Riding equipment: the standards and the rules.

This section is about what equipment is tested to and what the rulebooks require, not how to choose, fit, adjust or put it on. Fitting a helmet, a body protector or a saddle, and tacking up a horse, are learned in person from a qualified coach, riding school or qualified fitter, and anything to do with a horse's health belongs with a vet.

How to read these pages

Three things are kept apart throughout. A standard is the test a product was built to, such as ASTM F1163 for helmets or EN 13158 for body protectors. A quality mark shows that a certification body keeps checking production. A rule is a named governing body's decision about which standards and marks it accepts, in which competitions, from which date. A helmet can meet a standard and still not meet a particular body's rule on a particular day, because the lists differ and change.

Every rule here is given with the body, the rulebook and its year. Where sources disagree, each version is given with who says it. No page says that a product is certified, safe or acceptable at a competition: the body's current rules, the hat tag where there is one, and the officials at the event decide. The helmet standards checker compares the standards on a helmet's label with a body's published list for a chosen date.

A note on the FEI's rule text

The FEI's own rules site refused our requests. FEI rules in this section were therefore read through copies published by other bodies: Equestrian Australia's 2026 rulebooks, which reproduce the FEI Jumping and Eventing Rules, a copy of the FEI's 2026 helmet list hosted by an Australian campdraft body, and a 2019 text of the FEI Dressage Rules published by Equestrian New Zealand. Each page says which copy it relies on. The FEI's own current text, and the officials at an event, have the final word.

Dates to know

• FEI helmets: a three-step phase-in, with one rule for 2026, another for 2027, and at least two accepted standards required from 1 January 2028.
• Equestrian Australia: the FEI dates for FEI events; for national competition the 2027 conditions run to the end of 2028 and the two-standard rule starts on 1 January 2029.
• US Equestrian: its own list of accepted standards, in force since 1 August 2023 and applied by rule GR801 at hunter, jumper and hunter/jumper competitions, and in USEF dressage through rule DR120.1.1 (2026 dressage booklet).
• UK: British Riding Clubs, British Eventing and The Pony Club share one set of accepted hat standards and one pink tag in 2026.
• Body protectors: BETA 2018 (EN 13158:2018) levels; BETA 2009 labels no longer accepted by those three UK bodies from January 2024.

The pages in this section

1. Helmet standards: ASTM F1163, PAS 015, EN 1384, VG1, Snell and AS/NZS 3838.
2. Helmet rules by body: the FEI, Equestrian Australia, US Equestrian and the UK.
3. Tags and quality marks: Kitemark, SEI, Snell, the pink tag and green tags.
4. Body protectors: EN 13158, BETA 2018 levels and labels, and who requires what.
5. Air vests: the rules, the standards dispute and the conflicting evidence.
6. Boots, gloves and stirrups: heels, colours and safety stirrup rules.
7. Competition attire: FEI and US Equestrian dress rules.
8. Saddles and saddle fitting: saddle types, saddle rules and the fitter's qualifications.
9. Bridles, bits and nosebands: the FEI's 1.7 cm device and bridle rules.
10. Horse boots and bandages: the FEI hind boot and 500 g rules.
11. Rugs and horse care kit: welfare guidance on rugging and FEI rules on care kit.
12. Recalls: recalls of helmets, vests, saddles and stirrups published by regulators.
13. Helmet and protector lifespan: replacement statements and where they differ.