Social Licence

Recently the discussion about the need for the equestrian sport to have a "Social License" is becoming more relevant and intense and will also be in the center of the discussions about our sport in 2022.

But what is a Social License actually and how can we, as an equestrian community, get such a license. 

The true meaning of a Social License is the acceptance and approval by people not involved in the equestrian sports that we, as practitioners of this sport with horses, exercise the horse in a way that is acceptable in broad layers of the population. 

The responsibility for being allowed to exercise sports with horses lies entirely with us, the equestrian community, but do we know how to deal with a real Social License and how we can earn it?

In theory, the way we practice our sports with horses should be the same everywhere.  In practice however, this is not the case and the rules are realized and applied differently in countries and societies around the world.

Also, the pressure about how to manage equestrian sports differs in countries around the world. European NFs for example have immense social, government and EU attention and pressure, as well as a huge community to answer to, something which is usually not the case in most other parts of the world.

To read more about Social Licence please click here