The Landelijke Rijvereniging (LRV) is a familiar name in Flanders for anyone who rides through a club, but what's actually behind that name isn't clear to everyone. This guide takes a closer look at the federation itself: how the umbrella structure is built, which disciplines it offers, how competitions run, and how you join through a local club.
What the LRV Is
LRV stands for an umbrella organization covering hundreds of local riding clubs, pony clubs, carriage-driving clubs, and recreational clubs across Flanders. The federation itself sets the regulations, licenses, and competition framework; day-to-day club life — lessons, activities, the atmosphere at the yard — happens at the local club. That two-layer structure is the key to how the LRV works: you don't join "the LRV" in the abstract, but a specific club near you, which is in turn affiliated with the federation.
Disciplines Within the LRV
A single membership gives you access to multiple disciplines. Show jumping, dressage, and group dressage (several riders performing a test together) make up the bulk of it, but eventing, carriage driving, pony games, and G-sport (riding for people with a disability) all have their own place too. That breadth is one of the things that sets the LRV apart from a KNHS club: you don't have to choose between, say, dressage and carriage driving, because both fall under the same club and license.
Competitions and Club Shows
Local clubs organize their own competitions and activities, which together make up the LRV's competition offering. There are also championships at a higher level, where riders can qualify through club competitions. The exact calendar and competition regulations change every year, so for current dates and conditions this guide points you to lrv.be itself.
Membership: Through the Local Club
You don't join the federation directly, but a local riding club, pony club, or carriage-driving club of your choice. That club arranges your registration and license with the LRV for you. Age limits apply: you can join a pony club at a young age, while the riding club is aimed at older youth and adults. The exact ages, fees, and license types (for competition riders versus recreational riders, for example) are most current on lrv.be; that information can change from season to season.
Youth and Pony Programs
For children, the pony club is the usual starting point: an environment specifically set up for young riders and ponies, with its own progression from recreational rider to competition rider. As riders get older, they move up to the riding club. That layered structure makes the LRV a familiar route for families: a child starts at the pony club, and the move to the riding club runs through the same federation and often the same yard.
The Difference With the Netherlands
The Netherlands has no direct equivalent of the LRV structure. The closest thing is the combination of a riding-school club and a KNHS club: there, too, you ride through a club, with a local association as the base and a national federation (the KNHS) above it. The difference lies mainly in scale and setup: in Flanders, the LRV explicitly bundles multiple disciplines and age groups under one federation with local clubs as a fixed building block, while in the Netherlands the riding school, riding club, and KNHS membership are more often organized separately.
In Short
The LRV is the Flemish umbrella federation for hundreds of local riding clubs, pony clubs, and carriage-driving clubs. You join through one of those local clubs, not directly with the federation, which gives you access to multiple disciplines: show jumping, dressage, group dressage, eventing, carriage driving, pony games, and G-sport. Clubs organize competitions and activities themselves, with championships as the next step. For children, the pony club is the usual starting point, moving up to the riding club later on. For current fees, age limits, and the competition calendar, lrv.be is the go-to source.
See also: Learning to Ride in Flanders, Belgium · Signs of a Good and Safe Riding School · Competing in Belgium Explained · Jargon: LRV · Level: Just Starting Out