Concussion protocols: what each equestrian body publishes.

Concussion is a brain injury. A suspected concussion, or any suspected injury after a fall, needs assessment by a medical professional. The protocols below are competition rules and guidance that each body has published; they describe who must clear an athlete and when, not how to recognise or treat a concussion. Medical decisions belong to a doctor.

Why bodies wrote these rules

The FEI's 2025 international eventing statistics recorded 22 concussions among falls that year. Equestrian Canada states that helmets protect against many head injuries but do not prevent concussion, because a helmet cannot stop the brain moving inside the skull. British Equestrian says its guidance answers the UK Government's 2021 action plan on concussion in sport.

Each body's protocol

The FEI

Search results show three FEI documents: one on recognising and managing concussion written for non-medical people, one on diagnosis and management at FEI events, and a Concussion Return to Play form dated May 2019. The FEI's site refused our requests, so we could not read them. Search summaries say an athlete must not ride again on the day of a concussion, may return to competition only after a qualified health professional completes the Return to Play form, and that the guidance refers to the 6th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport (Amsterdam, October 2022). Those points are unconfirmed.

British Equestrian

British Equestrian released its guidelines on 2 March 2023 for riders, drivers, vaulters, parents, coaches, officials, grooms, medical staff and organisers. It says they respond to the UK Government's December 2021 action plan on concussion in sport and were developed by its World Class Programme sports science and medicine team, led by athlete health lead Ashleigh Wallace. The guidance uses the cross-sport message "if in doubt, sit them out" and a recognise, remove, recover, return framework, with any return to riding carried out alongside advice from a qualified medical practitioner.

British Eventing

British Eventing changed its rules in March 2014, raising the standard suspension from 7 to 21 days. Under those rules a doctor had to assess a concussed rider as fit before any return. Earlier returns, from day 10 for amateurs and day 7 for professionals with annual baseline cognitive testing, were allowed only with medical approval. Dr Peter Whitehead, then chair of the FEI Medical Committee and chief medical officer at the British Equestrian Federation, said the changes reflected newer research and that concussion is serious whatever the symptoms. We read the 2014 report, not the current rulebook, so the 2026 wording is unconfirmed.

US Equestrian and US Eventing

The 2009 return-to-play rule was approved by both boards in January 2009. On 16 September 2024 US Equestrian published an equestrian-specific six-stage Return to Sport Concussion Strategy. It is guidance to be used with the athlete's own medical provider, and a medical provider must submit a Return to Competition Medical Release Form before an athlete with a suspected concussion competes again at a USEF-licensed event.

A further proposal, rule 065-24 (Concussions, Injuries and Return to Sport), was in its fourth draft on 11 May 2026. It would require anyone who falls at a competition to be examined by the event's qualified medical personnel before remounting, with an exemption for adults who land on their feet unless they fall more than once. US Equestrian reported that committees raised concerns that the rule is hard to apply in endurance, driving and eventing, where falls can happen out of sight. A Board vote was scheduled for June 2026; we found no report of the outcome, so whether 065-24 is in force is unconfirmed.

Equestrian Canada

Equestrian Canada's rule took effect on 1 January 2017 (2017 Rules, Section A, General Regulations, Article 101), and EC describes itself as one of the first national sport bodies with sport-specific return-to-sport guidelines. After a fall where concussion can reasonably be suspected, the competitor must be assessed by qualified on-site medical personnel. A medical suspension puts the athlete on an EC suspension list until a licensed physician clears them on the EC Return to Sport form. EC tracks how often concussions occur, not medical records, to support education aimed at reducing the risk of second impact syndrome. The protocol was developed by a working group led by EC head of sport science Jessica Dilliott.

Equestrian Australia

Equestrian Australia's Health, Safety and Welfare Update of 29 August 2025 sets a minimum 21-day stand-down from competition after a diagnosed or suspected concussion, with at least 14 symptom-free days and clearance from a medical practitioner. EA points athletes to the Australian Institute of Sport's graded return-to-sport protocols.

Where the rules differ

• Stand-down length: British Eventing (2014) and Equestrian Australia (2025) both set 21 days; the US and Canadian rules tie return to medical clearance rather than a fixed period in the sources we read.
• Who decides: every body whose text we could read puts the return decision with a doctor or qualified medical professional.
• Lists: US Equestrian and Equestrian Canada both keep a suspension list.

For the head-injury findings behind these rules, see what the injury data shows, and for helmet requirements, see helmet rules and history.