How BAME riders are making their mark
Members of the BAME community are massively under-represented in the saddle, both at grassroots level and on competition circuits. Julie Harding finds out what action is being taken in an attempt to turn the tide
ACCORDING TO DATA from 2019, 14.4% of the UK population has a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. If that figure were replicated in horse sport, out of a section of 40 horses at, say, an affiliated horse trials, there would be at least five riders from an ethnic minority group; and it doesn’t take a maths genius to work out that in a class of 100, the total would be around 14. But even in the era of the hashtag — #Blacklivesmatter, #minorities, #diversity — no elite or even grassroots contest in the UK has come close to seeing numbers like these. Looking for BAME riders in competitive startlists is akin to seeking the proverbial needle in a haystack, and the same can be true for attendees at riding schools, depending on location.
As a black rider who has competed in showjumping, endurance and eventing, Sandra Murphy knows only too well what it is like to be in a minority.
“I was the only black showjumper in my area, one of only two in endurance nationally and, when I was 12, I was the only black rider in the whole of Essex,” says the businesswoman and
“It’s unfortunate that prejudice still exists. That doesn’t mean that the whole of the equestrian community is a bunch of racists. It’s an unconscious bias or a lack of understanding”
David Butler, outgoing BEF head of participation
founder of Equidiet (UK), which sells award-winning Equidgel and Lamigel.
Sandra and her daughter, Darbi, have both experienced prejudice in the horse world — “We’ve had doors shut in our faces” — which has been one of the catalysts behind the 54-year-old taking action and setting up the BAME Equine and Rural Activities Focus
Group (BERF) on Facebook.
To date it boasts around 300 members and is seeking more — regardless of skin colour.
“I want to walk the walk, not just talk the talk,” adds Sandra. “BERF is a platform on which people of colour can speak to other people of colour and share their experiences. The main thing our members say is, ‘I didn’t know that there was anyone else of colour doing what I do’.
“This is where I want to change the narrative — that more BAME people are being seen and then others will say, ‘hey, I can do that’. It’s all about having role models, and the low number of ethnic minorities competing is due to having no role models at all.”
Many barriers
There can be myriad barriers to overcome before a person of colour can even place their foot in a stirrup for the first time — a dearth of disposable income, for example; a lack of access to horses, with the majority of BAME communities in urban areas while grassroots riding schools are mostly in rural settings (96%, according to British Equestrian); and a perception that riding and horse sport are elitist and
a ‘white preserve’, which is corroborated by televised events like the Grand
National and Badminton Horse Trials that show few non-white faces in the crowd, let alone on the back of a horse.
But a handful of establishments buck the trend and ethnic minorities flood through their doors. St James City Farm Riding School, Gloucester; Park Lane Stables in Teddington; Urban Equestrian Academy, Leicester; and Park Palace
Ponies in Liverpool are four such places.
Every week around 150 local children ride at London’s Ebony Horse Club, 75-80% of whom are from the BAME community. Sited in the heart of Brixton, with high-rise housing forming a backdrop, the centre was built 10 years ago.
“We’re dedicated to helping kids whatever their background, but our high numbers of BAME riders are representative of the multi-cultural community in which we’re based,” says general manager Naomi Howgate, who believes that it isn’t access to basic horse riding lessons that is the real problem, but the ability to progress through the ranks for anyone with talent.
Khadijah Mellah, whose mother is Kenyan and father Algerian, is an Ebony protégée. In 2019 the Peckham teenager became the first jockey in Britain to race in a hijab, and she hit the headlines when she won the Magnolia Cup at Glorious Goodwood aboard her mount Haverland.
“To get Khadijah to that stage took Nick Bentley acting as her jockey coach and trainer Charlie Fellowes and his team working with her,” says Naomi, who explains that the bigger picture is so much more complicated than simply putting a child on a pony.
“It’s marrying up the grassroots with the elite sectors that needs to be done.
And the elite sectors have to be open to kids from different backgrounds. At Ebony we have very talented kids, but getting them into the competition ranks is incredibly complex. They can’t afford a pony, or to pay for the upkeep. But there are some positives, such as fantastic riders like Lydia Heywood who mentors our kids and gives lessons, and Paul Gaff, who believes in giving people opportunities to get into showjumping.”
A missing link
Last April, Lydia, a British/jamaican event rider who represents Jamaica, set up Cool Ridings, sponsored by Lemieux and billed as ‘the missing link between learning to ride and getting competitive’. But Cool Ridings isn’t just about quests for rosettes.
“We champion all under-represented riders; we assist in obtaining citizenship for riders with the ability to represent developing nations; we put people in touch with industry experts; we find them work experience or employment opportunities — because the best jobs go so quickly,” explains Lydia. “We can also provide kit where necessary thanks to sponsors. Basically, we’re a facilitator.”
Lydia grew up in Cheltenham and started riding aged 11, inheriting her mother’s equestrian passion. She switched from showjumping to eventing, and found that generally hers was the only black face in her class.
“I’ve always felt a strong sense of belonging, so I haven’t struggled and I haven’t encountered direct prejudice in horse sport, but there’s no doubt that things need to improve,” says the 23-yearold, who is already proving to be a role model when in the saddle of her various horses, including four-year-old Obos Quality 004, part-owned by Nigeria’s Soala Bobmanuel. She is also a savvy sporting ambassador, using social media and broadcast media to convey her messages.
In terms of the latter, she has appeared on This Esme Youtube channel (615,000 subscribers). And like mixed race 11-year
old showjumper Myrtle Hallion (see Your Horse issue December 2020) who models for prestige clothing brand Animo, Lydia is the face of Mochara Equestrian.
Good intentions
The intention to ‘do better’ is spreading. At the end of last year, Ride Out Racism and the DHD Foundation launched the social campaign #IAMPARTOFTHECHANGE. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has a new Diversity & Inclusion Group strategy which, it says, will ensure support for minorities entering the veterinary/vet nurse professions. Such good intentions go all the way to the top, and British Equestrian (BEF) launched its Equality Engagement Group (EEG) in 2019. Sandra Murphy is on the committee.
The group’s key aims include growing and promoting equality across equestrian sport, developing the coaches who work with inner city riding schools, and raising riding aspirations among ethnic minorities, as well as their ambitions to forge careers within the industry.
“We’re ahead when it comes to the gender balance, but in terms of BAME, riding competitively is well below the national average and so that’s an area we need to address,” says David Butler,
“I’ve always felt a strong sense of belonging and I haven’t encountered direct prejudice in horse sport, but there’s no doubt that things need to improve” British/jamaican event rider Lydia Heywood
outgoing BEF head of participation. “The goal for the future is to start to see people from these communities coming through into competitive riding and, while we’re not in a position to buy everyone a horse, we want to be in a position to break down financial barriers and for links to be made between owners and riders which may change the landscape.”
Additionally, the EEG plans to weave key annual celebrations, such as Black History Month, into equestrian calendars, as well as engage with charity Sporting Equals, which promotes sporting participation and involvement at all levels of admin and management.
“There are stories of black or Asian people experiencing negative behaviours during their time competing,” adds David. “It’s unfortunate that prejudice still exists so we want to address that too. That doesn’t mean that the whole of the equestrian community is a bunch of
racists. It’s an unconscious bias or a lack of understanding that contribute to ill-informed decisions, so we plan to work with Sporting Equals to bring unconscious bias training into the community to raise awareness of the issue.”
Unconscious bias
Unconscious bias is something of which Katie Hyde, mother of 13-year-old British/ Nigerian showjumper and eventer Rupert Hyde, is aware.
“To us colour has never mattered, but #Blacklivesmatter has shone a light and made us all think about it more,” she says. “I have an odd feeling of people looking at us at competitions. Rupert just gets on with it, but it’s there — an undercurrent.”
Rupert is one of a new generation of BAME riders coming through the system and his talents in the saddle earned him a riding scholarship to Millfield School. Katie first put him on a pony aged 18 months and he started competing at 10.
“One of his role models is Lewis Hamilton,” Katie adds. “And secondary to being a good rider, he’s set on becoming a role model himself. He doesn’t want to be the token black person in a class, but up until now he has been. But times are changing, and I think doors are opening. I’d like to think that Rupert can play a part in showing people what is possible.”
Meanwhile, Sandra Murphy has a seemingly unending flow of ideas to boost inclusivity. She has set up a team contest via BERF, and has also mooted the idea of a BAME centre of excellence. She believes that proper change — BAME role models at the top of elite sport — will take a long time, but that a centre would help.
“We see black people represented at the higher levels in football, athletics and swimming, but it’s a slow burn. In equestrianism we’re starting with children and it will take 20 years.”