and I paid for the extras, and when I was back home from university she'd give me a couple of riding lessons for Christmas or my birthday.

Upon graduating, I took over the expense of riding lessons myself when I (miraculously) found a part-time job, and even though it was only fortnightly, I began to understand how much money my mum had ploughed into my hobby over the years. Once I was given a full-time position, I started back weekly, with the odd extra here and there, and I work hard to keep this hobby up with no financial support anymore. I don't earn a lot of money but I budget wisely to make sure I can keep it up, and make sure horses continue to be a large part of my life.

The point I am trying to come to, in a rather long-winded fashion, is that nothing but my mum's generosity and my determination to keep up with something I love has helped me ride over the years. We are not a particularly affluent family, we are working class, and it is only because I love it that I see the money I pour into it as an investment. Most other riders I know are like this - they go without to keep their horses fed and watered, they work hard for their money and are entitled to spend it without being accused of having things handed to them on a silver plate.

Even the lucky ones among us that I know have not had it easy. The two granddaughters of the owner of my riding school are incredibly talented and gifted riders, and yes, they have been given horses and ponies galore over the years, but for the most part, they have worked hard for their successes. They saved their pocket money to come on lessons, they worked hard in the yard seven days a week whilst at school and college, they teach lessons now they are a little older, and they have been working pupils at professional yards where they haven't had a day off in seven months. Perhaps they are luckier than most I know, but I would never deny that hard graft and a dose of natural talent has got them to where they are now, and being rich alone can't achieve success.

If ever we needed a timely reminder of this, we only have to look at the Olympic Gold medallist in dressage, Charlotte Dujardin. Luck, hard work and talent have got her to where she is now, not being born into a rich family. Her mum supported her in any way she could, and when she was lucky enough to inherit some money, bought her a horse. Working class family, top class rider.

Riding is an expensive hobby, but it's not just for the rich - and you can't put a price on something that makes you undeniably happy.