An exploratory investigation into perceptions of risk management in equestrian sports coaching from a practitioner and governing body perspective, leading to the creation of a bowtie model

Equestrianism has become increasingly popular, and participation levels are high, with 1.8 million people riding on a regular basis in the UK alone. It is recognised as a high-risk activity, and compliance with health and safety legislation is required for the safety of all those involved. Currently, the evaluation of risk in equestrianism focuses on the assessment of individual events rather than the effectiveness of the overlying safety management protocols. Whilst basic risk assessment occurs within equestrian coaching, broader evaluation of overlying safety management remains limited throughout this sector. This work has identified relevant hazards, evaluated the associated risks, and suggested controls and mitigation strategies to support equestrian coaches in adopting and improving safety management systems. Three studies were undertaken; the first used semi-structured interviews with national equestrian governing bodies (NGB) (N=3) and their allied insurance brokers (N=3), with questions exploring organisational policy; for instance, “What are your minimal requirements for your NGB to accredit coaches?”; “When would you expect a risk assessment to be done?” and “How would this be evidenced?” A thematic analysis identified emergent themes in the organisational roles and responsibilities (process, satisfaction with current practice, evaluation of practice, responsibilities, and review) and the coaches’ role (employment status, coaching practice, and coaching effectiveness). The second study selected NGB coaches (N=114) through the NGBs’ own databases, using a mixed methods survey distributed online, to evaluate perspectives of hazards and risk management in equestrian coaching. Frequency analysis, thematic analysis, and tests of difference and correlation were utilised to evaluate the perspective. Key results included coach training needs, reflection on practice, risk management and awareness, insurance, and templating of evidence. The third study was formed by means of a working party that focused on coach training and support in managing and evidencing their coaching practice. Purposive sampling (N=5) was used with an inductive approach to identify emergent themes in risk management. The interview analysis produced two key discussion points: the need for risk management training and the desire for a coaching tool/system to evidence coaching practice. Assessing the types of risk management models that would support organisational management within this context led to the utilisation of a bowtie as an illustrative model of these issues. An executive report of these studies was produced as an industry document for dissemination to the various NGBs. Based on the results of the studies, four recommendations were made to industry with regard to the dissemination of results via the NGBs, British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and the wider audience, including the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI)