The following letter was released on Tuesday, October 20.
Dear Members, Fans, and Colleagues,
US Equestrian is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our sport. As the National Governing Body, we take our role in this movement very seriously. DEI are essential to our vision of bringing the joy of horse sports to as many people as possible, and it must be woven into the fabric of the equestrian community and culture.
Our community possesses many strengths, including a willingness to learn and improve, and a passion for sharing the incredible joy that horses can bring to a person’s life, that show me that we can create a more welcoming sport for all participants and fans.
The US Equestrian Board of Directors has approved the development and implementation of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan, which outlines 10 strategies for US Equestrian to harness our strengths and address our challenges in an impactful, sustainable way. We also included information about our membership demographics, the process to develop this plan, and how we focused on the key areas of people, policies and practices.
All of us at US Equestrian are eager to make a difference. We believe that creating a welcoming community for our current and future members from traditionally under-represented and under-served groups should be intentional and strategic. These 10 strategies seek to bring more people into our sport and ensure the sustainability of our sport for the future. There will be a phased rollout of the strategies, and they will be implemented in the next three to five years.
I look forward to sharing more details and progress as we implement the strategies. Equestrian is often an individual sport, but every one of us knows that we could not make our goals in this sport a reality without the support of our equestrian family. I invite you to read on and join our family of staff, board members, officials, and other USEF representatives to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in equestrian sport.
Sincerely,
Bill Moroney
US Equestrian CEO
To learn more about the Diversity, Equity, and Incfeatlusion Action Plan, click here. To read the Action Plan in full, click the photo below or click here.