Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal chaired the Annual General Meeting
of the British Horse Society on 15 June 2000 at Saddlers Hall in the
City of London (by kind permission of the Worshipful Company of
Saddlers).
In her speech to assembled members, Her Royal Highness highlighted the
achievements of the BHS and commended the Society for its considerable
achievements and successes, particularly with regard to the work that is
being done on access and rights of way.
The British Horse Society faced a challenge in 1999 in turning around
the deficit of £1.2m of the previous year. The stringent cost cutting
strategies were successful in turning that deficit into a profit of
£5,863 for the year under review, despite a drop in membership of 930,
to 55,298, due partly to a moratorium on advertising. While membership
income was down, income from donations and legacies more than doubled to
£530,000. Severe cutbacks meant overall spending was reduced by 15%, but
in spite of this direct charitable expenditure increased by £200,000 - a
6% increase - reflecting the higher demands made on the BHS. Reserves
stand at £1.8m. This sum equals just four months operating expenditure.
BHS Chairman, Michael Clayton, said "The BHS is to be commended for
managing to break even last year. Staff and volunteers alike have risen
to the challenge, although it has not been easy. People are slowly
adjusting to the idea of the BHS as a charity deserving of support, and
this is reflected in the increase in donations, particularly legacies.
The horse world is becoming more aware of the excellent work done by the
BHS, but this in turn has led to increased expectations. The Society
must recruit more members to allow it to meet the increasing demands for
work on bridleways/byways and riding and road safety."
Anyone who is interested in joining the British Horse Society can ring
the membership department on 01926 707700 or write to BHS Stoneleigh
Deer Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2XZ.
Press enquiries to Nichola Gregory,
BHS Press Officer 01926 707707c
British Horse Society
Stoneleigh Deer Park
Kenilworth
Warwickshire CV8 2XZ
Nichola Gregory
BHS Press Officer
