Use the QR Code to report an Incident/AccidentThe 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.
The link to Pony Club Health and Safety Policy can be found below.
(The main document is in the Pony Club Handbook page 14.)
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.
If you are an Official, Volunteer or Coach, the Risk Assessment Guidance and Templates are can be found in the Resource Hub in Health and Safety/Risk Assessment.
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.
It is important that The Pony Club knows about incidents, accidents and injuries to everyone involved in Pony Club activities, including Members, Parents, Guardians, Volunteers, Officials, Staff and Members of the public, whether they occur during Pony Club events, or for members, if they happen elsewhere while riding or with horses.
The Online Report Form should be completed for all non-injury incidents, injury accidents, serious near misses and damage to property. The links to the form are below. Note: There is a printable version of the form which can be completed at the time of the incident/accident, but the online form must be completed as soon as possible afterwards.
Please refer to the incident and accident reporting process below for more details.
All non injury incidents, injury accidents and serious near misses should be reported in the ‘Need to Report Something’ section of the HOWDEN micro site, see link below. Note: Once in the Howden Microsite, please scroll down the page to find the report form links.
Please use the printable report form if its easier at the time of the incident, but it must be transferred onto the online form as soon as possible afterwards.
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 ALL Pony Club organised events. To meet the Pony Club requirements, all First Aid courses must be completed through face-to-face delivery.
If you are an Official, Volunteer or Coach, please visit the Resource Hub for more information.
The dress code for each of the individual Sport is given in the respective Rulebooks. However, there are some items of dress that have safety implications. Members are expected to dress correctly and safely for all Pony Club activities.
All tack must be clean, in a good state of repair, properly fitted and suitable for purpose. Tack inspections should be routinely carried out at all events and the organisers may prohibit participation in the event if they consider the tack to be inadequate or unsuitable. Individual sports do have further specific tack rules which are detailed in their individual sports rulebooks.
The Pony Club insurance policy is provided by Howden Insurance Brokers Limited.
Introduced in 2023 as part of our insurance renewal is the Micro-Site, which holds all the relevant documents and materials to support Branches and Event Organisers as well as Members and Parents. Please see the website linked here.
From 1st July 2024, the guidance on All Terrain Vehicles and Motorcycles has been updated in line with the conditions of insurance. Please see link below.
Please see the contact details to the right and get in touch if you have any queries or concerns.
