Playing safe

‘Riders’ attitudes towards the topic of safety have seen a real shift — it is no longer addressed with reluctance’
CLAIRE WILLIAMS, BETA’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LOOKING back at how far safety has come in the past 10 years, it’s easy to pick out the big things. We see pictures of cross-country fences dismantling thanks to frangible technology, the “then and now” of Becher’s Brook. But what else has happened and is equestrian sport really getting any safer?

While riding will always come with dangers, breakthroughs in technology, data analysis and science have made significant leaps in reducing that.

“We have to accept the fact that as soon as you get on a horse, there is a risk. As soon as that horse jumps a fence, the risk is even higher. It is a matter of managing that risk,” says British Eventing’s (BE) national safety officer Jonathan Clissold.

He adds that serious injuries have “without a doubt” dropped, and BE is always looking at ways