Equestrian
The equestrian and outdoor recreation sector accounts 1.7% of employment in Leicestershire, as compared to 1.4% in the East Midlands and 1.2% in England. Equestrianism is a very diverse sector which includes everything from horse racing, show jumping, hunting through to veterinary science, horse breeding, publishing, tourism, and the manufacturing and retailing of equipment. Horse riding includes people who are starting to learn to ride as a leisure activity, through to elite professionals who are competing on the international stage.

Leicestershire Equestrian Enterprise Partnership (LEEP)
LEEP is an organisation of local riding schools which seeks to uphold the highest safety standards amongst members. Details of some of the LEEP (and non LEEP) riding schools can be seen in the horse riding section of the Go Leicestershire website. For more information about LEEP please contact Verity Saul c/o Witham Villa Riding Centre.

Ride Welland
Ride Welland is the brand name of the Welland Equestrian Tourism and Leisure Project. The aim of the project is to promote the Welland area as a destination of choice in England for equestrian tourism and leisure. The Welland area includes the Melton and Harborough districts of Leicestershire.

To achieve this aim, Ride Welland is working to develop and integrate equestrianism with leisure and tourism opportunities. New off-road Toll Rides have been opened and Ride Welland is working on opening more in conjunction with existing bridleways to form an extensive web of riding networks.

Ride Welland is also running training events aimed at equestrian and tourism businesses to enhance their skills so they can to deliver consistently excellent goods and services to Welland visitors and residents. The Welland area will be widely marketed to promote awareness of its facilities and services to equestrians worldwide. Ride Welland is funded by the East Midlands Development Agency land is managed by the Country, Land and Business Association.

Rights of Way – Leicestershire County Council
The network of definitive paths that horse riders are entitled to use extends to nearly 600 kilometres (370 miles). These are mostly made up of bridleways. In addition horse riders can and do use the carriageway network. However, the huge increase in motor traffic over the last 100 years has meant that practical use of the carriage way network has become more and more restricted.

The Midshires Way is a long distance bridleway and footpath across Middle England. It is approximately 225 miles long. It links the Ridgeway with the Trans-Pennine Way, thus opening up the possibilities of a long walk or ride along the length of England. The Leicestershire section is about 30 miles long. For the most part, the Midshires Way follows public bridleways or quiet country lanes. Wherever possible on road sections, alternative footpath routes have been waymarked to assist walkers.
The County Council, as Highway Authority, has a duty to assert and protect the rights of the public to use and enjoy rights of way (including bridleways), and to ensure that they remain open and useable at all times. Where problems arise on rights of way, they can often be resolved on an advisory basis. However, where discussions with landowners fail to reach a satisfactory conclusion, the Authority takes further action.

Point to Points
There are two point to point courses in Leicestershire. These are at Garthorpe , five miles south east of Melton Mowbray, and Dingley , a couple of miles east of Market Harborough.

Horse Sales
Horse sales at Melton Mowbray Market are usually on the first and third Saturday of each month.