The purpose of this thesis was to determine the current state of Fair Play in horse riding. No research on the subject has been done before. Fair Play is an all-encompassing value system, which includes all ethical principles of horse riding. It gives to every hobbyist a chance to take part in horse action no matter what their background is. In this thesis we wanted to find out what are the internal problems of the sport, how deep they are and how can we fix them. The commissioner of this thesis is The Equestrian Federation of Finland.

This thesis is based on a large quantitative survey, which was created in co-operation with members of The Equestrian Federation of Finland. 1707 people responded to the survey during the period 6.7.2015–31.8.2015. Through the survey there were more than 100 contact requests, so the respondents found the theme to be important.

The results showed that there are many positive things in the sport, especially in equality between men and women, activities of special groups and tolerance. Problems were bullying, sexual harassment, vandalism, and exclusion from the group.

Results of this thesis will help composing the equality plan and handbook of Fair Play to riding clubs and -stables.