UK Researchers Seek Survey Participants

[Wandering Eyes]

University of Kentucky researchers Karin Pekarchik (College of Agriculture, Food and Environment) and Kimberly Tumlin (College of Public Health) are seeking participation for an online research survey to better understand who participates in horse activities and sports.

“Portrait of a Rider: Characterizing Active Participants in Horse Activities and Horse Sports,” is a survey that will help qualify socioeconomic factors and type of participation of equestrians, which includes any person–rider, handler, worker–who interacts with horses. Compared to the amount of research on horse health, little research has been conducted on equestrians, despite the economic importance of this industry globally.

“This survey is an important step in making sure we understand who participates in the industry, where they are, and generally get more detail on their backgrounds. There are some pressures to participation rates and workforce development in different areas of the industry, and this is one way to give everyone an opportunity to be counted,” Pekarchik said.

“We hope that characterizing equestrian participants in 2019 will yield new insight into trends and facts that could be used to fine-tune recruitment and training for workforce development, participation rates, etc. We will literally be painting a portrait of the horse rider/handler with facts.”

“I love the collaborative nature of the equestrian community of practice. All of the women freely give their time and expertise to further an industry that is clearly important to them. The research paper that we are working on is a big effort, but we hope it will be really useful for other researchers and industry groups, whether they are in the Thoroughbred racing, eventing, Pony Club, or any of the other diverse groups that make up the equestrian world.”

Although there are generalizations about who participates, it is unclear if those generalizations are reflective of accurate socioeconomic factors or are perceptions based on stereotypes.

“There are many pre-conceived notions that being involved in the equine industry is precluded by having economic stability. This survey is aimed at understanding potential disparities that we have observed but are not widely documented in the various sectors of equestrian participation,” Tumlin said.

Pekarchik and Tumlin aim to receive completed surveys from at least 1,000 people so they can create a statistically valid portrait of who participates in horse activities. The online survey is open to anyone over the age of 18 and will be distributed in the United States and internationally. The survey will be open until March 31, 2019. To participate, click here.

An interdisciplinary team, Pekarchik and Tumlin have been engaged in equestrian research for several years. Currently, Tumlin and Pekarchik, with Mike Sama, Ph.D., PE, an engineer at the University of Kentucky, have funding from the UK Central Appalachian Regional Education and Research Center to explore impacts of biomechanical forces on the jockey/equestrian spine more fully. The funding will support a collaboration with the North American Racing Academy (NARA), the Lexington, Ky., race-training program. NARA’s students will participate in both live animal and simulated racing experiences while wearing newly engineered sensor systems that will measure spine forces. Eventually, Pekarchik and Tumlin will compare the impacts of riding to other sports activities to better understand the effects on the body.

To learn more about the Female Equestrian Community of Practice, visit https://www.uky.edu/equestrians.

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