§ 44-20-102 — Chapter definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) (A) "Engages in an equine activity" means riding, training, assisting in medical treatment of, driving, or being a passenger upon an equine, whether mounted or unmounted or any person assisting a participant or show management. (B) "Engages in an equine activity" does not include being a spectator at an equine activity, except in cases where the spectator places the spectator's person in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity; (2) "Equine" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny; (3) "Equine activity" means: (A) Equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, or parades that involve any or all breeds of equines and any of the equine disciplines, including, but not limited to, dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training, rodeos, driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and western performance riding, endurance trail riding and western games, and hunting; (B) Equine training or teaching activities, or both; (C) Boarding equines; (D) Riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to another, whether or not the owner has received some monetary consideration or other thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective purchaser of the equine to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine; (E) Rides, trips, hunts, or other equine activities of any type, however informal or impromptu, that are sponsored by an equine activity sponsor; and (F) Placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine; (4) "Equine activity sponsor" means an individual, group, club, partnership, or corporation, whether or not the sponsor is operating for profit or nonprofit, that sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity, including, but not limited to, pony clubs, 4-H clubs, hunt clubs, riding clubs, school and college-sponsored classes, programs and activities, therapeutic riding programs, and operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities, including, but not limited to, stables, clubhouses, ponyride strings, fairs, and arenas at which the activity is held; (5) "Equine professional" means a person engaged for compensation: (A) In instructing a participant or renting to a participant an equine for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the equine; or (B) In renting equipment or tack to a participant; (6) "Inherent risks of equine activities" means those dangers or conditions that are an integral part of equine activities, including, but not limited to: (A) The propensity of an equine to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them; (B) The unpredictability of an equine's reaction to such things as sounds, sudden movements, and unfamiliar objects, persons, or other animals; (C) Certain hazards such as surface and subsurface conditions; (D) Collisions with other equines or objects; and (E) The potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant or others, such as failing to maintain control over the animal or not acting within the participant's ability; and (7) "Participant" means any person, whether amateur or professional, who engages in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate in the equine activity.

Legislative History

Acts 1992, ch. 974, § 3.