THE PROFESSIONALS
SUSTAINABLE
EFFORT W
ith global warming and levels of pollution on the rise, it’s never been so important that we all play our part in looking after our planet. Showjumper Camilla Bingham explains how equestrians can help be more green. “Trying to be sustainable on a competition yard is tricky. For a start sport horses require so much stuff – lots of hay, feed, rugs, boots, tack and gear – and they all have to have their own equipment because each horse has its own requirements. Also, as we all know, horses can be incredibly destructive! Things break all the time and need replacing, but this means adding to landfill – something we should all do our best to avoid. “Often it’s cheaper or easier to just replace old or broken items with new ones, but I always try to get things mended or repaired whenever possible. I’m not a big fan of clutter so I have regular clear outs and won’t keep things in the tack room if they don’t get used. I try to sell things second-hand before I am allowed to buy anything else new, though not everybody wants to buy used items these days. I find if something isn’t selling, just give it away for free instead of automatically binning it – often your ‘trash’ can be really useful to someone else. “One thing I’ve learnt over the
42
years is that that buying quality items is better because they last longer. It might be more expensive at the start, but it pays off in the long run as you don’t have to keep buying the same cheap items over and over again, and of course end up throwing the old ones away each time. Always go for quality over quantity, and try to thoroughly research each purchase before buying something and finding it’s not quite right. There are so many influencers these days reviewing products online, so be mindful that they might be being paid to promote something rather than giving their honest critique of a product. “I try to work with companies that share my aim of being more sustainable. So many equine items come in plastic bottles or jars, or wrapped in plastic, and the waste from these can soon mount up. I was lucky enough to meet Zoe from Honest Riders a couple of years ago and I really love their horse care products, which are cruelty-free and use all-natural ingredients. They also come in recyclable packaging, and this summer I’ve been particularly impressed by their soap bars, which have great results for bathing horses yet have zero packaging. Certain products such as fly spray, coat gloss and detangler I buy in bulk, as it’s cheaper and more
CAMILLA BINGHAM IS AN INTERNATIONAL SHOWJUMPER BASED AT PUTTENHAM PLACE IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. STARTING HER COMPETITION CAREER AS AN EVENTER, SHE SWITCHED TO SHOWJUMPING IN 2010. efficient to buy large 5l bottles to fill up the smaller spray bottles, rather than keep on buying more of the smaller ones. “I use Gain Horse Feed because I was impressed by their green credentials. Their feed comes in brown paper bags, which are recyclable, and they source their ingredients from working farms that are trying to be more sustainable in terms of promoting soil health and biodiversity. “One thing we can all do is spend a bit of time researching which companies we buy from. Often their website will have a section on their environmental credentials, or you can ask their sales reps about how the company is working towards
Camilla is sponsored by GAIN Equine Nutrition, Honest Riders, Lord and Lady Equestrian and Protexin.
being more sustainable. “I try to recycle as much as possible, and with any rubbish we do have we keep separated according to material, so plastic in one, string in one, and bags in the other and so on, so when we take it to the tip it can be put in the appropriate bins. At shows we try to bring our own food and water, and even take our own mugs so we can avoid getting those takeaway cups from the show cafés. “These things might not seem much, but if everyone in the horse world does what they can it really will make a difference.” www.puttenhamplace.com
