Growing up in rural Utah during the 1980s and 1990s, most of the people I remember riding horses were men. They rode while moving sheep and cattle, working on farms, and hunting. That was the horse world I saw growing up.

Today, I find myself wondering whether that picture still reflects the wider equestrian community. Are most equestrians women now, or was I seeing something specific to the rural life I grew up around?

When I launched Horse Boarding Finder in February 2026, I began to notice something interesting. Most of the people registering boarding facilities seemed to have female first names. That made me curious about what the numbers might tell us.

I looked at published research from equestrian organizations in the United States, France, and the international competition world, along with the accounts registered on Horse Boarding Finder. The results suggest that women make up a large share of many parts of the equestrian community, although the numbers vary depending on what is being measured.

What Do the Published Figures Show?

There isn’t one survey that tells us exactly what percentage of all equestrians are women. Different organizations measure different groups, including their members, survey respondents, licensed riders, and competitive athletes.

Still, several sources show a strong female presence.

The United States

According to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s 2024 Demographic Data Report, women made up 90.28% of U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) membership in 2024, among 82,523 members.

That is a striking figure, although USEF membership represents people involved with the organization and its activities, rather than every person who rides or works with horses.

The American Horse Publications (AHP) 2018 Equine Industry Survey also found that 92.6% of respondents were female, similar to the results of its 2015 survey. This survey reflects people who responded to an equine-industry survey, not a census of all horse owners or riders.

Both figures point to a strong female presence, but they measure different populations. USEF membership is not the same as the readership and participants represented in an equine-industry survey.

France

The French Equestrian Federation reported that women held 555,525 licenses in 2024, representing 85.7% of all licenses issued. It also reported that women held 56% of leadership positions in equestrian establishments.

That second figure is particularly interesting because it looks beyond participation in riding and into leadership within equestrian facilities.

The federation also reported that 49% of female license holders were under 18. That is an important detail when interpreting the overall figure: a population that includes many young riders may look quite different from one made up of adult ranchers or people who use horses for daily work.

The United Kingdom

The 2015 British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) National Equestrian Survey was cited by Natural England as finding that three-quarters of horse riders were female.

This gives us another perspective from outside the United States. As with the other figures, the result reflects a particular survey and should not be treated as an exact measure of every person involved with horses in the UK.

International Competition

The picture becomes more complicated when we look at elite competition.

A report presented to the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) found that female athlete registrations had increased from approximately 56% to 63% over a ten-year period. But the balance varied considerably by discipline and level of competition.

In eventing, women accounted for about 72% of athletes in 2022, yet represented around 53% of the top 30. In show jumping, women made up roughly one-third of ranked athletes, around 20% of the top 100, and just 6.8% of the top 30.

These figures show why overall participation and elite rankings need to be considered separately. The percentage of women taking part in a sport tells us who is participating; the makeup of the highest rankings tells us who has reached the top competitive level. A large female presence among registered athletes does not automatically translate into the same representation among the highest-ranked competitors.

The figures identify the difference, but they don’t explain its causes. Understanding why representation changes at the top would require looking more closely at factors affecting athletes’ progression through the sport.

Thoroughbred Racing Is Different

Thoroughbred racing provides another example of how the numbers can change depending on the role being examined.

A peer-reviewed study of North American Thoroughbred jockeys found that male jockeys outnumbered female jockeys by approximately seven to one overall, with an even larger gender gap in top-level races.

That is a very different picture from the female-majority figures reported by several equestrian organizations. It also shows why we shouldn’t assume that findings from recreational riding or equestrian membership apply equally to every horse-related profession.

What About Western Riding and Working Horses?

This is the part of the question that connects most closely with my own memories. The horse world I grew up around was strongly associated with ranch work and livestock, and the people I remember riding were mostly men.

But Western riding isn’t just ranch work. It also includes recreational riding, breed organizations, and showing.

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), one of the major organizations associated with Western riding and showing, reported that women made up 75% of the 5,580 people who completed its 2016 online membership survey. The survey took an average of 53 minutes to complete, and most respondents said they rode for recreation and fun.

That is an interesting result, but it needs to be read for what it is: a survey of members who chose to respond, not a census of all AQHA members or of everyone involved in Western riding. It also doesn’t tell us the gender balance among ranchers, rodeo competitors, or people who use horses for daily livestock work.

So, while women appear to make up a large share of recreational riding and organized equestrian activities, that doesn’t necessarily mean the same is true of every kind of horse work.

What Does Horse Boarding Finder Tell Us?

I also looked at the accounts registered on Horse Boarding Finder. At the time of my analysis, there were 2,457 accounts.

I grouped the names into four categories: female first names, male first names, gender-ambiguous names (Alex, Casey, Payton), and initials or barn and business names.

Name classification Accounts Percentage
Female first names 2,072 84.3%
Male first names 282 11.5%
Gender-ambiguous names 24 1.0%
Initials, barn or business names 79 3.2%
Total 2,457 100%

These are accounts created by people registering a boarding facility. Those searching for a place to board do not need an account.

The figures caught my attention, but they have some limitations. Some accounts use barn or business names rather than an individual’s first name, and I classified names rather than verified gender identities. So this isn’t a definitive count of women who own or operate boarding facilities, much less a measurement of all equestrians.

Still, the result is interesting alongside the broader trends. The French Equestrian Federation reported that women held 56% of leadership positions in equestrian establishments. Although the two figures measure different things, both offer a glimpse of women’s substantial presence in the organizational side of the horse world.

So, Are Most Equestrians Women?

From the research I found, the answer is that women make up a large majority of many equestrian populations, including members of some national organizations and participants in several forms of riding. The figures from the United States and France are particularly striking.

But there isn’t one percentage that describes everyone involved with horses. The balance varies between recreational riders, young people, facility leaders, elite competitors, jockeys, and people who use horses for ranch work.

The Horse Boarding Finder data adds one small piece to the picture: among the 2,457 facility accounts I examined, 84.3% were associated with female first names. That isn’t a survey of all equestrians, but it was an interesting pattern to find while building a service for the horse community.

Growing up, I mostly saw men riding horses for work. Looking at these numbers today, I can see that my experience represented only one part of a much larger world. Horses are now involved in many different activities, from ranch work and recreational riding to lessons and organized competition, and the people involved in each may have different experiences.

The horse world has many different sides, and the people involved in them aren’t all the same. Taken together, these figures show that women play a major role in modern equestrian life, from riding and competition to leadership within equestrian organizations and facilities.

Sources & Further Reading

The reports and surveys cited in this article are listed here for readers who want to look at the figures in more detail.