Choosing a body protector: the level, the label and the rule.

What bodies say a body protector does

Nothing on this page says a protector is certified, safe or accepted at a competition; the body's current rules and its officials decide. BETA's own swing ticket says its standard is not a guarantee of safety. US Equestrian (May 2020) says body protectors reduce penetrating torso injuries and how often ribs are broken, mainly on cross country, and that they give no direct spinal protection and do not protect against crushing or severe twisting and bending injuries. The BHS (October 2026) says no body protector can prevent serious injury in every situation.

The torso is a common injury site. In the US trauma-centre data studied by Mutore and colleagues (2021), chest injuries were the most common type, at about 37 percent. The Chronicle of the Horse (2019) reported a 2018 BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine analysis of 718 US Pony Club accident reports from 2011 to 2017 that linked body protectors on cross country with a 56 percent lower relative risk of injury, and found no link on the flat or in show jumping; we have not checked those figures against the paper. A suspected injury after a fall needs medical care.

The standard: EN 13158 and BETA 2018

EN 13158 is the European standard for protective jackets, body protectors and shoulder protectors for riders, people working with horses and carriage drivers. BETA records that the 2000 edition was revised in 2009 and again in 2018, each time with impact performance unchanged. The BETA 2018 Standard (dated 29 June 2018) requires every certified garment to meet all of EN 13158:2018; a certificate lasts one year, renewal means re-testing, and BETA says garments are re-tested every year for consistency. BETA states that garments made to BETA 2009 also meet the 2018 versions if the standard's conditions are met, with no difference in protection.

The Level 3 colour has two names. BETA's standard calls the label turquoise on black, but its swing-ticket text says "Blue 2018", as does the BHS events guidance (2022), while the Irish Pony Club's 2026 tack sheet says turquoise. They appear to mean the same label. BETA lists labels that are obsolete and should not be worn: Level 5 or 7, Class 1, 2 or 3, and BETA 2000 Level 1, 2 or 3. It requires the label to be visible while mounted so officials can check it, and notes an air jacket can hide it.

Each body's rule, with dates

• FEI Eventing Rules (27th edition, 1 January 2026), Annex O, as reproduced by Equestrian Australia: body protectors are compulsory for the cross-country test, including when schooling over cross-country fences, and back protectors do not count. The rule names no standard.
• Equestrian Australia (rule 3.1.1, 2026): since 1 January 2020, a cross-country protector made after 2009 and labelled EN 13158:2009, BETA 2009, EN 13158:2018 or BETA 2018 Level 3; from 1 January 2027 it must have been made after 2018.
• British Eventing, British Riding Clubs and The Pony Club: BETA 2009 garments are no longer accepted from January 2024, leaving BETA 2018 (BETA; Your Horse, December 2022). BETA says 2009 garments may still be worn for general riding and activities that do not specify the later label.
• BHS events (2022 guidelines): BETA Level 3 with a purple 2009 or blue 2018 label, and anticipated accepting 2009 labels until 2025. That differs from the January 2024 date above; we found no later BHS position.
• Irish Pony Club (2026): protectors for cross-country training and competition, with BETA Level 3 (turquoise) 2018 or a later revision compulsory for cross country.
• US Equestrian, EV9.2 (from 1 October 2023): a body protecting vest in the cross-country warm-up and phase; the Federation recommends one that meets or exceeds ASTM F1937 or is SEI certified.

Air vests: a separate decision

The FEI's 2026 eventing rules recommend air vests for cross country and keep body protectors compulsory. Equestrian Australia's 2026 rule says an air vest is not to be used without a body protector underneath unless it is a hybrid. The Irish Pony Club says an air vest alone is never enough for cross country or any phase with solid fences. US Equestrian's EV9.2 permits inflatable vests on top of a body protecting vest on cross country.

Whether any air vest standard exists is disputed. The BHS says air jackets meet no recognised safety standard, and the FEI Eventing Committee (2021) said there were no internationally recognised industry standards. US Equestrian (2020) and the Chronicle of the Horse (2019) cite the SATRA M38 specification from the UK test house SATRA as a benchmark some vests meet. The positions can both be true, since M38 is a test-house specification rather than an international or European standard.

The evidence also points both ways. The Chronicle reported a 2016 laboratory study linked to British Eventing that found an air jacket cut the modelled probability of a serious chest injury from 94 to 81 percent. US Equestrian reported a Universities of Sydney and Melbourne study of FEI cross-country falls from 2015 to 2017 in which riders wearing air vests had higher odds of serious injury, without showing the vests caused it. US Equestrian says air vests were designed mainly to reduce crush injuries to the chest.

Replacement and recalls

BETA says to replace body protectors at least every three to five years depending on use and care, that after five years the foam's impact absorption may begin to decline, and to avoid second-hand garments of unknown history. It says foam recovers its shape within about 30 minutes of an impact, so a dent still visible after that suggests the section has lost absorption. British Eventing's BE Prepared also gives three to five years. For air vests, US Equestrian (2020) summarises makers' servicing guidance: back to the maker every year, after six inflations, or after a significant fall. In May 2022 the UK Office for Product Safety and Standards reported children's and adults' riding vests that failed EN 13158:2018 shock absorption testing and were recalled; the recalls page has details.

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