Body Protector Standard Update
The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) have confirmed that a standard of body protector will be available to buy from 1st October.
Although introducing the new standard of body protector, BETA is still advising governing bodies and organisations to accept the older BETA 2009 and will for the “foreseeable future”. Most organisations have only just updated their rules to only accept body protectors of BETA 2009 standard or later, BETA 2000 logos being out-of-date.
Governing bodies such as the British Riding Club, British Eventing and the British Horseracing Authority all state that body protectors worn by competitors must comply with BETA 2009 or later revisions of the standard, such as the new BETA 2018.
The Pony Club also only accept BETA 2009 and above, fulfilling Level 3 standards. The Pony Club have confirmed they will continue to except the 2009 revision for six more years, stating that they will “continue to require Level 3 of either standard for cross country”.
A statement, regarding the new standard, on the BETA website read;
“The disciplines that set a minimum standard of body protection have now changed their rules to only accept garments marked 2009 for next year and all have indicated that they will accept the 2018 version when available.”
“They will continue to accept 2009 garments for years to come as was the case with the 2000 version, but no time limit has been set.”
“It is likely however that they will continue to allow the 2009 version for at least the next six years which equates to the typical life of a garment.”
The updated revision will also undergo logo change. The new BETA Level 3 logo will be blue, changing from purple, the colour which has been used for over 20 years.”
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Journalist and News Reporter, Everything Horse
Reporting on equestrian news stories, Abby also produces a variety of engaging content for the magazine.