Racing To Relate were honored to be invited to speak at an important Equine Assisted Services Forum at Saddlers Hall, London on 13th March 2023. The Forum was kindly supported by the Sir Peter O’Sullivan Charitable Trust and co-organised and hosted by the Steering Group of The Human Equine Interaction Register and The Worshipful Company of Saddlers.
Prime Warden Lucy Atherton welcomed over 120 guests from across the broad spectrum of Equine Assisted Services (EAS) and we were honoured to be joined by Master of Company, Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal. The event highlighted the significant progress made in the first 12 months since the Register was launched which boasts 56 listed organisations who have provided evidence that they meet 5 core standards. The energy and buzz in the room as people connected, caught up, collaborated and networked was palpable.
Keynote speakers from the sector gave insightful talks:-
A Practitioner’s Perspective - Petra Ingram HorseWorld Trust
Thoroughbreds in EAS - Jennifer Barker Racing to Relate
EAS Qualification - Harriet Laurie The HorseCourse
Following an interesting and informative Q&A Panel where the speakers were joined by Nigel Payne MBE and Claire Misson EAFPN. Her Royal Highness astutely rounded up and closed the formal part of the proceedings when it was clear that she was very supportive of EAS and understood some of the challenges being faced by the sector including the need for physical, learning and psychotherapies with equines to be recognised by the NHS.
It was a very rewarding and informative experience for members of the Racing To Relate team and we were delighted to network and discuss our work with members of HEIR and the wider equestrian community present. That evening we also attended a charity dinnner hosted by The Armed Forces Equine Charity.
The UK HETI Human Equine Interaction Register aims to bring together all people involved in the field of human equine interactions to ensure high quality service provision and create a greater awareness of their work.
The Register is a voluntary register to bring together everyone involved in the field of human equine interaction, to ensure high quality service provision and create greater awareness of this field of work. The Register seeks to provide trust and confidence in the sector in order to:-
Protect and promote providers
Protect the participants of the service
Protect equines
The National Register is a helpful resource for service users to make informed choices about service providers. Commissioners, funders, practitioners and anyone wishing to find out more about equine assisted or facilitated programmes in the UK will also find it useful.
It provides the names, contact details and locations of individuals and organisations who provide equine assisted or facilitated therapies including physical therapies; psychotherapy; education; learning; coaching and activities who have demonstrated that they have both human and equine welfare at the heart of what they do.
Individual practitioners and organisations on the Register have submitted documents and evidence to confirm that they align to and meet five criteria:
Professionalism: competence to practice and commitment to professional development
Equine welfare: high equine welfare and management standards
Service provision and service user engagement: communication of services and the potential benefits
Benefits and impact: professional reflection of the benefits and impact of the service being provided
Governance: sufficient management and governance structures in place
For further information like their Facebook page www.facebook.com/HEIRUKHETI/
The Spring 2023 newsletter and the presentations from the March Forum can be found here