Health, Safety and Welfare Update

Horse Falls in Eventing

As part of Eventing Safety initiatives for the last few years a team comprising International Level Course Designers and other specialists have reviewed (thanks to Rider Video, Eventful Life and Horse on Course)  video footage of horse falls at eventing competition in Australia as well as publishing statistics.

For the first 6 months of the this year (whilst the numbers are small and prone to fluctuation) there has been a drop in the number of horse falls compared to last year-and no additional factors relating to fence design, placement or footing were uncovered(factors from previous reports are still valid)

 For the full report and previous years please see HERE.

Discussions around Possible Athlete Sanctions

At the beginning of the year National  rules were changed for the Olympic Disciplines to make the issuing of a Yellow  Warning Card the mandatory minimum consequence for cases of horse abuse.

Cases that may incur a Yellow Warning Card can be stressful for riders and officials alike and recently some suggestions as to how to make the process as fair and trouble free as possible were provided  to officials-some of the key points are below: 

Setting up the meeting:

Contact the athlete to make a time to meet and discuss the situation-the athlete should be offered the opportunity to bring someone else for support. If the athlete is under 18, then the official must ensure the athlete has a parent or adult representative e.g. Coach or parent - approved adult who can be present for the meeting. If that is not possible the meeting should be rescheduled to a more suitable time where an adult can be present. 

In the case of Para and Virtus athletes, an adult representative or supporter must be present in all cases to assist with clarity and understanding if necessary.

In cases where a power imbalance may exist eg junior official and a high profile athlete or other potentially difficult or sensitive situations officials should consider asking a second official to be present in the discussions; always taking care not to be seen to be intimidating  the athlete.

When setting up the meeting, if a clear and unambiguous breach of the rules is believed to have occurred ,the official should identify  the rule concerned so the athlete is aware prior to the discussion.

Most importantly - Give the athlete the opportunity to be heard 

Minor Changes to Incident Report Form

The incident report (form 08 ) is really helpful in getting a clear picture of incidents that have occurred, monitoring safety performance and identifying hazards so the associated risks  can be mitigated in the future. 

Use of these reports by coaches, officials, medical teams and members in general continues to increase - thank you!

We have recently made some changes to the 08H horse injury report to simplify it and make it easier to use and believe  this will result in more consistent reporting from competition in particular.

If you have any feedback on these forms or other Health Safety and Welfare items please contact [email protected]