The British Horse Society has launched a new mapping strategy, which aims to collate all existing equestrian routes in England, Scotland and Wales.

Route information, gathered by BHS bridleway officers and local authorities, will be stored digitally on the Equestrian Mapping and Geographical Information (EMAGIN) Database.

BHS GIS officer, Heather Holmes said: "This is an important development for EMAGIN which assists us enormously in our work to defend, extend and promote off-road riding.

"It will allow us to view and analyse equestrian routes throughout the country, and will be of significant assistance in our work on the Discovering Lost Ways project."

The BHS Where to Ride' service, launched last year, already helps riders in the UK to find routes, information such as bed and breakfast accommodation nearby, and BHS routes promoted via the National Bridleroute Network.

Digitising the equestrian routes across Britain allows the BHS to work quickly on important issues, sharing information with councils and authorities who have similar GIS systems.

Helen Owens, senior executive, riding clubs, competitions and tourism, said: "The EMAGIN project has the potential to be of great benefit to equestrian tourism in the UK and Ireland."

The BHS hopes, subject to funding, that the EMAGIN system will be available to the general public online later this year, when the system will have expanded to include Ireland.

3:18pm Tuesday 26th February 2008

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