BRC rules & eligibility for teams
Prospective team competitors are subject to the many and varied British Riding Clubs' rules which are in the Rulebook.
The 2015 BRC Rulebook is now available online and should be consulted before entering competitions.
Please note: team members must be REGISTERED as SDRC members at least 21 days before the preliminary entry of a team competition. If you are in any doubt, please check with the team co-ordinator for your discipline.
Visit www.britishridingclubs.org.uk for BHS British Riding Clubs website for details of eligibility for competitions, BRC tests and visit BRC News to keep up with all the latest news.
It is ultimately your responsibility to CHECK you are eligible to compete in BRC area qualifiers so please do spend a bit of time doing this. It is so disappointing to win a qualifier and then find you can't go to the championships.
BRC Official Statement In light of the precautionary decision by British Eventing to prohibit the wearing of helmet cams with immediate effect, British Riding Clubs have also followed this measure in the interests of safety and welfare of riders and horses. This will also allow for the independent completion of expert research to be concluded. Therefore rule G22.6 is replaced with immediate effect (13:00 hrs 17/10/2014) as follows:
G22.6: Electronic Devices No Receiving, recording, transmitting or monitoring device maybe used by a competitor during any phase of a competition. Head Cams are prohibited from use at any BRC affiliated competitions.
We are sorry if this decision may cause some disappointment to those of you who use head cams to record your achievements, but I am sure you will agree that safety has to be a top priority and it would be wrong not to take into account the current research and investigations on-going with the (TRL) Transport Research Laboratory. The ruling will be reviewed once the independent research is concluded.
The 2015 BRC Rulebook is now available online and should be consulted before entering competitions.
Please note: team members must be REGISTERED as SDRC members at least 21 days before the preliminary entry of a team competition. If you are in any doubt, please check with the team co-ordinator for your discipline.
Visit www.britishridingclubs.org.uk for BHS British Riding Clubs website for details of eligibility for competitions, BRC tests and visit BRC News to keep up with all the latest news.
It is ultimately your responsibility to CHECK you are eligible to compete in BRC area qualifiers so please do spend a bit of time doing this. It is so disappointing to win a qualifier and then find you can't go to the championships.
BRC Official Statement In light of the precautionary decision by British Eventing to prohibit the wearing of helmet cams with immediate effect, British Riding Clubs have also followed this measure in the interests of safety and welfare of riders and horses. This will also allow for the independent completion of expert research to be concluded. Therefore rule G22.6 is replaced with immediate effect (13:00 hrs 17/10/2014) as follows:
G22.6: Electronic Devices No Receiving, recording, transmitting or monitoring device maybe used by a competitor during any phase of a competition. Head Cams are prohibited from use at any BRC affiliated competitions.
We are sorry if this decision may cause some disappointment to those of you who use head cams to record your achievements, but I am sure you will agree that safety has to be a top priority and it would be wrong not to take into account the current research and investigations on-going with the (TRL) Transport Research Laboratory. The ruling will be reviewed once the independent research is concluded.
New Hat Rules 2016
Important 2015 BRC Rule Changes
Hat Rules for 2015 remain the same but for 2016 are changing. Please click on the link to see latest guidelines. Hats will need to be tagged with the new orange BRC tag from Jan 2016, so if competing at any event take your hat along to be retagged ready for Jan 1st 2016. The EN1384 &BSEN1384 are being phased out but if your hat has these as well as the kite-mark & PAS015 this is acceptable.
Some eligibility has changed for next year with the introduction of the Intermediate Winter Championships. The new Eligibility Table is now available on the BRC website and will come into effect from 1 January 2015. It can be downloaded here. Points gained for double clears in British Show Jumping classes will continue not to be counted following change to points by BS. Please contact the office if you are unsure.
Open Show Jumping at the National Championships has been opened up to Juniors, but will continue to run on Saturday.
The Dressage to Music Championship will introduce a new class in the Medium Dressage to Music, which will be open to both senior and junior individuals. The Senior Elementary Dressage to Music has been opened to juniors. With the Elementary change, the Junior Open Dressage to Music will no longer be a pick a test class and will now be the Junior Novice Dressage to Music, with all competitors riding the BD Novice Freestyle to Music test.
The New BRC Rule Book will be available to download from the BRC website in January 2015. Or a copy can be purchased shortly from the BHS Bookshop.
Hat Rules for 2015 remain the same but for 2016 are changing. Please click on the link to see latest guidelines. Hats will need to be tagged with the new orange BRC tag from Jan 2016, so if competing at any event take your hat along to be retagged ready for Jan 1st 2016. The EN1384 &BSEN1384 are being phased out but if your hat has these as well as the kite-mark & PAS015 this is acceptable.
Some eligibility has changed for next year with the introduction of the Intermediate Winter Championships. The new Eligibility Table is now available on the BRC website and will come into effect from 1 January 2015. It can be downloaded here. Points gained for double clears in British Show Jumping classes will continue not to be counted following change to points by BS. Please contact the office if you are unsure.
Open Show Jumping at the National Championships has been opened up to Juniors, but will continue to run on Saturday.
The Dressage to Music Championship will introduce a new class in the Medium Dressage to Music, which will be open to both senior and junior individuals. The Senior Elementary Dressage to Music has been opened to juniors. With the Elementary change, the Junior Open Dressage to Music will no longer be a pick a test class and will now be the Junior Novice Dressage to Music, with all competitors riding the BD Novice Freestyle to Music test.
The New BRC Rule Book will be available to download from the BRC website in January 2015. Or a copy can be purchased shortly from the BHS Bookshop.
Rules that may affect you include
VACCINATIONS
First and foremost, ALL horses and ponies must be fully vaccinated in accordance with the the BRC rules which may be found in the mentioned above. BRC operate VERY, VERY STRICT RULES, so please check your vaccination certificate very carefully. If you are not sure, do ask one of the team co-ordinators to check it for you. Download the FLU VAC CHECKER here (excel spreadsheet).
ARENA ETIQUETTE
Show Jumping
Always pass left hand to left hand when meeting riders coming the other way.
Don’t walk or halt on the outside track, or walk two or three abreast anywhere in the arena.
Don’t crowd around the entrance to the arena. If it is busy always make it clear that you are about to jump by shouting ‘Jumping’ or ‘jumping spread’ etc. This way, people will know to get out of your way.
Jump wings are marked with red and white flags (or red and white paint). You should jump them in one direction only – with the red flag on your right and the white flag on your left. If you jump in the wrong direction you could be eliminated from your class.
The practice jump should not be bigger than the maximum height of the jumps in the first round of the competition. So make sure your helper doesn’t put them up too high. Spreads must always be jumped so that the front element is lower than the back one.
No pole or obstacle of any kind can be held by hand for the horse to jump.
If you knock a jump, put it back up again.
If one arena is being used for both flatwork and jumping, be careful not to upset the horses being worked on the flat.
Don’t use the warm up arena as a place to sit on (or hold) your horse to watch the rest of the action.
Dressage
Always pass left hand to left hand when meeting a rider coming the other way, unless she’s in counter-canter – in which case you should give way by circling.
Don’t halt or walk on the outside track.
Sort out your tack and girth, etc outside the arena or near the middle – not on the centre or diagonal line.
Make it clear, by announcing, that you are about to enter an indoor warm-up arena as you don’t want to get mown down.
Your whip shouldn’t be so long that it could upset a passing horse.
Ask your trainer or any other helpers to stay clear, as they shouldn’t stand in the warm-up arena.
Riders with impaired vision can wear a white armband to indicate to others to be careful.