TERMS AND CONDITIONS

ENTRIES AND WITHDRAWALS

Late entries may be accepted only for competitors already entered on the day of the event.

BD, BS & BE events- please refer to association rule book.

Unaffiliated events- Withdrawals before closing date will be refunded less a £5.00 administration fee (Please allow up to 10 working days for refunds). After closing date no refund will be given. (Please note the  booking fee is non refundable).

Arena hire- Anyone needing to cancel an arena hire, with at least 48 hours notice, will be moved to our “Carried Over” list- to use again at your convenience. Those wishing to cancel their arena hire with less than 48 hours notice will forfeit their hire.

In the event of an event cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances, MHL Equestrian Centre will endeavour to reschedule the event or refund any entries less an administration fee.

Withdrawals must be made by email.

COMPETITION & SITE RULES

These rules apply to any unaffiliated event or hire at MHL Equestrian Centre, with the exception of if the centre is externally hired out. For affiliated events, the rules of the relevant affiliating body take precedence, however, where the relevant rule is absent, these rules come into force.

Competition Rules

All competitions are run under the relevant governing body rules for that discipline, unless otherwise stated.

The judges’ and stewards’ decisions are final. Objections must be handed to the secretary in writing within 30 minutes of the incident, together with a £10 deposit which will be forfeited if the objection is not sustained.

Owners submitting entries for their horses/ponies do so at their own risk and it is deemed a condition of entry that no liability of any kind be attached to MHL Equestrian Centre or its officials in any respect whatsoever.

Horses and ponies must be 4 years or older to be ridden at the centre.

All horses should be vaccinated, and routine spot checks will be undertaken.

First Aid cover will be available on site at all of our show jumping competitions and Paramedic cover at our cross-country competitions.

Rider Dress & Safety Wear

Correct competition wear for the chosen discipline must be worn whilst competing.

Riders should wear competition dress for all presentations of prizes.

A correctly fitting hat conforming to the current standard per discipline must be worn when mounted. For information about current standards please refer to the relevant sport governing body. When jumping solid fences, the hat must not have a fixed peak.

A correctly fitting body protector conforming to the correct current standard per discipline must be worn when competing over solid fences (e.g. cross country and arena eventing) and is advisable for all disciplines. For information about current standards please refer to the relevant sport governing body: British Eventing.

Boots with a smooth sole and a small heel must be worn.

Respect for the Site

Please ensure that you pick up any droppings or litter from around the lorry/trailer park before leaving. Failure to do so will result in a £50 fine. You may not skip out onto the Lorry Park, Field or anywhere else on site.

When hiring an arena, ALL droppings must be removed from the arena surfaces immediately. Failure to do so will result in a £50 fine.

No hay nets should be tied outside of trailers/horseboxes.

No horse or pony is to be left unattended unless correctly secured inside the trailer/horsebox.

Strictly no ATVs or motorbikes. If you have mobility issues, please contact us prior to the event for alternative arrangements.

Spectators are welcome at all our events. All spectators must listen out for any instructions they are given, whilst on site, for the safety of themselves and our competitors.

Well behaved dogs are very welcome but please keep them on a lead at all times and clean up any waste.

All children under the age of 18 must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times.

Prizes and Rosettes

Unless superseded by prize information in individual schedules, prizes and rosettes will be given out as follows:

Rosettes 1st – 6th

5 or more starters, 1st prize

9 or more starters, 2nd prize

15 or more starters, 3rd prize

HEALTH, SAFETY & LEGAL INFORMATION

We would like all visitors at MHL Equestrian Centre to have a positive and enjoyable experience whilst at the Centre, but we would like to remind you that your safety is your own responsibility. We do not accept liability for any accidents, injury, illness, loss or damage to you. your horse, your vehicle, your companion(s), your belongings or any other animal whatsoever, however caused. MHL Equestrian Centre rules apply to any event at the Centre or on our grounds, fields and all other premises, with the exception of if the centre is externally hired out. For Affiliated events, the rules of the relevant affiliated body take precedence, however where the relevant rule is absent, MHL Equestrian Centre rules come into force.

HEALTH & SAFETY

MHL Equestrian Centre has taken every reasonable precaution to ensure the Health and Safety of everyone present. For these measures to be effective everyone must take all reasonable precautions to avoid and prevent accidents occurring and must obey the instructions of the Organisers and all other Officials and Stewards.

All clients must have their own appropriate personal and public liability insurance in place. Horse insurance is recommended but is the horse owners’ ultimate decision and responsibility. 

MHL Equestrian Centre accepts no liability for Loss and/or Injury/Damage

Riders should have full control of their horses at all times and both horse and rider should be appropriately skilled to handle any manoeuvre or obstacle attempted. If under the instruction of a riding instructor- the instructor should be suitably qualified, experienced and insured to teach such manoeuvres and/or jump techniques.

CORRECTLY FASTENDED BODY PROTECTORS and RIDING HATS WITH NO FIXED PEAK must be worn when on the cross country courses (it is the clients responsibility to make sure body protectors and riding hats conform to the current approved safety standards).

All those in the vicinity of a horse should always wear an approved riding hat and suitable clothing- including footwear.

Riders should be accompanied, by at least one person carrying a working mobile phone (mounted or unmounted).

Children should be very closely supervised.

Please be considerate of other horses and riders. Horse and Rider etiquette should be applied at all times.

If the activity permits riding in a group or pairs, horses should follow one behind the other and NOT two abreast.

Only tackle obstacles that are within you and your horses capability.

Please report any problems or damage to us immediately, so that we can keep the facilities at the high standard we aim for.

These rules are largely common sense and are in the interest of your own safety. By entering events or hire outs you are agreeing to abide by these rules.

An adult must be responsible for an rider under 18 years of age and remain completely responsible for their safety and actions at all times.

You also accept full liability for the actions and safety of any spectators that accompany you.

You accept that you will ride at your own risk and that your horse and companions on foot are your responsibility.

Legal Liability

No claim will be entertained by the proprietors for injury, loss or damage caused to or suffered by any horse or pony or any other property in connection with or arising from any event or hire, whether or not the said injury, loss or damage is caused by the negligence of the proprietors, their servants or agents. All clients must have their own personal and third party insurance and provide documentary evidence of such cover if requested to do so by the proprietors.

Anyone taking payment in return for instructing, offering advise or help (instructors) MUST be qualified, experienced and insured to do so.

BIO-SECURITY & VACCINATION INFORMATION

Vaccination Policy

If BOTH the 1st and 2nd Equine Influenza Vaccines were given before 01/01/24:

Ensure that the horse (or pony) has received two injections for primary vaccination against equine influenza given no less than 21 days and no more than 92 days apart. Only these two injections need to have been given before a horse/pony can attend the centre.

In addition, if sufficient time has elapsed, a first booster injection should be given no less than 150 days and no more than 215 days after the second injection of the primary vaccination.

Subsequently, booster injections must be given at intervals of not more than one year apart.

Otherwise:

Ensure that the horse (or pony) has received two injections for primary vaccination against equine influenza given no less than 21 days and no more than 60 days apart. Only these two injections need to have been given before a horse/pony can attend the centre.

In addition, if sufficient time has elapsed, a first booster injection should be given no less than 180 days and no more than 180 days after the second injection of the primary vaccination.

Subsequently, booster injections must be given at intervals of not more than one year apart.

General Bio-security

If your horse is showing any symptoms of illness, please do not bring them to MHL Equestrian Centre.

Symptoms include, but are not limited to: 

Temperature below 36.5°C or above 38.5°C

Breathing rate below 8 breaths/min or above 15 breaths/min

Resting heart rate below 25 beats/min or above 45 beats/min

Capillary refill time (in the gums) of more than 1-2 seconds

Discharge from the eyes or nose

Unusual stance

Unusual droppings/amount of droppings

Not drinking/eating

Unusual general demeanour

Do not allow your horse to have contact with any other horse onsite – especially livery horses.

Avoid having contact with any horse other than your own. If you do have contact with any other horse, wash your hands, remove any outer clothing and disinfect footwear.

Bring your own water buckets and avoid submerging hoses/nozzles.

Do not share any equipment between horses unless it has been disinfected between.

Please do not allow your horses to graze anywhere onsite at MHL EC

PHOTOGRAPHY POLICY

Photographers and video teams may attend competitions and events, competitors should be aware that by entering an event authorises their consent to these images being used in print and online by MHL Equestrian Centre, affiliating bodies, show sponsors and in show reports.

Event photography and event reports are an integral part of the competition entered and entry will constitute acceptance that this is part of the entry contract. We will pass on start lists to event photographers, who may display name, horse name, date and location of event on photographs displayed on their website. We will also pass on rider contact information to legitimate media contacts for the purpose of writing competition reports.

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

Statement of Intent

At MHL Equestrian Centre (MHL EC) we are committed to providing a warm, caring and safe environment for everyone so that they can exist, learn and compete in a relaxed and secure environment. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at our centre. We take all incidents of bullying seriously. Bullying hurts. No one deserves to be a victim of bullying. Everyone has the right to be treated with respect and people who are bullying others need to learn a new way of behaving. At MHL EC, we acknowledge that bullying does happen from time to time – indeed, it would be unrealistic to claim that it does not. When bullying does occur, everyone should feel able to tell someone and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively in accordance with our anti-bullying policy. Anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell staff.

What is Bullying? 

The equestrian centre has adopted the following collaborative definition of bullying which is our shared understanding of what bullying is:

“Bullying is any deliberate, hurtful, upsetting, frightening or threatening behaviour by an individual or group towards other people. Bullying is mean and results in worry, fear, pain and distress to the victim(s).”

Bullying Can Be: 

Being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting, ridiculing or humiliating

Name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, making rude remarks, making fun of someone

Pushing, kicking, hitting, pinching, throwing objects, biting, spitting, punching or any other form of violence

Taking or hiding someone’s things

Racial taunts, graffiti, gestures, or making fun of culture and religion

Unwanted physical contact, sexually abusive comments or sexist comments

Behaviour arising because of/or focussing on the issue of sexuality

Setting up “hate websites”, sending offensive messages, emails, posts or comments, and abusing victims via their mobile phones, computers and/or social media

Any unfavourable or negative comments, gestures or actions made to someone via any means

Bullying is Not: 

It is important to understand that bullying is not the odd occasion of falling out with friends, arguments or when the occasional joke or trick is played on someone. People sometimes fall out or say things because they are upset. When occasional problems of this kind arise, it is not classed as bullying.

What to Do If You or Someone Else Is Being Bullied

Wherever you are at the equestrian centre, you have the right to feel safe. Nobody has the right to make you feel unhappy. If someone is bullying you, it is important to remember that it is not your fault and that there are people that can help you. Please tell a member of MHL staff if you feel you are being bullied. Ignoring bullying is cowardly and unfair to the victim. Staying silent means the bully has won and gives them more power. There are ways you can help without putting yourself in danger. Tell a member of MHL staff if you feel someone else is being bullied.

Procedures for Reporting and Responding to Bullying Incidents

All MHL staff will respond calmly and consistently to all allegations and incidents of bullying at MHL. They will be taken seriously by all staff and dealt with impartially and promptly. All those involved will have the opportunity to be heard. Staff will protect and support any children (or vulnerable people) involved whilst allegations and incidents are being investigated and resolved.

The following step-by-step process will be used for reporting and responding to bullying allegations or incidents:

Report all bullying accidents and incidents to MHL staff

Staff will make sure the victim(s) is, and feels, safe

Appropriate advice will be given to help the victim(s)

Staff will listen and speak to all involved about the incident separately

The problem will be identified, and possible solutions suggested

Appropriate action will be taken quickly to end the bullying behaviour

Staff will reinforce to the bully (or bullies) that their behaviour is unacceptable

The bully (or bullies) may be asked to genuinely apologise. Other consequences may take place and appropriate sanctions applied (see next section)

If possible, those involved will be reconciled

An attempt will be made, and support given, to help the bully (or bullies) understand and change his/her/their behaviour

In cases of serious bullying, the incidents will be recorded by MHL staff on an Incident Report Sheet. Sheets will be kept in the MHL office.

After the incident has been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place

If necessary and appropriate, the Child Protection Officer, Social Services or police will be consulted

The following sanctions may be used:

Apologise to the victim(s) verbally or in writing

Suspension from attending MHL EC

Exclusion from attending MHL EC

DATA PROTECTION & PRIVACY POLICY

Data Protection

Keeping your personal information safe is very important to us. We are committed to complying with privacy and data protection laws and being transparent about how we process personal data.

We have policies, procedures and training in place to help our employees and volunteers understand their data protection responsibilities and follow the data protection principles.

We have a nominated member of staff who serves as our Data Protection Lead. If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy, please email 

This privacy policy relates to our use of any personal information we process about you.

How we collect Personal Data

We may collect your personal data in different ways, for example:

when you or your parent or guardian communicate with us by post, telephone, SMS, email or via our website

from the information you provide to us when you make an application to work for us or stable with us or from third parties such as your previous or current employers/yard so we can verify details about you

as you interact with us in other ways; as a contractor, or in any other capacity

How we use Personal Information

We collect and use personal information about our liveries, clients, job applicants and volunteers for different purposes.

Membership applications, administration and renewals

Running events and camps

Dealing with complaints and appeals

Undertaking safeguarding activities including DBS checks and casework

Processing expenses

Employee administration

Employee and volunteer recruitment

We only collect personal information that we genuinely need.

This may include:

Contact details such as name, address, email address and phone numbers

Details about your horse such as the name, age, sex and passport number

Credit card details and any purchases you have made

Date of birth and gender

Any Special Educational Needs (SEN) requirements including relevant medical records

Dietary requirements where this is required for catering

Qualifications

Name of your parent or guardian (if you are under 18)

Name and contact details of any next of kin

In respect of job applicants, we may also collect: 

your bank account details, tax and residency status

references from previous employers or educational institutions

contact details for your family members and next of kin

information concerning your health and medical conditions

information about your race, ethnicity and sexual orientation

details of criminal convictions

Membership Applications, Administration & Renewals

We will use the information that you provide to us to process your livery application and renew your application if appropriate. We will email and post you information about events, our services and other items of interest, as part of your livery agreement. You can opt out or unsubscribe from receiving this information if you wish (please note however this might lead to you not receiving vital updates and information). Our legal basis for using your personal information in this way is for the performance of a contract.

Running Events

If you register for one of our events, we will use your information provided to us to process your registration and enable you to attend the event. This will include sharing some of your information with our volunteers that run the event. It may also include collecting and sharing medical information with them if you choose to provide that to us. Our legal basis for using your personal information in this way is for the performance of a contract.

If you choose to provide us with your dietary requirements we may share them with third parties that we use to provide catering at our events.

Dealing with Complaints & Appeals

If a complaint or an appeal is raised with us, we will process the personal information that is provided to us to manage and resolve the complaint or appeal. This may include sharing relevant information with an affiliated organisation, a coach, welfare officers or another organisation, depending upon the nature of the complaint and the that area it relates to. Our legal basis for using personal information for this purpose is to fulfil our legitimate interest and fulfil our objective of resolving complaints in a careful and appropriate manner.

Undertaking Safeguarding Activities including DBS Checks & Casework

When necessary, we process relevant personal information about liveries, clients, volunteers, coaches and employees for safeguarding purposes. This might include undertaking DBS and other checks to identify any criminal and other activity we need to be aware of and casework. It may be necessary to share some personal information with relevant authorities such as the police, The Safeguarding Advisory Board and an appropriate member of the respective Member Body – such as The BEF, The Pony Club or a BRC Riding Club (as appropriate to the safeguarding activity). Our legal basis for this processing is to meet our legal obligations.

Processing Expenses

We will use your personal information including your bank account details to process expense claims. Our legal basis for using your information for this is for the performance of a contract.

Employee Administration and Professional Development of Staff

We will process personal information of our employees to fulfil our contract with them. This includes payroll processing and the provision of training. We are required by law to share some financial information with the HMRC. We may also need to share some personal information with other organisations, for example solicitors or pension providers. Our legal basis for using your information for this is for the performance of a contract.

Employee & Volunteer Recruitment

If you provide us with information about yourself, such as a resume or curriculum vitae, in connection with a job or volunteer application or enquiry, we may use this information to process your enquiry. We will not store this information for any purpose other than that relating to your application. Our legal basis for using your information in this way is for our legitimate interest.

Cookies & Aggregate Information collected from  

We use cookies and log files on our website to store information about how you use our website. A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. This enables us to create a profile which details your viewing preferences. We use your profile to tailor your visit to our website, to make navigation easier and direct you to information that best corresponds to your interests and country.

Aggregate information is collected from users using our own web tracker. This information includes users’ Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time of visit, number of clicks, error pages and number of unique visits.

This information is not linked to personal profiles or to personally identifiable information provided by users. We use it to analyse visitor trends and use of our website, administer the website and to gather broad demographic information of our website users. Our legal basis for using your information in this way is for our legitimate interest.

Our Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information

Our legal basis for the purposes that we process personal information is for the performance of a contract, or for our legitimate interests or consent.

We may process personal information because it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party (or to take steps at your request prior to entering a contract). For example, we may process your personal data:

To issue or administer a livery agreement

To administer a training course and award a qualification

We may collect and use your personal data if it is necessary for our legitimate interest and so long as its use is fair, balanced and does not unduly impact your rights.

We will ask for your consent to send you marketing emails and text messages. You can withdraw consent for this at any time.

Usually we will only process sensitive personal data if we have your explicit consent. In extreme situations, we may share your personal details with the emergency services if we believe it is in your ‘vital interests’ to do so. For example, if someone is taken ill during one of our events.

Sharing Personal Information

We will only share your personal information where we are required to fulfil our contract with you, or legitimate interest, where we have your consent, or we are required to do so by law.

We may share your personal information with third party organisations who will process it on our behalf, for example a mailing house, our website administrator or printers.

If necessary, we may also share your information with caterers, course providers, referees, and coaches.

We may also share your information with our bank to process a payment; our professional advisers (such as our legal advisers) where it is necessary to obtain their advice; and our IT support and data storage providers.

We process employee personal information to fulfil our contracts with our employees and meet our legal obligations as an employer.

Where required, we will process personal information to comply with our legal obligations. In this respect we may use your personal data to comply with subject access requests; tax legislation; for the prevention and detection of crime; and to assist the police and other competent authorities with investigations including criminal and safeguarding investigations.

Transferring Personal Data outside of the EEA (European Economic Area)

We do not need to collect or send your personal information outside of the EEA. We will not transfer personal information to countries or jurisdictions which do not have a similar standard of data protection law in place.

Your Rights

If you no longer wish to receive communications about products and services from us, please contact  murrayhouselivery@outlook.com. You can also unsubscribe at any time to emails that we may send to you about the products and services that we think will be of interest to you (however please note that this may lead to you missing vital information).

You also have the right to:

Request a copy of the information we hold about you. Requests should be addressed to

. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your written request.

Tell us to change or correct your personal information if it is incomplete or inaccurate. Please contact us at 

Ask us to restrict our processing of your personal data or to delete your personal data if there is no compelling reason for us to continue using or holding this information. Please contact us at  

Receive from us the personal information we hold about you which you have provided to us, in a reasonable format specified by you, so that you can send it to another organisation. Please contact us at 

Object, on grounds relating to your specific situation, to any of our processing activities where you feel this has a disproportionate impact on you. Please contact us at  

Please note that we may be entitled to refuse requests where exceptions apply: for example, if we have reason to believe that the personal data we hold is accurate or we can show our processing is necessary for a lawful purpose set out in this Privacy Policy.

How long we keep your Personal Information

We will hold your personal information for as long as is necessary. We will not retain your personal information if it is no longer required. In some circumstances, we may legally be required to retain your personal information, for example for finance, employment or audit purposes.

We will keep livery records indefinitely

We will keep volunteer records indefinitely to aid us in volunteer recruitment for forthcoming events

We will keep records of events for 2 years, in order to facilitate any insurance claim resulting from the activity.

Changes to this Policy

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time. Where practical we will provide you with an updated Privacy Policy from time to time. However, we also recommend that you please visit this web page periodically to keep up-to-date with the changes in our Privacy Policy.

Making a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office

If you are not satisfied with our response to any query you raise with us, or you believe we are processing your personal data in a way which is inconsistent with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office whose helpline number is: 0303 123 1113.