New era for British Dressage Magazine

With 2025 fast approaching, we’re announcing changes to the British Dressage Magazine, as we continue to develop our communications offering in line with our sustainability pledges.  

The BD Magazine is an exclusive member benefit and a firm favourite amongst our competing and non-competing members.  In each issue we aim to bring high quality training and horse care advice, along with championship coverage and the latest competition and sporting updates.  We have a dedicated and knowledgeable team who work hard behind the scenes to provide new and interesting editorial content. 

However, the cost of producing and distributing the magazine continues to increase every year, in terms of paper, print production and postage.  As part of our annual budgeting process, we have carefully reviewed the commercial viability of the magazine with our publishing partners, Fellows Media, in order to continue providing the same high level of service to members.  As part of our digitalisation strategy, we are also committed to reducing waste and providing more sustainable business solutions. 

Therefore in 2025, the number of printed magazines will be reduced from eight issues down to six, with the physical edition delivered to Full and Non-Competing members on a bi-monthly basis.  We will also be introducing two digital editions next year as part of an exciting new initiative to integrate video and audio content into the magazine, to ensure that our editorial coverage is engaging, informative and embraces the latest technology. 

These digital issues of the BD Magazine will be available to all British Dressage members, as we aim to extend our coverage to as wide an audience as possible, along with the online magazine archive for all previous editions.  Those that currently receive a physical copy of the magazine will still receive printed issues delivered direct to their doorstep six times per years, unless they choose to opt out on their membership profile. 

Our overall aim is to make the magazine more sustainable and cost effective to produce, while maintaining the same level of editorial content.  As a result, we have also taken the decision to remove the schedules from the magazine, as these can take up an excessive amount of space and are out of date from the moment each issue goes to print.  Schedules will still be produced in the same format and available online as a digital download, for members to view on their devices, download and save. 

All up to date competition schedules are also available to view on BD Online and this remains the best way to ensure you get the latest information on fixtures, venues and affiliated competitions in your area or region.  

We’re committed to delivering the same options for members to search for and view competition schedules, in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly way.  In the same way that we’ve moved the BD Members’ Handbook and event programmes online, providing the schedules in a digital format only will help us to deliver on our sustainability pledges by reducing our paper waste, energy usage and emissions. 

Although we are reducing the number of printed issues, removing the schedules will ensure that we can still include the same amount of editorial content in six issues as we would normally have in eight.  We have consciously decided not to move to a fully digital format, as we appreciate the value of receiving a physical copy of the magazine, which is a core part of the membership, competition and training experience. 

The recently published Issue 8 of the BD Magazine will be the last edition in its current format, with the first new-look issue due to land on the doorsteps in mid-January 2025.  Links to the downloadable schedules will be posted on our social media channels and included in our monthly Engage newsletters. 

If you have any suggestions on content that you’d like to see in either the print or digital editions, please do get in touch with our Communications team.  Remember you can choose to opt-out of receiving a physical copy of the magazine at any time by sending us an email via: membership@britishdressage.co.uk.