Horse riding, a possible Olympic legacy?

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Greenwich Council are currently in talks with the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) to explore the possibility of creating public horse riding facilities in secondary schools within the London borough.

The vision is to help and develop schools that specialise in sport, in order to create a sporting equestrian Olympic legacy. If the plan goes ahead the funding is likely to come from the government’s Building Schools for the Future programme, with the first horse riding facility to open in 2009.

The London coordinator for the British Equestrian Federation commented: “We are looking to see how we as a sport can achieve a legacy after the Olympics”.

The reason for choosing Greenwich over other London boroughs is due to the fact that the 2012 London Olympics will host its equestrian events outside the Queen’s House, Romney Road, Greenwich.

Horse riding lessons could cost as little as £10, dispelling the preconceived notion that equestrianism is only for the wealthy. However, one manager from a horse stables in Orpington said that it would be wrong to think that riding could become available cheaply.

“It’s expensive because horses are expensive to keep and run”.

Despite the sceptics from some local equestrian centres, all seem to be in favour of the encouraging signs that the move would bring for the horse riding community.