British Equestrian launch ‘Safe to Play’ campaign

Equestrian centres across the country are invited to be part of British Equestrian’s new ‘Safe to Play’ campaign to help keep every participant safe while spending time with horses.

The ABRS+ has contributed to the outstanding work undertaken by the British Equestrian Federation in creating the ‘Safe-to-Play’ campaign, website and its associated content. We cannot overstate the need to safeguard children and adults-at-risk so that they can enjoy equestrianism, in all its guises, without fear of harm.

The ABRS+ provides Safeguarding Courses to educate coaches in a position of trust on safeguarding standards and how to meet their duty of care and will be introducing specific additional training for Safeguarding Officers.  The Safe-to-Play campaign is intended to educate parents or guardians, children and young people, on what signs to look out for and who to speak to if they have a concern and make reporting concerns more accessible across a range of channels.

After receiving funding from Sport England and following the lead of the Lawn Tennis Association, who launched a similar initiative in 2020, British Equestrian are now launching their own Safe to Play campaign. Aimed at coaches, parents, participants and volunteers involved in the sector, the campaign’s objective is to ensure that everyone is aware of signs of abuse, how to report concerns and how to keep everyone safe while enjoying the sport they love.

The campaign includes a brand-new website, which includes educational videos, top tips and FAQ’s as well as an easy way to confidentially report a concern online. Assets including posters, pull-up banners and pocket cards are available for coaches, equestrian centres and events to help spread the message.

With this campaign, British Equestrian and its member bodies aim to:

• Educate those in a position of trust on safeguarding standards and how meet their duty of care
• Educate parents or guardians, children and young people, on what signs to look out for and who to speak to if they have a concern
• Make reporting concerns more accessible across a range of channels

Lynne Bailey, Head of Integrity and HR at British Equestrian commented,

“The safety and wellbeing of everyone within our equestrian community is of the greatest importance. We want to ensure everyone is safe and has the knowledge to look after themselves and others. It’s important remember that anyone can be vulnerable to abuse, so it’s also vital to make reporting concerns easy and effective.”

We invite all coaches and equestrian centres to support this campaign by visiting the website or requesting materials such as posters and pull-up banners to display around your centre, or pocket cards to hand out to visitors. Limited hard copy materials will be available free of charge by contacting the British Equestrian Safeguarding team at safeguarding@bef.co.uk.

Thank you to Sport England for providing the funding for this campaign.

Visit our new Safe to Play website at equestrian.safetoplay.co.uk.