“It is the moving story of one glamour model’s struggle to be accepted in the equestrian Establishment, leaping all the barriers that the British class system could place in her way.
Now the tale of Katie Price, the model otherwise known as Jordan, is to be used to inspire inner-city children to take up riding in time for the 2012 Olympics.
It aims to challenge the widely held perception that London is a difficult place in which to pursue a career in three-day eventing. It hopes to deliver a generation of young city horse riders as a legacy of London 2012.”
British equestrianism has rightly or wrongly long been dogged by an image of elitism and general poshness. The basic facts can’t be denied; to ride you need a horse and maintaining a horse or pony is expensive (also very time-consuming and requires the owner/keeper to have a high degree of training). Plus the eventing elite do have a tendency to double-barrelled names and nasal accents. Katie Price (aka Jordan) might seem an anathema to equestrianism but the very fact that she is involved in this scheme, and has obviously been embraced by the horsey community, I think shows that they are not as backward as appearances first indicate.
The other sport that suffers in the same way is the British Olympic success story of 2008, sailing. I was interested to hear on the BBC one of the organisers of the club from which the ‘3 blondes in a boat’ hailed saying that their elitist image was mis-founded. This might be true to a degree, but as with riding, a boat is required for sailing and boats are expensive to maintain.
What is interesting is that both of these sports are ones Britain is highly successful at. Whilst equestrianism didn’t do as well as expected at this year’s Olympics, they have over the past 20 years managed to be a medal-guaranteed sport. The eventers bought home a bronze from Beijing which was a huge disappointment for the sport, (whereas in the world of gymnastics one bronze was deemed a massive success).
So if these sports are expensive and have a poor image why do we do so well at them? The answer could lie in the fact that both sports have strong grassroots. For example, the Pony Club, the global youth organisation promoting horse-riding has been active since 1928 and has over 110,000 members. It is supported by an active and energetic force of volunteers – unlike many sports that struggle for volunteers and young coaches. The focus is not all about competition either, it is about teaching children how to care for their animals properly and enjoy riding – perhaps a more rounded view of life than just being about winning.
Efforts are also being made to make the sport more accessible. In 1998 the Pony Club launched its centre membership scheme for children who do not own their own pony but want to get involved in Pony Club activities through their local riding school. This summer the scheme celebrated its 15,000th member.
The difficulty both these sports have is that they are not best-suited to an urban environment. Whilst children in cities may get the chance to learn to ride in a riding school if they wish to take the sport to the next level they will probably need to re-locate and find financial backing.
So whilst image may be an issue for grassroots equestrianism I don’t believe it is the overriding one. Young girls (and boys but perhaps not as much) have long adored ponies and will pester their parents to take them riding (just as Katie Price did). I don’t think they need Jordan to persuade them. What they do need is assistance with access and finances to continuing the sport to a higher level. This is why the elite riders tend to be ‘posh’ as they are the ones who have parents who can fund their careers.
To reach the top-level you need quality horses and these are not cheap to buy or maintain, so those not born with a silver spoon in their mouth will need to find a rich benefactor or a sponsor. Even Zara Phillips relies on the support of her sponsors to allow her to compete internationally. At the moment few sponsors wish to be associated with the ‘posh’ image of equestrianism. This is where Jordan can help, her involvement can potentially broaden the appeal and image of the sport and increase its attractiveness to sponsors by bringing it to a more mainstream audience. Katie Price knows a thing or two about marketing herself to the public – and I think there is lot that equestrianism can learn from her and in this way her association can certainly benefit the sport and its young riders.
By Georgina Spring on September 5th, 2008
Tags: Beijing 2008, Equestrianism, Jordan (Katie Price), London 2012, London 2012 sponsorship, London 2012 sponsorship consultants, Olympics, Sponsorship, grass roots sport
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