Bulgaria

Overcoming social and gender differences

Agnieszka Ujazdowska & Gergana Frateva

Equestrian riding is the only sport where different genders compete together. Contact between the horses andthe riders creates a social environment that enhances possibilities of communication, developing relationships and taking responsibility for action irrespective of the rider’s gender, ethnicity or religious preferences.

Our team in Bulgaria provided a group of children with the opportunity to participate in an equestrian competition at the Bulgarian Equestrian Federation in Sophia to experience a sense of team building and take responsibility for their actions through engaging with horses.

The competition included both horse riding and bicycling competencies over various obstacles with timing penalties allocated for each hurdle not crossed successfully and the winning team being the one with the shortest recorded time to complete the obstacle course.