Welcome to the OEA’s Rule of the Month, where, with TD Peggy Hambly, we profile key rules of Eventing and keep you up to date on any critical rules changes you need to know about!
Question:
What you need to remember about using your whip
Peggy’s guidance:
Recently I had to chat with a EV60 rider about use of whip. I didn’t want to ruin the day, I
didn’t want to issue a red card. I didn’t want to add 25 penalties nor did I wish to
eliminate or disqualify or fine the rider. Personally, this is a division I wish to encourage
and watch them enjoy our sport. So I elected to just chat about using the whip.
You cannot use the whip to vent your temper. It is not to be used AFTER elimination or
after the last fence on course. It is NEVER to be used overhand.
You may NEVER hit a horse in the head.
It is not to be used more than 2 times for any 1 incident. Multiple excessive use of a
whip between fences is not allowed.
Should a horse have welts or broken skin, the use of the whip will always be considered
excessive.
I’m often asked questions about use of whip. You can readily find it in the rulebook
under Article D112.3 Abuse of horse, use of the Whip.
Happy Eventing!
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