Why the long face? Experiences and observations of bullying behaviour at equestrian centres in Great Britain

Abstract

This study explored the experiences and observations of equestrians and industry professionals (N = 11) to verify the nature and extent of mistreatment and harassment at equine centres in Great Britain. Guided by conceptions from the social ecological model, thematic analysis of the data from semi-structured interviews was conducted, which confirmed the omnipresence of bullying by underscoring themes that represent personal factors of those involved such as different acts of negativity and autocratic tendencies of influential figures. Themes denoting social-environmental factors comprised the involved parties’ background characteristics, specific locations of occurrences, and subsequent responses in victims that confirm a discontinuation of involvement. Through the adoption of a macroscopic understanding, equestrian associations are encouraged to revise the implementation and regulation of policies that would prevent mistreatment and abuse to foster a safe and inclusive environment. Future research into separate member bodies within the association, gender differences, and barriers in the implementation of strategies could deepen understanding and inform equestrian associations’ efforts to implement positive change where needed.

Keywords:

• Athlete maltreatment
• bullying
• equestrianism
• sport
• workplace bullying

Introduction

Equestrianism refers to the skill or sport of horse riding, which can be classed into three categories, namely show jumping, dressage, and three-day eventing, which includes show jumping, dressage, and cross-country riding. While equestrianism mainly involves training and riding horses, the equine industry encompasses a wide range of activities and services such as leisure pursuits, therapeutic services, and trade. These aspects are regulated by independent member bodies in various countries (Kanchwala, 2022). In Great Britain, for example, there are 18 independent member bodies operating within British Equestrian, including associations like British Riding Schools, Livery Yards and Equestrian Centres, British Carriage Driving, British Dressage, and British Equestrian Trade Association (British Equestrian, 2023). Equestrianism is a well-developed industry in GB as a recent National Equestrian Survey commissioned by the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) reveals that approximately 27 million people have an interest in the industry. Among those with a personal stake, 1.8 million are regular riders (3 million indicating that they rode within the last month) with a staggering 5 million households indicating to have at least one ex-rider (British Equestrian Trade Association, 2023). The survey results further reveal that 55% of riders have discontinued riding at least once, of which 22% of these lapsed riders contribute discontinuation to a lack of access to horses and riding facilities. With this said, there have been a rising number of media reports on incidents of maltreatment and harassment at equine centres in GB (British Grooms Association, 2017). More claims of a toxic culture characterised by bullying behaviours escalated following the resignation of the British Equestrian Federation’s Chief Executive in 2018 (BBC, 2018). Lately, there are also reported incidents of suicide among grooms who have fallen victim to bullying behaviours occurring within their respective equestrian centres (Horse & Hound, 2021). In response to ongoing reports of bullying and harassment noted between owners of livery yards, a campaign called ‘Not on my yard’ was started to raise awareness of bullying and harassment in the equestrian industry (Fédération Equestre Internationale, 2016). Notwithstanding the constructive efforts of this campaign, there is still a lot of knowledge on the prevalence and nature of this phenomenon within equestrian centres that need to be unravelled scientifically to inform actions towards an effectual change.

Workplace bullying

Bullying and harassment behaviours occurring in comparable spheres that involve the complexity of animal life are also noted. Similar campaigns such as ‘Not one more vet’, exist within the veterinary industry where the likelihood of suicide is four times higher than the general population (Bartram & Baldwin, 2008). Although many factors that contribute to suicide in the veterinary profession such as work stressors, conflict, expectations, and disillusionment (Stoewen, 2015), 85% of those that reported negative views in this profession were identified as victims of bullying (Bedford & Anscombe-Skirrow, 2018). Gardner and Rasmussen (2018) also point out that bullying in conjunction with team conflict serves as a significant mediator of the relationship between destructive leadership and employees’ workplace strain, physical health, and intentions to quit. In this regard, bullying is depicted as a dysfunctional social process that is universally interpreted as a form of repeated hostile and deliberate aggressive behaviour aimed towards a comparatively less powerful or insignificantly perceived peer (Bjärehed et al., 2020). Bullying comes in different forms such as physical, verbal, social, and emotional abuse that are inflicted through both direct and indirect behaviours (Nielsen & Einarsen, 2018). According to Salmivalli et al. (1998), bullying is not limited to a one-on-one interaction between a victim and a perpetrator. Instead, it usually involves bystanders who can assume various roles, both constructive and destructive, in the bullying process (e.g. outsiders, defenders, assistants, and reinforcers). Bystanders’ involvement can significantly impact the dynamics of bullying. When bystanders provide defence and support, victims may feel cared for during the incident. However, victims often report that bystanders remain passive as outsiders or even join in on the bullying behaviour as assistants and reinforcers (Paull et al., 2012).

Bullying in sport

Bullying is recognised as a substantial and still unresolved issue in sports and performance settings (Vveinhardt & Fominiene, 2020). Recent views on sports suggest that bullying represents a form of peer-to-peer interpersonal conflict that has serious negative effects on athletes’ mental health and well-being, which may promote withdrawal from sport (Ríos et al., 2022). An increase in the pervasive use of technology has also given rise to cyberbullying where electronics are used to insult, threaten, taunt, harass, and/or intimidate others (Mishna et al., 2019). While most research on peer bullying in sport focuses on school-aged children (Nery et al., 2020; Vveinhardt & Fominiene, 2020), there is an emerging body of evidence indicating the prevalence of bullying within the athlete-coach relationship among adult athletes, often attributed to the inherent power imbalance between coaches and athletes (Fisher & Dzikus, 2017; Stirling & Kerr, 2014). Results from semi-structured interviews conducted with a sample of retired athletes (N = 18) indicate that coaches tend to engage in emotional abuse towards athletes when they reach a certain level of performance and fail to meet the coach’s subsequent expectations (Stirling & Kerr, 2014). This includes employing degrading comments, personal criticisms, threats, belittlement, and even resorting to silent treatment in front of team-mates, other coaches, or parents. Views obtained from a coaching perspective (N = 9) acknowledged the exhibition of emotionally abusive behaviours towards athletes but explained that these actions are perceived to be a ‘normal’ part of development in sport, which happens spontaneously when frustrated (Stirling, 2013). The coaches in this study acknowledged that these coaching practices, which were once accepted by peers, stemmed from a well-intentioned desire to care for the athlete’s performance and development, rather than malicious intent. However, the coaches emphasised that they have since refrained from such behaviour as they have become more aware of its negative impact on coaching efficacy and athletes’ well-being in sport (Stirling, 2013).

In sport, peer-to-peer bullying among adult athletes is also recognised. One study involving a sample of Canadian intercollegiate athletes (N = 122) across sport types and genders revealed that almost half of the participants (48.4%) reported experiences of victimisation, and more than half (61.5%) had witnessed bullying during the last competitive season (Mishna et al., 2019). In this study, almost one-third (31.1%) acknowledged being perpetrators who engage in social (13.9%), physical (13.1%), and verbal bullying (5.7%) of a peer. Victims pointed out that perceived causes are performance-related (including difficulty developing sport skills/techniques) (31%), not participating in team events (9%), and physical appearance (7.4%). Other reasons for victimisation that were noted in participants’ qualitative responses suggest that the absence from practice sessions, poor choices outside sport, and identifying characteristics also contribute to victimisation (Mishna et al., 2019). These causes are noteworthy since individual characteristics such as race/culture, gender identification, sexual orientation, and disability are commonly identified as factors that increase one’s vulnerability to harassment in sport (Fasting et al., 2010; Symons et al., 2014). Supplementary findings on this topic also suggest that male athletes are more likely to bully as they have a higher tendency than women to be overly aggressive physically, verbally, or non-verbally (Vveinhardt & Fominiene, 2020).

As proposed by theories on organisational culture (Nanayakkara & Wilkinson, 2021), additional factors like the coach or captain’s leadership can play a pivotal role in influencing the prevalence of bullying among peers in team sport settings. Vveinhardt and Fominiene (2020) add further insight to this highlighting that a mismanagement of interpersonal relationships and authoritarian governance style by the responsible coach(es) is noted to elicit the manifestation of bullying incidents. Whilst training facility, in the locker room, and during travel for competition events are identified as common locations for bullying behaviours in sport, it often continues outside sport environments such as hotel rooms, organised team functions/events, social gatherings, and other shared public spaces, which further amplifies the impact on a victim’s life (Mishna et al., 2019).

Theoretical underpinning in understanding bullying

Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) social-ecological model offers a viable framework for attempting to understand bullying in a sport-specific context as an act that is bounded by dynamic interrelations between personal (by organisms and between organisms) and environmental (institutional and cultural) factors. More specifically, the social-ecological model proposes that behaviour/experiences are influenced by a variety of variables on the individual level as well as the larger social, physical, and policy contexts. Regarding bullying in the context of this study, individual-level factors can include demographic characteristics of the organisms involved as well as their views and attitudes towards the behaviour. The social environment factors consider how supportive the people surrounding the bullied/ying person are. Physical environment factors include the facility in which such acts occur. Finally, the policy environment describes the rules and regulations of the equestrian centres’ governing body/ies on acts related to bullying behaviours. Theories like Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), Dominance Theory (DT), Social Cultural Theory (SCT) and the Organisational Cultural Theory (OCT) play a significant role in our understanding of the psychological motivators behind bullying behaviour (Kumari & Subedi, 2020). However, the social-ecological model offers a more comprehensive approach by encompassing the social and physical environment while acknowledging the crucial role of personal factors in bullying (Johnson, 2011). As noted in literature, personal, social, and physical environments are all influential in bullying behaviour, and these factors can interact in synergistic ways (Swearer & Hymel, 2015).

The current study

Despite the growing body of research highlighting the flawed traditions that contribute to bullying in sport and recreation (Vveinhardt & Fominiene, 2022), the academic understanding that contextualises and thoroughly explores the nature of bullying within the diverse and intricate context of equestrianism remains limited and inconclusive. As equestrianism comprises different role players with varying perspectives and opinions, research should aim to isolate this population and investigate what the collective views are around this topic, rather than priming theories based on traditions and cultures that exist in broader sport or similar workplace centres. In retort to media claims and unpublished findings on the bullying culture within equestrian centres (BBC, 2018), as well as other published reports on the suicide of bullied victims in this context (Horse & Hound, 2021), we believe that this investigation is necessitous to understand the rich dynamics and experiences at play.

Therefore, this study is guided by the following research question: What is the extent and perceived nature of bullying within equine centres in GB? To answer this question, we aim to explore memories and experiences of bullying behaviours among common role-players in this context. Guided by the social-ecological model to explore bullying in equestrian centres, we would be able to examine the multi-faceted personal, interpersonal, and environmental factors at play. Confirmation and clarity on the degree, risk factors, and consequences of bullying or maltreatment in this context could identify potential shortcomings in policy and regulation in respective associations that might have practical implications for stakeholders’ efforts/lack of efforts to promote inclusive and safe environments for equestrians. We also believe that delving into the particulars of bullying behaviour at equestrian centres in Great Britain is of paramount importance as it serves as a vital step in protecting individuals’ well-being, fostering inclusivity, and upholding the integrity of a sport that holds significant cultural and recreational value in British society.

Method

Research paradigm

We have adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews to obtain descriptive and clarifying views on the extent and nature of bullying within equine centres. Given that bullying experiences can be extremely subjective and context-dependent, qualitative interviews were selected as a suitable approach for this study as it can provide more nuanced insights into these encounters. Furthermore, this approach can allow those who have been bullied in equestrianism a voice, giving light on their specific issues and the potential influence on their participation (Smith et al., 2015). With this said, the study design and implementation were informed by a social constructivist research paradigm, which acknowledges the complex interplay of individual, social, and cultural influences on participants’ experiences and views (Lincoln & Guba, 2016). Guided by a relativist ontology and a subjectivist transactional epistemology, we approached the interpretation of participants’ perspectives on bullying within the framework of their own experiences. We acknowledge our active role as participants in the knowledge-generation process during the interviews and considered the distinct social and cultural context from which these perspectives emerged. With this perspective in mind, our aim was to investigate the subjective experiences and observations of bullying victimisation within a sample of key stakeholders from equestrian centres. Aligned with this philosophical approach, we recognise that the narratives shared by our research participants may not perfectly mirror the experiences and observations of all bullying victims in all equestrian centres in Great Britain or other parts of the world. Nevertheless, the framework of social constructivism acknowledges that certain aspects of individuals’ realities can resonate with others in comparable contexts (Lincoln & Guba, 2016). This understanding prompts us to consider the potential implications that our findings may have for equine centres and the corresponding member bodies and associations.

Participants

The study’s inclusion criteria required participants to be equestrians or professional workers who had experience being a victim or witness of bullying behaviour in their local equine centre. Although no gender restriction was imposed, only females (N = 11) aged between 23 and 42 years (Mage = 33.33, SD = 7.37) volunteered to participate in the study. The participants’ years of experience ranged between 7 and 40 years (Myears = 19.81, SD = 10.61) and identified themselves as either a rider (54.5%) or professional worker, which included an equine vet, trainers, a racing breeder, and grooms. Irrespective of their experiences and observation of bullying behaviour, most of the participants (72.73%) have reported remaining active in their respective roles while the rest (27.27%) has withdrawn from any equine-related involvement.

Procedures

After ethical approval was obtained from the Northumbria University’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Ethics Board in the Department of Psychology, potential participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling using a study advertisement that was sent to relevant contacts of the primary researcher and posted on Facebook groups such as ‘Chit Chat and Tack’, and ‘Horse Riders: Nervous/Loss of Confidence’. The study advertisement provided information on the purpose, requirements, and inclusion/exclusion criteria of the study. Interested parties were instructed to contact the primary investigator to schedule an individual semi-structured interview. Initially, 35 equestrians expressed interest in participating. They were provided with an informed consent form and an information sheet explaining the study’s nature, their right to refrain from answering any question, and the freedom to withdraw without providing a reason or facing consequences. The sensitive nature of the topic was taken into account during the preparation, ethical approval, and execution of the study. Moreover, the investigation was guided by existing recommendations on researching traumatic and sensitive themes (Fahie, 2014). The contents of the study, in particular, were carefully conveyed to potential volunteers so that they could judge whether participating in the study would be acceptable given their own experiences. Confidentiality and anonymity were assured. Ultimately, 11 participants committed to the study by returning their consent forms. To maintain confidentiality, participants were reminded that any identifying information would be omitted from the data during the interviews.

The data were collected using a once-off individual, semi-structured interview with each participant, which was conducted over the phone in a private location at an agreed date and time. This is a suitable interviewing style when adopting a social constructivist philosophy as it enables both the researcher and participant to be collaborators in the meaning-making process and the exploration of views that is not constrained by a fixed order of questions (Lincoln & Guba, 2016). The study’s interview schedule was developed from the workplace bullying in NHS (National Health Service) community trust staff questionnaire survey (Quine, 1999) to help participants draw anecdotes from their experiences and observations on wide-ranging bullying behaviours. An example of a question asked is: ‘Can you tell me about a time when another person may have used persistent attempts to belittle you and undermine your work or riding?’. The primary researcher’s experience as an equestrian influenced the schedule of the interview questions to explore answers more deeply based on the participants’ role/involvement within the equine industry. Each interview lasted approximately 30 minutes which were audio recorded. The recordings were then transferred, transcribed, and stored securely on a password-protected cloud storage account accessible only to the research team. After the interviews, participants received a debrief sheet containing further information about the study’s purpose, links to support resources for emotional discomfort, and instructions on how to withdraw their data if desired.

Data analyses

In accordance with the researchers’ social constructivist approach and their comprehension of concepts derived from the social-ecological model, which emphasise the significance of the social, institutional, and cultural aspects of human-environment interactions, we employed Braun and Clarke (2019) reflexive thematic analysis to inductively analyse the interview transcripts. This approach was selected as it allowed us to present a rich and detailed understanding (psychological depth) of the nature and extent of bullying experiences between riders and professional workers within equine centres, and the patterns that emerged across their stories (Finlay & Gough, 2008; Nowell et al., 2017). Also, considering our focus on the context, awareness of potential researcher influence in the interpretation of the data, the complex and sensitive nature of participants’ views on bullying in equestrianism, Braun and Clarke (2019) reflexive thematic analysis provides a structured yet flexible framework for exploring the intricacies of this topic (Braun & Clarke, 2019; Nowell et al., 2017). Given that the researcher (NM) in charge of data collecting had an equestrian background, reflective thematic analysis was deemed most appropriate. An analytic trail of the steps taken in the approach was produced to ensure rigour. The analytic process commenced following the transcription of the interviews where we familiarised ourselves with the participants’ accounts by reading and re-reading transcripts while noting down initial thoughts and impressions (step 1). Note-taking and idea generation led to the identification of initial codes that was likely to depict bullying concepts and potential links to sub-themes (step 2). These codes were then sorted into groups that were considered as preliminary sub-themes that we felt captured the essence of the participants’ stories of experiencing and witnessing bullying victimisation (step 3). In this respect, the primary researcher’s experience as an equestrian rider aided with the alignment of the sub-themes to the respective main themes (assure close association) as her insight helped to understand the context in which the participants were describing their experiences (step 4). The sub-themes were then refined after meetings between the members of the research team whereafter it was thematically mapped to encapsulate what the data set was revealing (step 5). Finally, the emerging main themes were named, defined, and discussed in relation to the research question formulated for this study (step 6). Researcher reflexivity was maintained throughout the thematic analysis to acknowledge how the primary researcher’s experience as an equestrian could influence their interaction with the data.

Results and discussion

The research question ‘What is the extent and perceived nature of bullying within equine centres in GB?’ was examined through a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, resulting in the creating of five core themes namely ‘Direct Negativity’, ‘Autocratic Behaviours’, ‘Background’, ‘Locations of Negativity’, and ‘Effects of Negativity’. These themes are briefly summarised and defined in Tables 1–5. The themes of ‘Direct Negativity’ and ‘Autocratic Behaviour’ were directly relevant to answering the research question and closely describe equestrians’ experiences of bullying. These two themes also denote the personal attributes at play of the organisms involved whereas the other themes enrich the data by providing insights into the physical, social and cultural environment such as the locations where bullying behaviours occurred, the background of perpetrators and victims, and the effect of the bullying behaviour on the victims. According to the social-ecological model’s assumptions, the highlighted themes create a comprehensive framework of interconnected factors that collectively contribute to clarifying the prevalence of bullying in British equestrian communities.

Table 1. Summary of the theme representing Direct Negativity.

Main theme 1	Description
Direct Negativity	Bullying behaviour that is a direct act of negativity towards or about another person
Sub-theme	Description	Statement Examples
Gossiping	Talking about another person behind their back and spreading negative rumours	‘She is always coming to me telling me that the other girls have said something else or done something else online that’s made Katie feel bad in some way’. – P2
Judgement	Negatively commenting on the actions of someone	‘She doesn’t want to mix with other people because she feels that they will walk in, judge her, then walk back out again’. – P2
Negative Competitiveness	Putting others down to win	‘People are not shy about it, at competitions, people will fight, there’s a lot of sabotage between people’. – P6
Aggression	Verbal threats and physical abuse	‘She used to drive down the lane really fast in her car when my daughter was schooling her pony, she used to play music really loud to spook or distract her pony. When hacking out, she used to drive so close to the pony that my daughter nearly came off’. – P2

Table 2. Summary of the theme representing Autocratic Behaviours.

Main theme 2	Description
Autocratic Behaviours	A person in power using their authority in a domineer and manipulative way
Sub-theme	Description	Statement Examples
Withholding Information	Gaining advantage or avoiding information for personal gain	‘I would say there was a few times that employers would gloss over problem horses, and then you would find out later on… I think they do it not to scare you but at the same time it is a little bit dangerous because you should know the full history of a horse before you are told to ride it’. – P10
Excessive Expectations	Extreme labour and deadlines. Standard of work never being good enough.	‘She would come up with a whole list of jobs that I would never be able to get done in that amount of time and she would say ‘oh well you’re going to have to stay and finish it’ but if I asked for an extra hour’s pay then she would say no as I did not get the jobs done’. – P10
Destructive feedback	Pointing out flaws over strengths, shouting, lack of support.	‘An instructor at a riding school whilst I was training for my stage 4, and she was belittling my riding. She was constantly knocking me down. There was no try this, try that, it was constantly do not do that, do not do this. It was all negative’. – P3
Misogyny	Putting women down, men in power, sexual bribery, sexual abuse	‘I have had a lot of misogynistic behaviour aimed at me because it is a high female to male ratio, but where all the males are in charge. I have been propositioned at sales by perspective buyers, I have been told to go out to wine and dine and pretend to potentially, not prostitute myself, but not far off’. – P4
Blackmail	Threatening someone for personal gain	‘She used to force me to miss school so that I could come and help her, and she would get me to muck out all the horses’ stables whilst she did the smaller, nicer jobs, and would bribe me by saying that I could ride the horses. And she would say, if you do not do this then I will go and tell the manager that you have not helped, and you cannot ride’. – P8

Table 3. Summary of the theme representing Background.

Main theme 3	Description
Background	The effects of someone’s background influencing how they give or receive negative behaviours
Sub-theme	Description	Statement Examples
Money Talks	Decisions based around money. Ownership or lack of money causing tension between people.	‘I think it can depend on your background as well, like if you do not have the money and the posh things behind you, it can be quite intimidating. But then you have the opposite with the people who do not have much, they try and put you down for having a little bit of something that they do not have. I suppose that it is quite hard to be working class in this industry because you have to work even harder to do the things you want to do’. – P1

Table 4. Summary of the theme representing Locations of Negativity.

Main theme 4	Description
Locations of Negativity	The places which negative behaviours are happening the most
Sub-theme	Description	Significant Statement Examples
Livery Yards	Negative behaviours occurring where equestrians keep and often train their horses.	‘Everything negative that has happened to us in this industry has all been from other people on the livery yard. Everyone knew who seems to come to the main yard seems to get soaked into this toxic environment’. – P2
Competition	Negative behaviours occurring where equestrians compete and show their horses.	‘Or purposely trying to put them down or screaming and shouting and fighting in public. I have seen a lot of girls get into fights and scrapping at competitions’. – P6
Racing	Negative behaviours occurring at racing yards, auctions, and race days.	‘The racing industry is all about money and reputation. Alan and I have had our business for 5 years and we are pretty much still nobody. We go to auctions and shows to buy and sell but we do not even get a look in at all… we went out and bought a really high-end car… And we have a wardrobe of clothes just for when we are networking too, because again we need to look the part’. – P9
Social Media	Negative behaviours occurring on social media on personal and general platforms such as forums.	‘I think that anyone who is on Facebook have voices on a regular basis. I do not go looking for vet bashing posts’. – P4

Table 5. Summary of the theme representing Effects of Negativity.

Main theme 5	Description
Effects of negativity	The consequences of negative behaviours
Sub-theme	Description	Statement Examples
Confidence	A loss of confidence due to being a victim of receiving negative behaviours from others	‘I think it knocks your confidence when competing at events, because you would be super vigilant about what other people think about you, rather than just focussing on yourself and what you’re doing, so it knocks your confidence for doing more and going to events, or at a certain level’. – P1
Retiring	Leaving the equestrian industry as a career or altogether.	‘I left the horse world because of these experiences, working for them as a career at least’. – P3
Equine Welfare	Equine welfare being compromised due to negative behaviours in the environment.	‘I’ve seen people go and share of a horse’s mane because they’ve fallen out with people, I’ve seen people cut off tails, let horses out of stables and stuff like that’. – P6

Direct negativity

Direct negative actions noted in the participants’ responses included gossiping and judging others, negative competitiveness, and aggression. These types of actions are consistent with bullying behaviour commonly described in the workplace context (Nielsen & Einarsen, 2018). All participants in the study described scenarios in which they were the recipients and observers of direct negative behaviours in the context of their equestrian involvement. The exposure and extent of negative actions experienced differed from participant to participant.

Gossiping

Participants described instances of gossiping where groups of people would talk behind the victims back, spread rumours, and blame the victim for things when at fault. In all instances of the participants’ experiences, gossiping was often noted and subsequently confirmed by other members.

Everything you would do in the school, she would then use it against my daughter and gossip saying, oh you never guess what [K] did today, look at this, showing people the pictures of my daughter. (Participant 2)

The content of the gossiping varied, but mostly involved talking about the way someone would do something with their horse, describing it as wrong, incorrect, and not worth it. Often this gossip would get talked about in groups and passed onto other, which would prejudice their social interactions and judgments of the victim/target. This notion is supported by Baum et al. (2020) who’s social experiment study confirms that gossip even if the information is knowingly based on unclear evidence, negatively affects others emotional evaluations and judgments of an unknown person.

Judgement

Linking up with the previously mentioned sub-theme, others’ passing judgement was seen as a common occurrence within equestrianism. Within the context of the demanding environment, there is scope for a damaging impact on targeted individuals, particularly as others’ judgements are typically lesser than our own (Springer et al., 2012). This is further compounded within the competitive environment where riders are continually examining their own performance against those of others, influencing their self-esteem and the outcomes of their performances. Feeling unfairly judged affected the victims’ sense of belonging and their motivation to continue involvement.

But after the time I was laughed at I definitely felt more nervous to go and do certain classes again, but I knew everyone would be looking at me. – (Participant 7)

Negative competitiveness

Direct negativity between equestrians often occurred in the guise of competitiveness. This was often the case between peers in a riding school or on a livery yard and were pervasive during competitions and shows. Participants also described instances of parents’ competitiveness leading to arguments and negative behaviours between them and their participating child, other riders, and their supporting members:

There was one girl […]no matter what you did, she would always try to do one better, and claim that she would do better. She would say, well, if you did it like this it would have been better. Her mum was also the same, and very pushy, so anytime any of us did anything that her daughter did not do, it would always be very much like, well if so and so had been, she would have definitely placed better or she would have done better on this and better on that. (Participant 7)

The organisational culture of equestrian centres harnesses competitive behaviours that are common in sport (Passos et al., 2016), or typical workplaces (Lopez et al., 2017). However, competitiveness is often acknowledged as an environmental factor that may heightened the occurrence of bullying (Salin, 2003). Ego-oriented riders are concerned about outperforming their counterparts and may offend others with the outwardly display of their competitive behaviours (Ryska, 2003). There is also a trend in the industry to always look your best and the same goes for one’s horse. This includes the need for ‘matching-sets’ where horse and rider must be in full matching-colours. In most affiliated shows, the rules require that dress codes must be observed to prevent disqualification, which include colour codes. This compounds a further pressure for those who struggles to afford expensive events and can often place them in a vulnerable position to be bullied. Although participants acknowledged that for some this behaviour may not hold severe effects in the short-term, the majority felt that over a sustained period it could make an equestrian feel socially excluded.

Aggression

Participants described aggressive acts, such as social exclusion, verbal, and physical aggression coming from both clients and peers.

I have been punched; I have been verbally abused. I have been threatened with being destroyed professionally… I have had folk lose their temper over strangles outbreaks, that is what the punching reference was to. (Participant 4)

Physical violence was, however, less likely to occur than verbal aggression and social exclusion, similar to findings from a comprehensive review of 20 years of research on workplace bullying (Samnani & Singh, 2012). The requirement for competitors to show zeal and physical dominance over their opponent is frequently cited as an explanation for why aggression happens in sporting environments (Donahue et al., 2009). Additionally, it has been shown that people tend to use moral reasoning that is less developed in sports domains than in non-sport domains (bracketed morality) (Kavussanu & Stanger, 2017). The bracketed morality phenomenon suggests that while such behaviour is harshly criticised in other contexts, actions of hostility, misbehaviour, intimidation, and dominance are seen as acceptable and frequently promoted in the context of sports. The participants also reported an increase in aggressive occurrences when the aggressor saw the victim as a potential danger to their role. According to Inzlicht and Kang (2010), threats to one’s social identity serve as a common catalyst for both controllable and uncontrollable aggressiveness.

Autocratic behaviours

The unfavourable actions taken by those in positions of authority and power, including yard owners, managers, instructors, breeders, parents, and even friends, included information withholding, high expectations, negative comments, misogyny, and blackmail.

Withholding information

Participants described occasions where another person, such as a breeder, employer or client withheld necessary information from them that resulted in dangerous consequences.

Someone withheld information from us recently and it was quite serious […] I loaned a horse who began acting dangerously and I could not put my finger on why, and it chucked me off in the arena and I landed on my head. So, I had a concussion and had to take a week off work, so the horse obviously did not get ridden in that time. Whilst I was recovering, I had other people look after it, but not ride it, and it was even acting up on the ground. I contacted the owner who took it back quite quickly but would not really talk to me about the situation or the behaviour, because I explained that it was not acting normally and maybe it should go to a trainer, but she ignored this. (Participant 1)

One frequently mentioned act of workplace bullying is the withholding of information for one’s own benefit, to avoid loss, or to adversely affect the success of others (Einarsen et al., 2009). According to the findings of the current study, hiding information from someone in a position of responsibility was frequently done for personal gain, whether it was to take advantage of a sale or loan or to consciously undermine a situation. This is in line with studies (Dunleavy et al., 2010) that supports the justification of deceptive withholding tactics by a person with expert and referent power, high competence, and character.

Excessive expectations

Participants described incidents of negative behaviours associated with the unrealistic expectations of authority figures such as employers, parents, coaches:

Somewhere where I worked where the women, she was not a rider herself, but she was kind of classed as like the yard manager. …we worked long days, we would start at half six in the morning and finish at 7pm at night, and she would constantly say, you are not working hard enough, you are not getting things done quick enough. You should be working the horses harder and she would force us to get up even earlier and come out and work even earlier even though we were not paid for it. (Participant 6)

The expectations that research participants had to deal with were thought to be highly severe and to occur regularly. According to research, employee perceptions of company expectations are frequently higher than what employers would consider to be reasonable and acceptable (Kavanagh & Drennan, 2008). In the context of sport, coaches are frequently blamed for having high expectations for their players. This may be a result of the coach’s motivational intentions, but many coaches find it challenging to distinguish between excessive behaviour and reasonable aspirational expectations in order to bring about improvements (Wilson & Stephens, 2007). As it turns out, parents of athletes are frequently the ones who place unreasonably high demands on their children’s performance and the expectations that go along with them (Knight et al., 2017). Bullying tactics are frequently used in these situations (Einarsen et al., 2009).

Destructive feedback

The participants also described how they could be the subject of excessive criticism, pointing out flaws, shouting, and lack of support from authority figures:

I have had some lessons in the past where the coach has not been fully qualified and so their feedback has not been very positive, compared to some of the more highly trained coaches I have used. So maybe their teaching styles were not as professional, and the way they give you the information to improve was not as compassionately delivered or very encouraging from a learning perspective, always using negative reinforcement. I think some areas for development are important, but it just needs to be delivered in the right way. (Participant 1)

This experience is in line with earlier studies on equestrian trainers, who were discovered to frequently use negative reinforcement and punishment in their instruction (Warren-Smith & McGreevy, 2008). Although this earlier finding may be considered out of date, it shows that such strategies are still widely used and necessitates further research into coach education and training in this situation. Unhelpful criticism from instructors or coaches may slow down students’ rate of learning and have a detrimental impact on their motivation, effectiveness beliefs, and pleasure of sports (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Participant 1 brought up the fact that coaching sessions run by instructors or coaches who lack the necessary credentials were frequently characterised by negative criticism. The opinions expressed led to the conclusion that coaches’ and instructors’ emotional intelligence was less developed than that of an experienced coach, who would be more conscious of the effect their actions and feedback have on their athletes. According to research by Teques et al. (2019), coaches were more effective in inspiring and forming the character of their athletes when they possessed greater levels of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to control one’s own emotions.

Misogyny

The participants described experiences of gender specific abuse from men in power such as putting women down, use of derogatory language, and sexual exploitation:

He used to treat me like shit. Well, he is quite a sleezy man, so he thought he could treat women however he wanted to. Like he would make really inappropriate comments constantly… He would hit on me and touch me, stuff like that, and he would ask me if I would cheat on my boyfriend. I do not know; I just feel like in the horse world men think they can just use women for anything they want. And especially if they are above you, say your boss or whatever, they would think that they could sexualise you so that you get what you want out of the job…’. (Participant 6)

Claims of sexual abuse and misogyny in equestrian settings appears to mirror extant literature on the prevalence of abuse in other sport setting (Kavanagh et al., 2019; Owton, 2016). Regrettably, one study participant disclosed a history of sexual abuse. Despite equestrian sport being the only sex-integrated Olympic sport, patriarchal ideas persist as an issue in equestrian settings, even though men have no inherent physical advantages over women in this sport (Dashper, 2012).

Blackmail

The abuse of power is not limited to hierarchically more senior individuals. Peers were also shown to utilise abuse of power. An extreme example was the use of blackmail as a means of bullying and undermining a target:

She blackmailed the owner and said that if they didn’t get rid of me, then she would leave, which would mean that she would lose a lot of income from her which she knew she wouldn’t want to lose. (Participant 2)

Blackmailing people was an extremely bad act and a misuse of power. Even though it wasn’t a common experience for all the participants, the emotional reporting of it in a few of the interviews was consistent with Babarakhimova et al. (2019) and Liu (2010), who acknowledged how the victims’ subsequent feelings of fear, obligation, and guilt have a depressive effect on their wellbeing.

The theme ‘Background’ emphasises the importance of social status and income in determining a person’s chances of being bullied or of bullying others. It is not surprising that the participants discussed how a person’s family background and/or money affected their view of authority over others as these factors have also been linked to dominating behaviour and other undesirable tendencies (Dashper, 2012). The study’s participants discussed how people with more money (or who came from wealthy households) frequently bullied others or merely participated in the bullying as a bystander (assists and reinforcers) with those who were in a comparable, higher class. Participants also discussed how working-class and less advantaged riders were more frequently the targets of bullying and frequently patronised because of their horses’ quality or price, the number of horses they owned, their transportation methods (horse boxes, waggons, or lack thereof), their attire, and their access to upscale events.

The theme ‘Locations of Negativity’ offered crucial background material on bullying experiences in horse facilities. Participants described the venues where bullying occurred as being in the general livery yard setting, at competitive activities like shows and racing, as well as on social media. It’s noteworthy that horse professionals noted that when they did encounter unfavourable behaviours from others, it was frequently not confined to one place. This demonstrates how widespread bullying is in the equestrian community and how it may spread to victims outside of the local communities through social media. This idea is consistent with contemporary social and sporting trends, according to which the widespread use of social media and other technological platforms has significantly increased cyberbullying (Mishna et al., 2019).

The bullying’s negative repercussions on the victims’ welfare, behaviours, and confidence to engage in the activity are discussed under the theme ‘Effects of Negativity’. Participants discussed instances where some females would entirely stop competing in equestrian events. Other, less drastic responses included removing oneself from the situation by moving yards to avoid the bullies, seeing their horse less frequently, riding less, or just trying to stay away from the offenders. These usual reactions are in line with previous research in sports, which has shown that bullying activities (such as gossing and unjust judgement) cause victims to engage in physical exercise less frequently (DeBate et al., 2009). These responses are not unexpected given that Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory (2000) describes motivated behaviour as being significantly influenced by people’s needs for relatedness and belonging. One concern with these effects, however, is the welfare of the horse. If the sufferers decide to see their horses less, this could have a detrimental effect on both the horse and victim’s health and wellness. Participants also shared incidents in which bullying affected their post-event behaviours towards the horses.

Conclusion

The findings emanating from this study have highlighted the prevalence and multidimensional nature of bullying within British equestrian centres. Drawing on a social ecological perspective for understanding incidences of bullying, our findings illuminate critical individual, social, and cultural-environment factors that contribute to bullying behaviour while illustrating its detrimental impact on the experiences of both service users and stakeholders. This study not only provides scientific contextualised qualitative findings that corroborate media reports of bullying and abuse within the British equestrian community but also offers valuable insights that can be directly applied by policymakers and equestrian facilities seeking to address and transform their current problematic cultures. Although the British Horse Society (BHS, 2022) has regulations in place to protect children and young people from bullying, there appears to be a lack of macroscopic understanding on the intricacies and symbiotic relations between factors that fosters bullying at equines centres leaving a gap in protection for senior members.

Despite the unique nuances observed in our findings and the significance for the equestrian sector, this study does have some limitations. First off, it should be mentioned that the data collection took place during the COVID-19 epidemic, hence all of the interviews were done online to reduce danger to both the researcher and the subjects. Although the participants’ narratives provide rich and detailed accounts, they inherently carry a degree of subjectivity. Factors such as participants’ recall bias could potentially impact the presented findings. Also, it is thought that in-person interviews might have made it easier for the researcher to read the participants’ body language, which could have produced more insightful data. Second, because the equestrian industry is so diverse, the experiences detailed in the study’s sample of riders and professionals may not be representative of all parts of the sector, yet knowledge from the study will be valuable and transferable to many across the industry. Thirdly, because gender-related topics were covered by the study’s findings, only women were included in the sample, which excludes or underrepresents the viewpoint of men in the field. There is thus room for future research to focus more specifically on the experiences of sub-groups (such as amateur riders, professional riders, equine veterinarians, farriers, livery yard owners, grooms) and their unique peculiarities, as well as underrepresented groups in the current study, such as males involved in the equestrian industry.

To gain a deeper understanding of this subject, future research that tackles some of these potential constraints is required. The effects of bullying described here (abandoning the industry) and how they directly affect victims’ wellbeing need more research and possible action. It is also necessary to conduct additional research to better understand how bullying behaviour in the workplace affect the welfare of horses.

Data accessibility statement

The dataset supporting the results of the study is available upon request.

Ethics approval and informed consent

Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained through Northumbria University’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences ethics review system in the Psychology Department (Ref: 33404). After perusing the information sheet, participants had to provide written informed consent to participate in the study.

Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank the participants for their time partaking in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).