The British Riding Club
Are you what is classed as an ‘Amateur rider’?
An Amateur rider is someone who’s main income does not come from working with horses. If you are classed as an amateur rider, brilliant! Then perhaps you want to consider joining a local British Riding club! The BRC is linked to the British Horse Society. There are 31,000 members throughout the United Kingdom, including Scotland, and Northern Ireland. There are more than 480 clubs and centres too, so trust us when we say there is room for everyone! These clubs have all been affiliated to the British Horse Society. As a member of the BRC, you have access to local and national competitions including Area qualifiers and Championships. There is a senior section (over 18s) and a junior section (U18). There is also an option to become a senior or junior ‘area rep’, should you want more responsibility.
What is a BRC?
The aim of British Riding Club's is to provide support and encouragement to riders of all levels. They understand this sport is hard, they want to provide a platform to aid amateur riders. If you join the BRC, you have the opportunity to join a community. Here, you can ride, compete, and train together. Ranging from the dedicated competition rider to the leisure rider, there are specific groups for ability and age. There are trainings, clinics, social media groups and magazines exclusively for members. As well as the socials of course!
The UK is split 23 areas, each area has their own club. So, there’s no excuse, there will be one near you! There is a bonus as well since the clubs are all BHS affiliated. If you want to make the jump from Amateur to Professional, you can extend your knowledge by doing your BHS exams as well. There are also BRC assessments you can do too.
Top tip: if you gain your Equitation 3 with Jumping and Horse Welfare 3 Assessment with the BRC, you will be able to gain direct entry into BHS Stage 3.
In each area, there is an opportunity for each area to gain two grants. The grants vary from different clinics on confidence, fitness, style, and test tips. You can train in groups with dressage, combined training, eventing, show jumping.
But it's not all about competing at BRC, they also support local venues with clinics, pleasure rides and social events.
Here at The Saddle Bank we love the dedication Riding Clubs have to their memebers and their horses, and we see many customers out competing with their local club in a saddle bought from us. If you are looking for your next saddle why not take advantage of out 5 day UK trial and find your dream saddle with us here.
What are the opportunities in British Riding Clubs?
As part of a British Riding Club you can compete as a team, or as an individual. They host 7 national championships per year in varied disciplines and levels, so there is something to aim for! From Arena Eventing to Combined Finals, Show Jumping Finals and even Dressage to music finals! The National Finals are the biggest finals, riders can compete in a range of competitions. Here they have competitions in Dressage, Riding Test (similar to a dressage test, but marked on riders’ performance), Show Jumping and Style Jumping (based on riders effectiveness). Qualifiers are held in each area and run by BRC headquarters will each club competing providing volunteers to help with jobs on the competition days such as stewarding, pole picking, fence judging or score sheet collecting.
There are leagues for British Eventing, British Show Jumping and Grassroots as well. The Eventing League ranges from BE80 to Intermediate level. Show jumping tracks the BS Sliver and Bronze League. The Grassroots Leagues are for those riders who want to climb up the ranks. This is a great way to keep track of where you are!
Saddle Banker Tori has been part of a local Riding Club for many years and in 2022 qualified and competed at two National Championships for her club as part of the Intermediate Dressage Team at Elementary as well as Individually at Medium.
Other BRC Competitions:
Have you heard of the famous Hickstead show ground? Could you imagine competing there? Well, one final is held at The Royal International Horse Show. Hickstead is a world-famous show ground and the pinnacle of everyone’s career, even international riders.
Another team event that British Riding Club members, as well a Pony Club memebers can get involved in is the Endurance team. This is a squad event which is open to affiliated combinations. The team has 3 – 6 combinations and is run through Endurance GB.
There is also a pathway which leads on from BRC. This is for those amateurs who specialise in showing. The Showing Register (TSR) is a training platform for keen amateur riders who wish to improve their riding and skills. There are three groups: Novice, Intermediate and Advance. And it is split into 4 age groups: 8 – 14, 15 – 25, 25 – 40 and 41 +. Riders must attend a clinic and the successfully selected riders and talent spotted to be on the pathway. This pathway gives assistance and training from showing experts around the country.
If you are looking to find like minded people who you can socialise, train and compete with check out this link to see what club is near you.
