Challenges and Opportunities to Develope Equestrian Sports in Golestan Province

The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and opportunities facing Golestan province.

To identify the challenges and opportunities of equestrian sport, qualitative research methodology has been used to measure the importance and ranking of factors. The statistical population of the study consisted of all experts in the horse riding board (17 people), horse riding instructor (300 people), horse owners (600 people), rabbits (60 people), horse breeders (1000 people) and spectators for each race (approximately 5000 people) Of these, 17 were distinguished, horse riding experts (4 people), horse riding coach (4people), horse owners (3 people), chefs (2 people), horse breeders and breeders (2 people) And spectators (2 people) who were active in Golestan province and were available. Semi-structured interviews and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect data. Inferential statistics were used to analyze the data and Friedman test was used. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a number of sports management professors and its reliability was calculated through Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.78).

The findings of the research showed that the focus of the challenge is the planning axis, and the most important axis in the Opportunity, advertising and media axis.

The development of equestrian sport, financial support for coding, marketing and information, and the use of modern equipment in horseback riding, has added to the flourishing of this sport in Golestan province.