By 2026, Regular Equestrian Population to Reach 80,000... Equestrian Industry to Grow to 500 Billion Won

The 3rd Comprehensive Plan for Horse Industry Development (2022~2026)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government plans to create 9,000 jobs in the equestrian industry and expand the regular equestrian population to 80,000 by 2026. The equestrian industry size will be increased to 500 billion KRW.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced the "3rd Comprehensive Plan for Horse Industry Development (2022-2026)" containing these details on the 30th.

The comprehensive plan is a statutory plan under the "Horse Industry Development Act," established every five years to set goals and basic directions for horse industry development policies.

This time, it includes various tasks focusing on fostering the equestrian industry, which has great growth potential as a new leisure industry due to rising national income.

First, setting "Creating enjoyment and future value for the people with horses" as the new vision, the plan will promote three major strategies and nine tasks for fostering the equestrian industry: ▲ spreading enjoyable horse culture ▲ expanding horse industry value creation ▲ strengthening social contribution of the horse industry.

Spreading Enjoyable Horse Culture... Expanding Regular Equestrian Population to 80,000

To expand the regular equestrian population, step-by-step equestrian competitions will be operated considering participants' skill levels, and the variety of competition events will be diversified to stimulate interest in riding and encourage beginner participation.

To promote equestrian activities as a part of physical education for students, efforts will be made to incorporate equestrian activities, currently autonomously operated in schools, as an official school subject. Additionally, a Youth Equestrian Support Center will be newly established at the Korea Racing Authority to comprehensively support and counsel youth equestrian activities.

Furthermore, to revitalize equestrian culture, various leisure horse experience programs and a standard model for tourism and experiential complex equestrian facilities will be developed and distributed to private equestrian facilities. Customized promotions tailored to different demand groups will also be strengthened. Moreover, regulatory improvements regarding new construction and expansion of equestrian facilities will be actively identified to lower entry barriers for equestrian facilities.

In response to the recent increase in social interest in safety, a safe horse usage system will be established by strengthening verification of riding horses. A new designation system for excellent equestrian facilities will be introduced to discover and spread outstanding facilities, thereby creating a safe riding environment.

Expanding Horse Industry Value Creation... Strengthening Competitiveness of Domestic Horses and Training Professionals

The import of excellent frozen semen from overseas will be expanded to improve domestic riding horses, and the competitiveness of domestic horses will be strengthened through the dissemination of artificial insemination technology. A system for selecting and verifying domestic riding stallions will be established to breed and raise excellent domestic riding horses, and outstanding stallions will be branded to enhance the value of domestic horses. A standard horse training system by age and growth stage will also be established to promote systematic training.

To revitalize horse industry distribution, regular surveys will be conducted for systematic management of horse history throughout all usage stages, and a Horse Industry Information Center will be established and operated to update and strengthen management of horse history information.

To activate riding horse transactions, a new online distribution and trading platform will be established, and various uses of horses beyond horse racing and riding will be explored.

Competitiveness of horse industry professionals will be strengthened through support for recruiting overseas expert instructors to horse industry training institutions and development of professional instructor training programs. Higher-level certifications will be introduced beyond the current three-tier horse industry certification system to expand training of advanced professionals.

Additionally, employment support programs will be expanded for graduates of professional training institutions, and customized programs for each startup stage will be prepared to promote entrepreneurship and expand jobs in the horse industry sector.

Strengthening Social Contribution of the Horse Industry... Revitalizing Therapeutic Riding

With growing interest in therapeutic riding, therapeutic riding programs will be standardized, and the designation of cooperative therapeutic riding facilities will be expanded to increase the infrastructure for therapeutic riding. Healing riding programs aimed at emotional healing through horses will also be fostered.

For horse welfare, guidelines for welfare by horse usage will be expanded, animal welfare education for horse-related personnel will be newly introduced to raise awareness, and horse welfare experts will be trained.

Funding for horse welfare support will be expanded, and the Korea Racing Authority's Horse Welfare Center, which performs dedicated functions for retired racehorses, will be strengthened. A comprehensive management system for retired racehorses will be established through strengthening the horse welfare foundation.

Finally, social public equestrian experience support will be expanded for vulnerable groups such as low-income families to enhance the public nature of the horse industry and strengthen the function of racing facilities as leisure cultural spaces. Public interest projects utilizing racing revenues will also be expanded.

Park Beom-su, Acting Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "This 3rd comprehensive plan is expected to revitalize and enable a leap forward for the horse industry, which has been depressed due to COVID-19. We will strengthen cooperation with producers, horse industry stakeholders, and local governments and prepare detailed implementation plans for each task to ensure smooth execution."