/\ THAT is the biggest advantage to being in the UK. Check this out;
https://footpathmap.co.uk/map/?zoom=6.8&lng=-2.05000&lat=52.89690
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@Janet āLeaseholdā is common in central London. The rest of the country is rather more likely to be āfreeholdā. Some of the wealthiest families in Britain have their riches based on ownership of chunks of central London, such as Grosvenor, Cadogan, Howard de Walden, Langham, Portland, the Crown. Long standing tennents do have a āright to buyā but these properties tend to be very expensive, in the most prestigious districts in London so the family property holdings have not been much reduced.
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@Equibrit Oh, if only. On your map the red lines are footpaths, the pink are bridleways. You can see how fragmented the network is. Horses donāt have any right to be on footpaths, only pedestrians. Horses, people and cyclists are permitted on bridleways. Scotland has āRight to roamā so riders can go anywhere except where they are expressly prohibited. Ireland has no rights of way. France has a tremendous network, one reason why it is a centre for Endurance riding. However, we are certainly better off for access to countryside than many other nations
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The footpaths is the one thing I miss most about living in the UK. Itās lovely to be able to go a walk right out of the front door in many places. Even in a city (I was up at Cambridge) we didnāt have to go too far before there was a nice walk. Maybe itās changed a lot since my uni years, but it was such a lovely aspect of living there.
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Yes, yes, yes.
I totally forgot about the leasing arrangements in the UK. It seemed genius when I learned about it, and Iām sorry I forgot about it in my earlier rant.
Thank you.
What most troubles me about much of this conversation in the US about access to open land is our default position as We are Powerless Against _____________ā¢ļø, either the Developers or the Government.
Yes, the current government officials often work hand in hand to allow developers to ruin valuable agricultural land, all parties laughing all the way to the bank. Iām saying it doesnāt have to be that way, and Iāve often looked to the UK and France, as examples of how to do it better.
Oh, and I almost forgot about the federal land that US residents nominally own that is under the auspices of the Bureau of Land Management. I wonāt go down that rabbit hole as it is probably too far afield, no pun intended, from the question of why eventing, or even safe trail riding, struggles in a place with as much open land as the US.
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This should probably be a whole separate thread, but FWIW from an English perspective (not Scottish):
The concept of Leasehold vs Freehold is not relevant in a Burghley thread as Leaseholdās (wealthy landowners owning the land and leasing out buildings on a 999 year lease) is really a town centre concept. The agricultural equivalent which is very common is the notion of tenant farms - a landowner owns the land and someone leases the land to farm it, profits are then split (and thatās a whole 'nother layer of complex). 30% of our land is tenant farmed: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01337/SN01337.pdf). These tenancies are either created under AHA (Ag Holdings Act) - old but still many of them, or FBT - Farm Business Tenancy (more modern agreement). For anyone interested, I have included the land rent data. The summary is:
Jan-June 2022 - Average land price Ā£32,173 per hectare or Ā£13,020 per acre. (Arable way above this, pasture below).
AHA rents: Cereals: Ā£207/ha, General cropping Ā£184/ha, Dairy Ā£199/ha, highland cattle/sheep (poor grazing) Ā£71/ha, lowland cattle/sheep Ā£198/ha.
FBT rents: Cereals: Ā£257/ha, General cropping Ā£298/ha, Dairy Ā£281/ha, highland cattle/sheep (poor grazing) Ā£87/ha, lowland cattle/sheep Ā£134/ha.
FBT is more expensive rental wise but increased profit share to the farmer and increased flexibility makes this the preferred option.
These prices with no guarantee of financial return, make farmers extremely keen to minimise any land damage - and that includes banning horses. Modern farming also doesnāt create over-winter stubble which used to be a mainstay of a cheeky canter.
You are right, we donāt pay business rates on farmland and buildings that are used for ag (changes as soon as they are diversified) but dwellings are all taxed at domestic rates or business depending on the ownership. We also pay:
Corporation tax: (19% up to 50k profit, 26% for any profit above Ā£50k and below Ā£250k, and then a flat Ā£25% for companies that have >Ā£250k profit).
Council tax on all dwellings (including farmhouses and cottages) - amount variable by local authority.
Then thereās capital gains tax, stamp duty tax and a host of others depending on the situation. So, believe me, we pay a lot in taxes and/or rent.
Yes, with open land, there is the āright to roamā in Scotland only and itās generally permissive in other upland places. However this is the Burghley thread and most competitors - pro or amateur - live many, many miles from this open land idyll. Most of our farmland in the South of England is cropped and yes, you can certainly receive penalties for trespassing; especially for riding on footpaths. Horses are only allowed on dedicated Bridlepaths or BOATs (Byways Open to All Traffic). Both bridleways and BOATs are also the only areas that cyclists/four wheel drivers/ dirt bikes etc can use as well as course, as pedestrians with dogs unleashed. Any notions you have of us cantering through a bucolic landscape unimpeded, developing our XC skills are 50 years out of date sadly. Of course it can happen but most of that riding is just like the USA, dependent on generous landlords and goodwill.
(images taken from Agricultural Budgeting and Costing Book May 2023).
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Agreed re: separate thread. And yet, I persist. 
Thank you for your deep dive into open land access and ag taxation. I really appreciate your attention to detail and sources. Is this your line of work?
Eventing legend Denny Emerson bemoans the loss of open land for training and events on his FB pages, often without much context other than to say, they do it better in other countries and thereby win more at international competitions.
When similar statements cropped up here, I tried, and it appears, failed, to suggest that solving these challenges mean changes in tax policies, ingrained economic systems, and removal of some apathy-generating sand in our citizenship gears.
Maybe Iām simply saying that the historical foundation of the concept of the commons has deeper, more widespread traction in the Old World than the new. Any mention of the Justinian Doctrine ā fundamental to the Magna Carta ā to most Americans and their eyes glaze over, despite the fact that at least a quarter of the land in the US is owned by the federal government, often with challenges to access save national parkland.
Modern farming also doesnāt create over-winter stubble which used to be a mainstay of a cheeky canter.
And, yes, much about maintenance of open land itself has changed. Your taxation is high. Still, my taxes support corporate agriculture here in the US in ways I can barely comprehend, let alone describe.
You donāt know what Iād give for a ācheeky canterā across a stubble field.
Any notions you have of us cantering through a bucolic landscape unimpeded, developing our XC skills are 50 years out of date sadly.
Agreed, and I wasnāt trying to say this stereotype is the rule. At least you have a structure, rickety or costly as it may be, for maintaining even a shadow of that bucolic former self. In most of the US, we have only the diminishing largesse of lawsuit-shy landowners.
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Our farm is surrounded by commonage (and the sheep and cattle on it). Some is rideable, most is too boggy for even humans to pass, let alone mounted humans. One big thing is they are building a greenway from the low road at the bottom of our bottom pasture (we are on the high road) to a lake a fair bit away and that should make a lovely hacking path one day with reasonable footing. No one wants to end up some future generationās preserved bog body!! 
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Finally had a moment to watch Burghley! A few thoughts, worth the paper they are written on.
Sometimes I get frustrated with the Oliver hate. Are there some things worth criticizing him for? Definitely. But the fact that he celebrated a lovely test? I donāt get it. Will Faudree had a huge celebration after his test (rightfully so) and the reaction from most people (including me) was that it made them emotional. This sport has so many lows to contend with - let people celebrate the highs.
Again, there are things worth criticizing him for, but he didnāt blame his groom (and Iām not aware of a history of him doing so either). Worth noting that in every interview I heard he gave credit to the team supporting him. Most of his staff have been with him longer than five years, some into the double digits - I donāt know about where you live, but where I do thatās not a sign of someone in a miserable working environment.
Iām coming off like a big fan here when Iām not, but I do think we weaken our position when we criticize someone for everything they do just because we donāt like them, as opposed to saving it for the real issues (a good example of a real issue being the ratio of warnings issued to him compared to yellow cards).
Love them both. The two of them and John Kyle (and Carl Hester in dressage) could do all the commentary in the sport and Iād be thrilled.
Itās been a rule the whole time. They stop the ride, check the horse, and then on veterinary discretion may allow the horse to continue if there is no welfare issue present, or conversely may elect to eliminate the combination.
The reason there was an uproar around Marilyn was the horses were not being stopped to be checked, even when there was an obvious issue.
I agree. Glad to hear the horse will be fine, but both the rider and the officials missed an opportunity to pull this horse up sooner. Officials had done a great job up to this point (despite Boyd clearly giving them an earful during his hold), so it was clear that everyone was trying and this fell through the cracks.
Very exciting horse for the future! A standout from the weekend for me.
Agree. Great track, while still feeling huge and very Burghley. Love seeing issues spread throughout the course.
Best coverage in the sport. And a highlights show! The director said on the Eventing Podcast that they will be involved with the Olympic coverage next year - someone had their head on straight making that decision. Love BurghleyTV and always delighted to support.
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I wasnāt there this year so only watched the livestream. The coverage was excellent. I personally thought the course did not allow the horses to keep a good rhyme as there were too many wiggly turns around un-jumpables and a couple of fences I thought were trappy e.g. the very small step out of the water at the Trout Hatchery which I saw a couple trip up and the Irish Bank with an apparently 90Ā° log behind it that frequently made an ugly picture. But I wasnāt there and camera lenses donāt work like human eyes. As usual, the best made it look easy. Burghley is never easy!
It was taking off his helmet. I criticise Boyd for the same. I get frustrated at the mounted without helmet nonsense no matter who it is.
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Ditto. I think youāll find that was back in the day of the long format and our New Zealand Thoroughbreds thrived on it.
There was at least one French gent, Luc something. I saw his xc round I distinctly remember that. And I thought there was a second French rider as well.
I remember b/c one of the women commentating was discussing the style of French 3-Day riders.
I think the 2024 Olympics had an influence on who made the bureaucratic and expensive journey into post-Brexit Britain. Eventing in Paris will be next July and Iām sure planning and initial preparations are already being made for the likely team members.
The two French riders are based in the UK. The big travellers were the Americans.
The key difference is that the US was built on a strong notion of private property rights, which the US Supreme Court has continually, and increasingly, interpreted in broader ways. That means that governments and organizations are literally powerless to stop private land development and exclusion rights. Thatās totally different than in Europe, where there is a communal land philosophy going back for centuries.
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Excellent summary.
Thank you.
Itās almost like the USA has taken colonization, corporatization, and commodification to, I would argue, unsustainably inhumane, levels.
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