Provincial sport governing body Horse Council British Columbia (HCBC) announced it is withdrawing equestrian participation in the next edition of the BC Summer Games, being held in 2026 in Kelowna.
In a statement, HCBC says its decision was due to the rising costs associated with attending the Games, continued erosion in provincial sport funding, a lack of cost-feasible venues within the Games’ site regions, no National support for the Games system (Equestrian Canada does not participate in the Canada Summer Games), and ongoing challenges within the equestrian community to meet the Games’ participant and volunteer requirements.
“While we remain committed to the growth of equestrian sport, the rising costs, challenges to access appropriate facilities within the host communities, and the lack of our national body participating within the Games structure have made it increasingly difficult to justify our participation in the BC Summer Games,” Craig Cherrett, Executive Director of Horse Council BC said in the statement. “As much as we value the spirit of provincial competition, we feel that there are other options that better align with the current realities of our sport to support and cultivate high performance equestrian athletes from British Columbia.”
The reality of the cost of horse sports (and in fact, all sports) to organizers as well as competitors cannot be denied. Noted Cherrett, “This decision also reflects a larger trend that impacts many sports, and we remain hopeful that future funding solutions will help ease these challenges for all involved.”
