The National Equestrian Education Pathway

The RDS is the driver behind this initiative to foster top horsemanship in the coming generation. The National Equestrian Education Pathway is the first of its kind and a product of the 'Reaching New Heights' strategy.

Through the Dublin Horse Show, the RDS has an opportunity each year to shape and support the sport, as well as breeding and production within the county. The Equestrian Committee’s current focus is on participation rates across the industry, and how the RDS can support and increase this in an ever-changing and competitive environment. 

In 2016, the RDS played a key role in the development of the Government-backed strategy for the industry; ‘Reaching New Heights’, and in 2018 it embarked on the development of a national curriculum for rider development and education.

The National Equestrian Education Pathway (NEEP) will be universally aligned across disciplines and all affiliated bodies within the country, an initiative identified and called for in ‘Reaching New Heights’. In line with the RDS equestrian mission, this training project aims to progress the standard of equitation in Ireland and provide an education structure for all those involved in the sport; from child to adult competitor; from groom to breeder. The RDS is committed to ensuring that a secure foundation is in place to develop the sport and participation levels into the future. Work on the development of the rider training curriculum is ongoing. The collation of material for Level 3 of the programme is currently in progress, and we are working with Horse Sport Ireland, the national governing body, to finalise the accreditation system and the examination process for Level 1 of the curriculum. The aim is to complete this during 2020.