8 Horse & Hound 8 August 2019
NEWSInsider
Countryside
Alliance chairman
Simon Hart MP
has resigned.
Simon has been
appointed as a
minister in the cabinet offi ce which
requires him to give up all his
current outside interests.Teenager
KhadijahMellah
wontheMagnolia
CupattheQatar
Goodwood
Festivalon
theCharlieFellowes-trained
Haverland.Khadijah,18,is thefirst
woman to race in a hijab in Britain.Retiredeventing
legendMark
Toddsentouthis
firstracehorseat
Chelmsfordon
Saturday
(3August).GlobalTango,ridden
byRyanTate,camefifthinthe
fi ve-furlong handicap.PEOPLE
IN THE NEWSORGANISATIONS should focus
on horse-rider combinations
rather than becoming “fat police”
to tackle the rider weight issue,
the Riding for the Disabled
Association (RDA) believes.
The RDA has guidelines to
determine whether people are
of a suitable size to ride, which
have been in place for decades but
have been made “more politically
correct” to help combat a sensitive
subject, the charity’s head of
equine Doug Smith told H&H.
“It’s not about rider weight,
though that’s a measuring tool, it’s
horse-rider combination,” he said.
“You can be too big for a horse
without being overweight.
“We set out our guidelines,
and explain the reasons, which
helps people. We’re not the weight
police but we know how good our
horses are; we can’t punish them
for being so good.”CALCULATIONS
THE RDA divides each horse’s
weight by six, to give a fi gure
about 17% of this. This is that
horse’s carrying capacity so,
subtracting 2% for tack, gives its
maximum rider weight at 15%.
“We might have to have
discussions,” Mr Smith said. “It’s
uncomfortable for everyone but
we’ve done the calculation, and
showed them we’re not inventing
it, and people take it seriously.”
Mr Smith said factors suchThefocus
should be on the
combination of
horse and rider, to
help deal with this
sensitive topic
as a rider’s disability and horse’s
condition are also taken into
account, and that a couple of
pounds extra will not be an issue.
He also agrees that, as found
by research into rider weight
carried out by Sue Dyson (news,
13 December) badly fitting saddles
can exacerbate excess weight.
“But a well-fitted saddle
doesn’t magically make you
lighter,” he added. “We don’t say,
‘You’re too big to ride,’ we say,
‘The maximum carrying capacity
of this horse is...’ It’s the same
outcome but different wording.
“We have the backbone to do
something about this issue and
I’m proud of that. I think this is
the opportunity for organisations
to work together on the issue.”
Dr Dyson has long said, as Mr
Smith does, that the issue is not
down to a rider being overweight;
a size zero person could be too big
for a pony, while an obese ridercould ride a bigger horse.
“In the middle is a whole range
of moderately sized, average-build
riders who may not be overweight
but may be too big,” she told
H&H. “The key is having a
suitable horse, and suitable saddle
that fits both horse and rider.
“The problem is subjectivity
and people being singled out. I
have long advocated that where
groups are involved, everyone
has to be assessed; the height
and weight of each horse and
rider. There are absolute cut-off
values, publicised to all, beyond
which that combination cannot
be allowed. I am therefore fully
supportive of the RDA’s approach.”
The Great Yorkshire Show
(GYS), which has for three
years ruled that anyone of an
inappropriate size for their equine
is asked to dismount, had nine
cases in 2019, mainly adults
warming up children’s ponies.ByELEANORJONES
‘Fat police’ approach is not the
best way to tackle rider weight
“Someone said: ‘You’re the fat
police, aren’t you?’” entries and
livestock co-ordinator Amanda
Stoddart-West told H&H. “She
said the minute people see us or
the vet, they text each other to say:
‘The fat police are coming’.
“But it’s nothing to do with
being fat. We want everyone to
ride, on the right horse or pony.”
“We won’t be deterred,” she
added. “Someone said we’d gone
PC-mad but it’s nothing to do with
that. I hope people will change,
but change is a long process.”
Mr Smith added that raising
the issue can have wider benefits.
“We had one lady we had to
tell: ‘Sorry, we don’t have a horse
to carry you,’” he said. “She lost
about three stone and came back.
She said: ‘I’m eternally grateful to
the RDA, not just for the riding
but for making me change my
lifestyle. I feel a better person, in a
better place.’”The RDA says its calculation
gives it a different approach
to rider weight limits