Our Story

The British Horse Foundation was established as a charity in 1991 under the chairmanship of triple Olympic gold medallist Richard Meade OBE, alongside a team of leading British sport horse breeders and experts who came together with a shared aim of supporting the future of British breeding through education and collaboration.

The need for this work became particularly clear following the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, where no British-bred horses featured in the British showjumping or dressage teams. This helped shape the Foundation’s early work to support British breeders in producing horses capable of reaching the highest levels of competition. The BHF provided significant support to the High Performance Sales at Stoneleigh Park, which promoted and sold promising British-bred horses, raising their profile and creating opportunities for them to progress in the sport.

The BHF then turned its attention to the information needed to support better breeding decisions. In 1993, with generous support from the Saddlers' Trust, the British Horse Database was established, bringing pedigree, breeding and performance information together in a single resource. The Foundation also supported the developing use of microchipping for performance horses, helping to link a horse’s physical identity with its pedigree and competition records and strengthening the integrity and traceability of British breeding and competition records.

As the Foundation’s work developed, so did its focus on understanding and recognising the potential of young horses. In 2001, the BHF supported early work to develop a British sport horse evaluation database, contributing to the development of the young horse evaluation framework that would become the British Equestrian Federation’s Futurity scheme. When the Futurity officially launched in 2005, the BHF became a key supporting organisation, helping to establish a more structured approach to evaluating and recognising the potential of British-bred youngstock.

The BHF has continued to evolve alongside the British breeding industry. In 2022, following a period of restructuring, the Foundation became a Member Body of British Equestrian (BEF), strengthening its role in bringing together organisations and expertise across the equestrian sector. That same year saw the launch of Better Beginnings at Weatherbys, bringing together research, expertise and practical knowledge to support better breeding and the welfare of young horses. Building on its success, Better Beginnings is now held biennially.

Today, the BHF builds on this history by bringing together research, education and expertise to support better breeding, youngstock development and lifelong equine welfare. Through collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, the Foundation continues to respond to developments across the industry and help make evidence-based best practice more accessible to breeders and youngstock developers.