At the U.S. Eventing Association Board of Governors annual meeting on Aug. 11-12, board members revisited the 2008 rule regarding the elimination of a rider after a fall on course. After having analyzed data gathered by British Eventing coupled with comments from competitors at all levels, the board voted to endorse a rule change that will allow riders at the training level and below to remount and continue on course upon meeting safety regulations.

Riders that meet the following criteria post-fall will be permitted to continue with 65 penalty points added to their score.

• Rider does not require medical attention.

• He/she is able to remount promptly.

• If rider was wearing an air vest that inflated, they will be required to either deflate the vest or remove/replace it prior to continuing.

British Eventing data revealed, “there is no evidence to suggest that preventing riders from continuing on the cross country course after they have had an Unseated Rider Fall would have any noticeable effect in reducing the risk of serious injury to riders.”

Comments from competitors—amateur and professional alike—in support of the rule change touched upon themes such as improving rider and horse education, increasing rider confidence and making the sport more accessible at the entry levels.

The USEA Board of Governors will submit the rule change to the U.S. Equestrian Federation Eventing Technical Committee for consideration, and it will be discussed at the USEA Annual Meeting this December as well as at the January 2012 USEF meeting. If the rule change is approved, it will become effective Dec. 1, 2012, for the 2013 competition season.