Horse & Hound reveals Great Britain’s horsiest county
Find out which county came out on top in our study to find the horsiest county in Britain
In today’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (21 June 2018), our extensive study has crowned Devon as the horsiest county in Great Britain.
Having analysed data across a number of elements of equestrian life, Olympic eventer Mary King’s county came out on top, with Hampshire taking the runner up spot and Somerset in third place.
Thanks to help from governing bodies and other organisations, statistics were compiled for eventing, showjumping, dressage, showing, racing, pointing, hunting, polo, veterinary care, access to farriers, Pony Clubs, riding clubs, bridleways, livery yards, riding instructors, riding centres and tack shops and feed merchants.
We also took into account where some of the biggest events in the equestrian calendar take place as well as where top riders and equestrian legends of yesteryear live.
“Looking at the stunning images of Olympic legend Mary King exercising Kings Ginger along the south Devon coast and surrounding villages for the cover and feature in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine is enough to make any equestrian enthusiast covet a property in this area,” says H&H’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jenkins.
“Well served by hunts, Pony Club branches, equestrian centres and instructors, too, Devon really is rider heaven. No doubt readers will be keen to see how their our own counties are rated, and with such a diverse readership the overall winner will not be of as much interest to some as the county that fared best in their preference discipline, for example.
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“There were some surprises for H&H’s journalists compiling the research — who would have guessed Essex would be best served by bridleways, for example? — but the overwhelming feeling we had in creating the article is how fortunate we are to be based in a country with such rich equestrian heritage and provision across the board. We might long to move to Devon, but wherever we are based we are not far from equestrian excellence on our small island.”
The top 10 horsiest counties according to our 2018 survey
- Devon
- Hampshire
- Somerset
- Gloucestershire
- North Yorkshire
- Surrey
- Kent
- Staffordshire
- Lancashire
- Wiltshire
Pick up a copy of today’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (21 June 2018) to find out how your county fared in our survey — and why top riders have chosen to base themselves in these horsey hotspots
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.