Kāpiti Equestrian Advocacy Group (KEAG)
The Kāpiti Equestrian Advocacy Group (KEAG) was established in 2018 by Ruth Halliday and Shelly Warwick, who were the equestrian representatives on the Kāpiti Coast District Council’s Cycleway, Walkway and Bridleway (CWB) Advisory Group.
The CWB group had been established in Kāpiti many years earlier and reflected something quite unique about the district: Kāpiti Council had formally recognised equestrians as part of its active transport and recreational user community through its Cycleway, Walkway and Bridleway Strategy.
Although the CWB Strategy has since been incorporated into Kāpiti Coast District Council’s Open Spaces Strategy, it remains a valuable resource for other communities seeking examples of genuine inclusion of equestrians in council planning and strategy.
However, while Kāpiti had a better-than-average record of including equestrians in its planning, it was certainly not perfect. Following discussions with the then Mayor, Ruth and Shelly recognised that a more formal community advocacy group could strengthen the equestrian voice.
KEAG was therefore established with a Facebook presence that enabled us to reach out directly to the local equestrian community, coordinate submissions and encourage people to have their say. The aim was simple: to make sure that equestrians were not overlooked when council plans, bylaws and strategies were being developed.
At the time, two issues in particular highlighted the need for better organisation within the equestrian community: the upcoming review of the Kāpiti beach bylaw and the construction of the Kāpiti Expressway by NZTA.
The beach bylaw review was a reminder of just how important public submissions are. We needed our equestrian community to make submissions supporting continued access to our beaches. If a community does not participate during the consultation process, it can very easily be overlooked. Once a bylaw is adopted and set for many years, changing it can be considerably more difficult.
The construction of the McKays to Peka Peka (M2PP) section of the Kāpiti Expressway presented another significant opportunity. Rather than simply accepting that equestrians would be excluded from the new infrastructure, we advocated for horse riders and carriage drivers to be included in the off-road pathway network.
That advocacy contributed to what is now a wonderful Cycleway, Walkway and Bridleway (CWB) connection along the Kāpiti Coast — approximately 35 kilometres from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki - providing a safe connection between communities and an inclusive pathway for a wide range of users, including horse riders and carriage drivers.
Our experience also reinforced something that has remained central to our advocacy ever since: community coordination matters.
When council staff are prepared to advocate internally for a community, they need to be able to demonstrate that there is a community behind the issue. This is where the strength of an Equestrian Advocacy Group lies. KEAG gave us a way to communicate directly with local riders, encourage people to make submissions and demonstrate that equestrians were an active and engaged user group.
Councils work with evidence and submissions, and historically the equestrian community has not always been particularly strong at participating in formal consultation processes. But it really does matter. If we do not make submissions, we risk being overlooked. When we participate, make submissions and are counted, councils are required to consider the views and needs of our community as part of their planning and decision-making processes.
From KEAG, we went on to support the establishment of the Horowhenua Equestrian Advocacy Group (HEAG).
Horowhenua was facing many of the same challenges. The expressway was being developed, yet equestrians were not included among the user groups for the proposed off-road shared pathway. Since 2019, we have campaigned for equestrian inclusion, attended the Environment Court hearing, met with council and NZTA on numerous occasions and continued to advocate for a safe and practical outcome.
The issue remains unresolved, but we are not done.
The experience also highlighted a much bigger problem. Although Kāpiti Coast District Council and Horowhenua District Council share a boundary, their approaches to the inclusion and consideration of equestrians have been very different.
This lack of consistency is not unique to these two districts. Across New Zealand, there is no consistent national approach to ensuring that equestrians are properly considered in district, regional or national transport and open-space planning.
It became increasingly clear to us that local advocacy groups could achieve a great deal within their own communities, but there was also a need for a coordinated national voice — one that could share knowledge, support local groups and advocate for consistency in the way equestrians are considered across New Zealand.
That was the beginning of the next step in our journey.
In 2021, the New Zealand Equestrian Advocacy Network (NZEAN) was established.
What began with two equestrian representatives asking how we could make sure our own local community was heard had grown into a much broader vision: building a network of equestrian advocacy groups across New Zealand so that horse riders and carriage drivers could have a stronger, more coordinated voice in decisions affecting access, safety and inclusion in public spaces.
It is important to acknowledge that NZEAN did not create equestrian advocacy in New Zealand. There have always been many active groups and individuals around the country working hard to protect local access, improve safety and advocate for their equestrian communities. NZEAN was established to help connect and support that work, rather than replace it.
The journey that started with KEAG continues today through NZEAN.
The personal cost of advocacy
In 2026, Ruth Halliday retired from Kāpiti Coast District Council’s CWB Advisory Group and also stepped down from the KEAG committee, where she had served as Secretary since the group was established. Her departure also highlights a less visible side of community advocacy.
Advocating for a group that is not automatically included in planning and decision-making is hard work, and over time it can be exhausting. Cyclists and walkers are routinely recognised and consulted as user groups in planning and strategy for roading, infrastructure and outdoor access. Equestrians, however, have too often had to fight simply to be recognised as a legitimate user group in the first place. That was often the case in Kāpiti too.
But through KEAG, we gradually changed the way our community was engaged with. Rather than waiting to be invited to every conversation, we established relationships, built trust and became a recognised point of contact - a “go to” for council when equestrian issues arose.
This did not happen overnight. It came through years of participation, constructive relationships, persistence and demonstrating that the equestrian community could be organised, informed and willing to work alongside council staff. It is exhausting. The result is something we are incredibly proud of.
Kāpiti now has a progressive approach to multi-use recreational pathways and an impressive network of Cycleway, Walkway and Bridleway paths and trails. The approximately 35-kilometre network from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki provides connections between communities and accommodates a wide range of users and connects to a multitude of other Multiuse pathways, river tracks and beaches for us to enjoy with our equine friends.
It is a network that many other communities admire and aspire to achieve.
For us, that is the real legacy of KEAG: not simply the tracks and pathways themselves, but the relationships, recognition and culture of inclusion that helped make them possible.
It demonstrates what can happen when an equestrian community organisers, participates and works constructively with its local council - and it is one of the reasons we believe there is value in sharing the Kāpiti experience with equestrian communities throughout New Zealand.
