Grove House Stables, Doncaster and Nottingham Horseball Club are the first two equestrian Clubs to receive Clubmark Accreditation.

The British Horse Society on behalf of the British Equestrian Federation has been awarded the licence to accredit Clubmark clubs in the Equestrian Industry.

Clubmark is a cross sport accreditation scheme specifically designed for clubs with junior sections. Clubmark ensures the well being of young people whilst participating in sport, enabling them to use their leisure time creatively and optimise their talents and personal ability.
The benefits for the club or centre include club development, increased membership, developing coaches and volunteers and an increased profile. Eventually, if clubs wish to work with local authorities and other government agencies, they will have to be accredited in this way.

Commenting on the licence award, Clare MacLeod, National Clubmark Manager said, " I am delighted that the BEF have been awarded a licence to accredit Clubmark to Equestrian clubs. This is an interesting addition to our network of sports, widening the range of sports for children and young people to participate in at every level.

Both Clubs will be awarded their certificates at the Petplan National Riding Festival Day at Grove House on 30 May 2008. Dave Pettifor BHA Head of Training and Development will accept the certificate on behalf of Nottingham, he said, 'Nottingham Horseball Club is one of the founder Clubs of the British Horseball Association and remains a leading club in the UK both in terms of development and competition success.

The junior section of the club, has been awarded the 'Clubmark' quality accreditation - the first Horseball Club in the UK to gain the award with others in the process of completing their portfolio.

Andrew Stennett, Proprietor will accept the award on behalf of Grove House Stables Equestrain Centre the first BHS Approved Riding Centre to receive the award.

Grove House Stables has always prided itself on being at the forefront of developing opportunities for itself, its riders and its staff. Indeed, we are one of only a handful of equestrian centres to have been recognised for the coveted ‘Investor in People' standard, holding the standard since 1999. In order to maintain the progressive nature of our organisation's, development we have recently committed ourselves to obtaining the Clubmark Scheme. Britain is a leader in equestrian sport and schemes such as 'Clubmark' will help individuals develop their potential within a secure and structured learning environment and assisting sport development in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics.

Clubmark is special in as much as it is exclusively available to those clubs offering training programmes for young people, and this group so often represents the ‘future' of any sport. Making sport available to the younger members of society, and encouraging them to commit to continued participation in physical activity is absolutely vital in this age of computers and television. I personally feel that being part of a club - a supportive community of friends - can also play an even wider role in the personal development of young people. We also need parents and carers to feel confident in leaving their children with us in our clubs. Clubmark is a valuable and credible route towards achieving this.

For further information, please contact: Ellie Layton, The British Horse Society, 01926 707795 or e.layton@bhs.org.uk