Riding Off Road

The BHS Access Department strives to defend, extend and promote a network of safer, more easily accessible off-road riding and carriage driving. We are committed to the promotion, improvement, maintenance and preservation of equestrian access routes and rights of way for urban and rural horse riders and drivers throughout the UK.

We work through our network of local volunteers to help improve, maintain and promote facilities for informal recreational riding and carriage driving. As a national organisation, we are able to influence the formulation of government policy and legislation. We are a statutory consultee on access and rights of way for the Government via its agencies and local authorities.

We lobby all levels of government, statutory agencies and other national bodies to recognise equestrian needs and make adequate provision for informal equestrian recreation.

We firmly believe in co-operating with other recreational access organisations, and seek to build partnerships with other users of rights of way to achieve common objectives.

We encourage land owners, land occupiers and the organisations representing them to recognise that we work within the provisions of the law in seeking to improve and maintain facilities and access for equestrian users.

We work with the governing bodies of all equestrian sport, leisure and welfare organisations to support the need for informal horse-based recreation and recognise the benefits to be achieved for horses and humans.

We work through education, example and encouragement to encourage a responsible aattitude towards access facilities and rights of way among riders and carriage drivers. We promote courtesy and consideration towards other users and respect for the needs of land owners and occupiers.

We support the conservation of the landscape, habitat and flora and fauna, and firmly believe that equestrian recreation is beneficial for the maintenance of sustainable habitats and a diverse ecosystem. The role of horses in the evolution of historic landscapes and in the network of rights of way is clearly established.

We will always seek to balance needs for access against habitat management, but will resist the limitation of ancient rights of way or closure of established access on grounds of environmental preservation.

The UK has some beautiful places to ride, whether that's at a BHS approved centre, on a long-distance route (see www.ride-uk.org.uk or www.emagin.org for more details) or just exploring a new patch closer to home.

Use the links in the left- hand navigation to find out how the BHS can help you with off-road riding, whether that's finding somewhere to ride, finding a bridleways group to ride with, dealing with a problem with Rights of Way in your area, or campaigning nationally for the rights of all riders and carriage drivers to safer, more easily accessible off-road riding.