Industry Associates

The Jockey Club is the largest employer and commercial organisation in British horseracing and one of the leading sports businesses operating in the UK today, with record annual turnover of £236 million in 2022.

The Jockey Club runs 15 of the UK’s racecourses and is charged with looking after some of the nation’s biggest events, including the Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree, The Cheltenham Festival, The Betfred Derby Festival at Epsom Downs and the QIPCO Guineas Festival in Newmarket.

Thousands of racehorses a year also use The Jockey Club’s training centres in Newmarket, Lambourn and Epsom, while the organisation also runs The National Stud in Newmarket and the charity, Racing Welfare, which makes help available to all of racing’s people.

The Jockey Club is governed by Royal Charter to act for the long-term benefit of British Racing, which is Britain’s second biggest spectator sport.

Initially launched in 2021 by Katy Wright, the prestigious Equestrian Business Awards has grown from strength to strength. With approximately 1 million horses in the UK, the equestrian industry contributes nearly £8 billion to the economy. The UK is world renowned for its expertise in relation to horse care and rich heritage of being a horse loving nation. With this in mind, the awards strive to give much deserved recognition to small equestrian businesses as these are the heroes who are on hand to make sure we can give our equines the very best. The Equestrian Business Awards aims to raise their profile and award them for all the hard work, achievements and support they provide with every aspect of horse ownership and horse riding. The equestrian industry is dealing with tricky times and more than ever small businesses need help in order to continue to thrive. The Equestrian Business Awards also raises the profile and credibility of businesses and professionals, through celebrating equestrian excellence and promoting best practice, with equine welfare at the forefront. The awards also facilitates networking between businesses and professionals, providing a platform to collaborate and champion one another.

Mission Statement: “The British Equestrian Trade Association works to support our members in their efforts to achieve the highest level of repute, knowledge and profitability”.

BETA was formed in 1979 and has grown to be recognised and accepted as the official representative body for the equestrian manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade by Government and leading riding organisations.

We currently have over 800 member companies, covering a wide range of businesses including not only retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, but also agents, dealers and many service based businesses. All our members are involved in some way with equestrianism.

We are committed to the promotion of BETA members to the riding public, to on-going market research to inform both our members and the wider equestrian industry on the state of the market and horse riding as a leisure activity.

Some of our main achievements over the past 40 years include:

• Changes to the Medicines’ Act to allow retail members to sell wormers for horses.
• The development of BETA International as a world respected Trade Exhibition.
• The National Equestrian Survey.
• Development of training courses to enable retailers to become more knowledgeable and professional.
• BETA Body protector standard.

We also represent the trade on a number of bodies including:

• European Body Protector Committee
• British Equestrian Federation
• British Horse Industry Confederation
• Horse & Pony Taxation Committee
• BHS All Party Parliamentary Group for the Horse
• BSI Standards Committee for hats and body protectors
• AMTRA (Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Committee)

Contact us to learn more about coming involved with a progressive and successful trade association.

We aim to protect and promote the interests of all horses and those who care about them, including the 3.5 million people in the UK who ride or who drive a horse-drawn carriage.

Since our founding in 1947, the BHS has made a real impact on the lives of horses and horse owners with wide-ranging campaigns and initiatives.

Programmes include support, advice, guidelines and training for horse owners alongside the championing of all things equestrian at a national level with dedicated lobbying and action plans. For example:

• Advice and support for horse care and welfare
• Campaigning for and protecting equestrian rights of way
• Improving safety for horses, riders and carriage drivers
• Promoting riding for all
• Offering world-class qualifications
• Approvals system – awarding quality instruction and care