- ACCEPTANCE OF RULES – All events run under the auspices of the MFHA Governing Body shall accept and be bound by these rules. All competitors at such events shall also accept and be bound by such rules.
- RIDERS RESPONSIBILITY – In the case of a rule affecting riders or their horses, the rider shall be held responsible for adhering to Rules 7 (Protection), 9 (Age), 13 (Horse Welfare), 14 (Abuse of Horses), 15 (Exchanging Horses), 19 (Unaffiliated Events) and 20 (Personal Accident Insurance).
- STEWARDS – There shall be one or more Stewards appointed by each event organiser whose decision in respect of these rules, the rules of each individual event, and of discipline shall be final, except by later appeal to the Governing Body on payment of a deposit of £50.
- INDIVIDUAL EVENT RULES – Organisers should make their own rules for their event, which must not conflict with these rules, but will operate in tandem with them, and which should make clear all particular conditions applicable to their own event.
- MEDICAL MATTERS – No event shall commence unless one Doctor, two Paramedics and Two Ambulances are on duty on the course. The Organisers should be aware of and adhere to the following medical safety rules:-
- No team shall be allowed to start unless either a fully equipped Ambulance, or another Ambulance and a Doctor are available on the course (one Ambulance may have gone to hospital with an earlier casualty).
- The medical team should have radio links around the course to Control.
- The medical team should be familiar with the course and know the quickest route to any part of it.
- Scoop stretchers must be available on the course and at least one 4WD vehicle with driver capable of carrying scoop stretchers should be available.
- The local Accident Unit should be informed of the event and provision for telephone contact be known.
- Ambulances should not be used as transport for uninjured persons.
- CONCUSSION – Any rider who sustains concussion shall under no circumstances be allowed to compete again for at least the remainder of the day.
- PROTECTION – All competitors must wear crash helmets to current British Safety Standards. All competitors must also wear a body protector to current approved British Safety Standards. All those mounted at an event (including grooms and helpers) must wear a hard hat and back protector when mounted.
- ACCIDENT REPORT FORMS – An Accident Report Form (ARF) is to be given to each fence steward and must be completed for any accident and returned to the Event Organiser. Such completed forms must be kept by the Organiser for a period of five years, or in the case of a person under the age of 18, four years after they become 18. These forms must be made available to the Course Inspector in subsequent years.
- RIDERS AGE – No person shall ride until they have attained the age of 16 in any Open, Intermediate or Novice Classes which are run against the clock. At the discretion of the organisers riders under that age may be permitted to compete in classes judged against the ‘bogey’ time.
- VETERINARY MATTERS – There must be at least two Vets available on course at each event. The decision of the course Vet to put a horse down on humane grounds must be accepted by all competitors.
- HORSE CASUALTIES – Organisers shall make adequate arrangements to deal with horse casualties, which will include the provision of suitable screens, a humane killer, at least one knacker wagon, and a suitable vehicle for use as a Horse Ambulance towed by a 4WD vehicle.
- EXHAUSTED HORSES – A nominated Steward or Stewards, who must be mounted, shall be appointed to stop unfit or exhausted horses from continuing. Such an official or officials, who must be readily identifiable, shall be appointed at every event.
- HORSE WELFARE – The whip should only be used for good reason, not excessively, in the right place and at the right time. Spurs must not be used to reprimand a horse and a bit should never be used to abuse or reprimand a horse. Horses must be five years old or over.
- ABUSE OF HORSES – Any act or series of actions, which in the opinion of the Stewards constitutes abuse of a horse shall be considered to be in breach of these rules and will incur elimination.
- EXCHANGING HORSES – No rider may exchange horses once a team has started. No horse may start more than once in any class.
- HORSE FALLS – ELIMINATION – When a horse falls during any class, it is immediately eliminated, and the horse and rider may not continue on the course. A horse is considered to have fallen when at the same time its shoulder and quarters have touched either the ground or the obstacle and the ground, or when it is trapped in a fence in such a way that it is unable to proceed without assistance or is liable to injure itself. This does not prevent horses which stumble or refuse, thus unseating the rider, from being able to continue.
- REFUSALS – The number of refusals shall not exceed three at any one fence, or five on the course, per horse when the competitor shall be eliminated and must leave the course at once. The team will be disqualified for any abuse of these rules by any individual member.
- COURSE INSPECTION – All courses will be inspected prior to an event by an Inspector appointed by the Governing Body, who will need to be satisfied that the course meets the necessary rules, safety standards and Course Construction Guidelines before he or she permits the event to ahead. Organisers must ensure that they permit Course Inspectors early access to allow time for making alterations required. The appointed Course Inspector should contact the Course Organisers to arrange an inspection date.
- UNAFFILIATED EVENTS – No rider may compete in the Team Chase Championship, who has taken part in an unaffiliated cross country team event during the current season. Events sanctioned by the Governing Body, the British Horse Society, The Riding Clubs and the Pony Club are exempt from this rule.
- INSURANCE – All events shall ensure that Public Liability Insurance cover for at least £5m is in place. It is a requirement that all participants must carry Third Party Liability Insurance for not less than £5 million which is available through membership of the Countryside Alliance. It is also strongly recommended that all participants have Personal Accident Insurance.
- ORGANISERS RIGHTS – The Organiser of all events reserve the right to cancel any class or event, to transfer competitors between classes, to refuse any entry, to alter advertised times, to withhold all or any prize money, and to eliminate any competitor to be adjudged not to be adhering to the rules.
- DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY – Save for death or personal injury caused by negligence of Organisers for which they are legally responsible, neither the Organisers of any event to which these rules apply, nor any representatives of these bodies accept any liability for any accident, loss, damage, injury or illness to horses, owners, riders, spectators, land, vehicles, contents or accessories or other person whatever, whether caused by their negligence or in any other way.
- CLASSES – Only the following terms shall be used to define classes:-
- NOVICE Fixed obstacles which are not to exceed 3’3”. Length of course to be approx. 1.5 miles.
- INTERMEDIATE The majority of fixed obstacles to be approx 3’6” but not to exceed 3’9”. Length of course to be approx. 1.75 miles.
- OPEN The majority of fixed obstacles to be not less than 3
- Organisers should note - If the term ‘Allcomers’ is used it must be preceded by the word ‘Novice’, ‘Intermediate’ or ‘Open’, whichever best describes the course. Only ‘Open’ or ‘Open Allcomers’ classes may be considered as qualifiers for the Team Chase Championship. A ‘Fun’ class is held entirely at the Organisers discretion, but must be decided by a ‘bogey’ time.
- THE PEN – The first three horses entering the pen should have twelve feet on the floor before anyone jumps out. The penalty for failing to observe this rule will be the addition of 20 seconds per team. There should be at least once fence judge purely to watch for this.
