The Pony Club takes the health & safety of our members extremely seriously. Whilst we understand that there will always be some risk involved with equestrian activities, we must reduce injuries as far as we can. Our approach is to keep it simple and clear, with a risk based programme containing supporting guidance.
Core documents and material are available on the Resource Hub, as well as key documents linked directly from this page. Please see the Health, Safety, Safeguarding and Welfare Rulebook to the right.
Risk assessment is the cornerstone of good health & safety management, and in achieving the overall aim of reducing injuries. To keep the approach clear and simple we provide templates to give an indication of the types of hazards that could be encountered and actions that could be taken, however it is extremely important that these templates are amended and reviewed to ensure the hazards that may cause injury are included, or any other hazards not covered are added. A method of undertaking this duty is to carry out and record a risk assessment for all Pony Club activities. It is a statutory requirement to have risk assessments completed prior to the event.
The Pony Club provides training to support those carrying out Risk Assessments for activities, this training is open to all- Members, coaches, volunteers and officials.
The training runs through the basics of carrying out a Risk Assessment such as identifying a Hazard and measures which could be put in place to support a safe event. These are run online via zoom and are bookable through the link below.
The type of record and report made depends upon the nature of the incident and the injuries sustained. It should be noted that injuries to members, coaches and volunteers are included in these requirements. If in doubt, report it. Accident reporting documents must be retained for three years after the date of the incident or accident. Where an injured person is under 18 years, all accident forms should be kept for three years after their eighteenth birthday. Electronic copies of submitted forms are acceptable.
All Injury accidents and serious near misses should be reported on the links below:
Complete this accident form for all accidents that result in an injury, near miss or damage to property that occur at a Pony Club Organised Event
Complete this accident form for all accidents that result in an injury, near miss or damage to property that occur outside of an organised Pony Club Event, for example while hacking.
The Incident Report Log should be used to log all non injury incidents that occur during any Pony Club organised event. Example templates for Incident Report Logs can be downloaded below.
Ensuring the correct first aid cover is an important aspect of Pony Club activities, as there will always be the potential for injury when handling and riding horses. It is important that a risk assessment is undertaken to determine the first aid cover required, the First Aid matrix can assist with this.
As a minimum requirement there must be a Trained First Aider at events. All First Aid Courses MUST have been completed through Face to Face Delivery to complete with the Pony Club requirements.
The dress code for each of the individual sports is given in the individual rule books. However, there are some items of dress that have safety implications. Members are expected to dress correctly and safely for all Pony Club activities.
Unsafe Tack – All tack must be clean, in a good state of repair, properly fitted and suitable for purpose. Tack inspections are routinely carried out at events and the organisers may prohibit participation in the event if they consider the tack to be inadequate or unsuitable.