THE British Horse Society (BHS) has launched its Ride Safe Award to help riders feel safer and more confident when riding out on the road.

Following the launch of their Dead or Dead Slow campaign, which highlights the dangers that riders face every day on Britain’s roads, the award is the equivalent of the cycling industries Bikeablity certificate, and has been endorsed by the Department for Transport’s ‘Think’ campaign which helps vulnerable road users.

The BHS’ director of safety, Alan Hiscox said: “Ride Safe is the foundation of the BHS’ new Equine Excellence Pathway, aimed at all riders, of any age and ability.

“Just like the Bikeablity certificate, we want to encourage all horse riders to take the award before they go out on the road.”

The BHS is highly regarded for their extensive equestrian qualifications that have been running for over 30 years, and Ride Safe is the foundation stage of the relaunched Equine Excellence Pathway.

Speaking at the launch, international dressage rider Phoebe Peters said: “The Ride Safe and the new Equine Excellence Pathway are designed to benefit equine enthusiasts of all ages and abilities, whether you want to enjoy hacking safely or succeed at the top levels of horse sport as a rider or groom or coach.”

The award has been widely welcomed by industry groups in Britain, where the equine industry is worth £8 billion and there are more than 1.3 million recreational riders.

In 2016 the BHS launched the Dead or Dead Slow campaign in response to the alarming number of incidents involving horses on our roads.

Since the launch of its Horse Accidents website in 2010, more than 2,500 road incidents have been reported, resulting in the death of 38 riders and 222 horses.

In March 2017 the BHS released their latest statistics which showed a 29% increase in road accidents involving horses.