Riders are being encouraged to get out hacking during “access week” which runs until Sunday (31 May).
The week is organised by the British Horse Society (BHS) to raise awareness of the importance of having safe off-road riding.
“We are very much looking forward to celebrating the wonderful off-road riding that is available in the UK – but also to raise the profile of the need for much more safe, off-road access for equestrians,” said Mark Weston, the BHS’s director of access.
“We hope that during this week riders and carriage drivers will join us in using the routes that are currently available to them and enjoy sharing the experience with their horse.”
Riders are being asked to share photos and details of where they are riding during access week by using #greatride on their social media feeds.
The BHS is also asking equestrians to help raise money for its new BHS paths for communities fund.
The fund will help provide multi-user routes in Scotland and Northern Ireland and bridleways and byways in England and Wales.
Equestrians in England and Wales are asked to check whether any routes that they ride are recorded on the definitive map, and, if not, to investigate whether they should be.
Routes not recorded on this map by the 2026 “cut-off-date”, introduced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 could be extinguished.
It is vital that any unrecorded bridleways or byways are recorded before 2026 or they “could be lost forever,” warned a spokesman for the BHS.
For details of how to get a new route opened with the help of the paths for communities fund tel: 02476 840467.
