S2 E5: The impact of periods on participation: a Pony Club Australia study
In early 2022, I started to become a more ardent feminist as I became increasingly exposed to staggering statistics and information around the gender inequality still facing women. This isn’t to say I was ignorant or not a feminist beforehand; it’s more that my focus has become even sharper the more I’ve been exposed to. I’m very grateful to the friends who introduced me to some excellent resources including: Annabel Crabb’s book ‘The Wife Drought’, ‘The Guilty Feminist’ podcast and book by Debra Frances-White, and the book ‘Rage Becomes her’ by Soraya Chemaly. This has coincided with my work with Erin Moore, a business coach who works with women, primarily dog trainers – and really addresses the mindset piece: unpacking the challenges women face in business and just where those challenges are coming from (which has been incredibly revealing as to why we women face some of the challenges we do in business, in the workforce and in life generally). It’s been an eye-opening time and I’m very thankful to have had this revelation about just how much I was accepting unquestioningly as a result of my own learning history & societal conditioning. I’ve no doubt my learning & understand has a long way to go still.
This exposure of mine has led to this podcast episode & this being something I believe we need to talk about & get the conversation happening around more widely.
Menstruation is something that almost all women experience. That is something like half the population of the world. Half. It is impactful but is something that has been quite taboo in many places & caused many women a great deal of anxiety, not to mention regular & debilitating pain in some cases.
Late last year I started to see various sporting codes starting to speak out around the impact of menstruation on women’s participation in sport with various pieces of research showing some very impactful results. One study in the UK showed that 42% of 14 – 16 year olds said their period stops them taking part in physical activity at school.
As a result, some groups around the world started to review their uniform or dress code for female players, where the historic uniform was white.
In November 2022, Wimbledon announced a historic change in their uniform rules after current and former players expressed the stress of having to wear all-white while having their period. Some female players had expressed they were using the contraceptive pill to change their menstruating cycle to make sure they didn’t have their period while playing at Wimbledon. The change now means women can wear coloured undershorts, with the Chief Executive of the All England Club expressing that the hope is that the new rule will help players focus purely on their performance by relieving a potential source of anxiety.
In December 2022, the Australian Football League, AFL, Womens division announced a historic uniform policy change with players no longer having to wear white shorts when playing in away games. With the decision, designed to reduce player anxiety around menstruation, coming after extensive consultation with clubs and players and research that found discomfort in uniforms to be a significant barrier for girls and women in pursuing sport at all levels.
In early 2023, women’s soccer teams in the UK and Ireland also started to move away from wearing white shorts for the same reasons as the AFL, with the England Women’s Football team new shorts even having leak protection built into them.
As a woman, the stress and anxiety that comes with having a period is not lost on me. For a very long time, women have had to suck it up & deal with it quietly. I’m no exception to that. I’ve been like these players & worried about leaking & if anyone is seeing it. I’ve been in the horse world for a long time and have had to contend with bathrooms at clubs with no sanitary disposal bins; had to jam sanitary products down my breeches because they don’t always have pockets & even if they did, being skin tight, it’s pretty evident when we have things in them; had to contend with no hot water at hand basins to wash with; worn jumpers tied around my waist just in case of leakage, and been concerned of anyone noticing. And that’s just the equine world. In my office job, I’ve actively worn dark coloured pants when menstruating, worn jumpers around my waist and even surreptitiously checked any chair I’ve sat on to make sure I didn’t leak onto it. I’m quite sure that you will have had your own experiences and ways of dealing with this yourself.
Half of the population have been having to contend with this type of thing for a really long time. Half. While the other, approximate half, have often been unaware that this is all going on for us (certainly this episode triggered some great discussions at home for us with Benn realising just how much stuff we women are contending with that he wasn’t acutely aware of).
While players in sporting activities have expressed anxiety over participation, and a concern around not being able to focus on being the best player they can be due to stress around their period – the way this translates to us working with horses is frankly terrifying, with the enormous risks that come with not being able to focus on the living, breathing, thinking animal you are beside or on top of.
So how do we empower those of us working with horses to be able to be present in the moment and focused on their horse instead of worrying if anyone is noticing if they have their period?
I was absolutely delighted when I saw in October 2022 that Pony Club Australia (PCA) had partnered with researchers at the University of Newcastle and University of Western Australia to research the impact menstruation was having on Pony Club members and their participation. I wanted to know more about this research project and it’s outcomes, and moreover, I wanted to highlight this conversation, to raise it’s profile, to help normalise us talking about this, and so I invited Dr Catherine Ainsworth and Dr Kirrily Thompson to join us on An Equine Conversation. We also invited the Chief Instructor & Vice President of Yandina and District Pony Club in Queensland, Tarryn Jenkins, to give us the low-down on what’s happened at her club as a result of the research.
I am so very excited and frankly proud, to bring you this episode. I hope it helps you both personally as individuals and to have conversations around the impact of menstruation on us women & things we can do to reduce related stress & improve participation, with your connections in the equine world and beyond.
Dr Catherine Ainsworth:
Dr Catherine Ainsworth has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Veterinary Science. Her postgraduate study was in equine reproduction which led to many years in equine stud practice. With an interest in a corporate career, Catherine worked in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in marketing and technical support roles and then agribusiness, whilst completing a MBA part time at the Melbourne Business School (University of Melbourne). Catherine went on to be the director of the Victorian state veterinary laboratory for 10 years, managing animal health diagnostics and research from 1999 – 2010. She then led the development of the new agricultural science centre in Victoria and investment programs in animal and plant biosecurity and biotechnology for 5 years. Catherine is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the AICD Mastering the Boardroom program. Catherine has been CEO of Pony Club Australia since 2016 and has led the organisation through major initiatives with a sharp focus on connecting with and delivering benefits to club members.
Catherine is also the:
• Deputy Chair of Harness Racing Victoria and Chair of the Integrity Committee,
• Deputy Chair of Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria,
• Director of Racing Analytical Services, and
• Member of the Victorian Animal Welfare Advisory Council.
Like quite a number of us, Catherine comes from a non-horsey family and joined Narrandera Pony Club in NSW only after she could convince her father she could look after her horse herself.
Dr Kirrilly Thompson
Dr Kirrilly Thompson is a cultural anthropologist who has been researching and writing about human-horse relations for two decades.
In 2018 she published a book called ‘(Un)stable relations: Horses, humans and social agency’ co-authored with Professor Lynda Birke. She and Linda argue for the need to consider horses as active agents in their relationships with humans.
In addition to her research on horse welfare, Kirrilly has explored risk perception and safety behaviours of equestrians in contexts ranging from bullfighting from horseback in Spain, through showjumping in the United Kingdom and eventing in Australia.
She is currently a One Health research fellow at the University of Newcastle working in the Hunter New England Local Health District in a position funded by NSW Health on health protection, with a particular focus on the prevention of zoonotic diseases – diseases that spread from horses to humans such as ringworm, psittacosis and Hendra virus.
Kirrilly worked for Pony Club Australia for two years as the National Participation and Development Manager. She started her own life with horses at Pegasus Pony Club in South Australia and competes in dressage with her horse Mouse. Kirrilly is passionate about making horse-riding more enjoyable for horses and humans alike.
In this episode we discuss:
1:27 - introduction to today’s episode topic
8:23 - who are Dr Catherine Ainsworth & Dr Kirrilly Thompson
11:27 - what is Pony Club Australia & who’s involved?
14:06 - where did the study come from? Recognising periods as a barrier to participation & starting to consider the study focus area - the social taboo & the process of getting the survey ready
18:38 - why white or other light coloured jodhurs - where the history of light coloured pants for riding has come from?
21:38 - how was the proposed study received by the CEO of PCA? the need for evidence to build a case for change & elevating the voice of those impacted
23:25 - why 10 - 17 year olds? Getting the survey out there & the 2 broad types of responses (the good & the not so good)
29:18 - the type of questions asked, the broad responses participants contributed & the start of the statistics from the study
32:10 - guidelines/stipulations on provision of facilities & uniform - the impact of the study timing on the introduction of new National Rules for uniforms & gear
33:06 - more on the participation & feedback - the older age group wanted to be heard
34:47 - what change has happened for PCA as a result of the survey - the shift in National, jodhpur uniform guidelines
36:02 - survey responses around darker colour jodhpurs, the need for rule change AND cultural change (and what those cultural changes could be for clubs)
37:40 - club responses when the survey results were released, the priorities of PCA that guide decision-making: safety & welfare, the potential for pink polka dot jodhpurs & other options
40:10 - the un-related positives for wearing darker colour jodhpurs - ease of cleaning, body image, etc & the stories of the labour people have gone to, to maintain light-colours jodhpurs
43:31 - possible implications for people not joining Pony Club because of period impacts, or those that come once and don’t come back & research raising more questions
44:47 - some riders have support, but not all have support around them when attending Pony Club & the implications for managing period impacts
45:50 - More of the survey statistics: hot running water, sanitary disposal bins, the layout of clubs & difficulty of going to the toilet discreetly
48:05 - the many & varied implications for coaches - toilet breaks, riders not using a forward seat or pulling horses off jumps
50:35 - the huge safety implications of distraction/anxiety & not riding well due to concerns & the survey highlighting unexpected ie, important points around coaches needing to allow students ample time to visit the toilet, and the limitations of qualifying events for Regional riders
53:45 - coaches needing to put themselves in the shoes of the diverse groups they teach & PCA’s evolution to better support the diverse participants
57:08 - further research to explore, participation for confidence - the gateway to a social circle & social life & PCA Awards to reward non-competitive achievements
1:02:00 - hearing from Yandina & District Pony Club & the changes implemented as a result of the research & findings
1:09:47 - the reach of the study, how change can seem difficult but we’ve seen it to be possible, how quickly things can change & the importance of modelling behaviour
1:12:58 - the community as moderators for this work
1:14:08 - the statistics on: the impact on participation in rallies & competitions, the level of worry when wearing light-coloured jodhpurs and what the take-up in wearing dark-coloured jodhpurs would be
1:16:49 - would we lose anything by not wearing light-coloured riding pants & other ways to express respect
1:21:40 - a huge thanks to those who participated in the survey & the other researchers involved
1:23:33 - what’s coming up next episode
Links from Catherine & Kirrilly:
Pony Club Australia Facebook page
Horses and People: ‘Dressed for the Ride: The history of rider wear’
Our links mentioned this episode:
Abbey's Run Equestrian website
Abbey's Run Equestrian on Facebook
Thank you to Matthew Bliss for podcast production & consultation. You can find out more about podcast support on offer via: Blissery.FM or email info@blissery.fm