No new hat standard Some of you will be aware
that there has been talk of a new hat standard that was due to be
introduced next year – a new BS/EN1384 2017. We have been talking about
this at our recent Area Visits and Club Training days. Late last week we
were made aware that this standard will now not be introduced anytime
in the near future, and as such, WILL NOT be added to our list of
accepted standards for BRC activities. Further details…Despite
the European nations voting almost unanimously for the approval of the
new EN1384 2017, the EU Commission last week informed us that they are
opposed to the harmonisation of the standard. Despite the standard
being published across Europe, until it has been “harmonised” it cannot
be used for the purposes of CE marking. This decision has come out of
the blue, having been given every indication that it would be
harmonised. It remains as a published standard but without harmonisation
it cannot be used by manufacturers for the purpose of CE marking. A
meeting is being called in January in Brussels to discuss their
objections and reason for refusal. We will know more after this meeting
and it may well be that the hat standard is revised further to allow
for harmonisation. We had intended to include the standard in our rules
for 2018 in the expectation that hats will enter the market in the next
year. However, most manufacturers will now be waiting to manufacture to
the new standard until after it has been harmonised. As far as we know,
only one company has started manufacturing to the EN1384 2017 but it’s
uncertain whether any have entered the UK market, and if so, they will
not be Kitemarked anyway. BSI who are responsible for the Kitemark are
holding off making any decision about Kitemarking this standard until
the situation is clarified. It is thus highly unlikely, if not virtually
impossible for hats to be Kitemarked to the EN1384 until this situation
is resolved.
Hat Tagging - 2018 BRC Hat Tagging Guide for Competitors Hopefully
you will have already seen the recent press release regarding hat
tagging for 2018 onwards. BRC, BE and PC will be tagging with the same
AQUA coloured tags for 2018. This means that each of the three member
bodies will accept each other’s tag – thus reducing the need for
separate tags for each organisation. New aqua tags will be sent to all
BRC Official Stewards by the end of the year. The full press release
follows:British Eventing, British Riding Clubs and The Pony
Club are delighted to announce that they have joined together to unify
the hat standards across all three Member Bodies; resulting in a single
hat tag being accepted across British Eventing, The Pony Club and
British Riding Club events in 2018.The new ‘aqua’
coloured hat tag will carry the logo of the body that checks the hat so
that the source of the tagging can be tracked and will mean that riders
no longer have to wear multiple tags on their hats.The 2018 hat
rules includes a small change to the AS/NZS 3838 standard for The Pony
Club and British Eventing, both of which will now only be accepting from
2006 onwards.All three bodies will use an aide memoire
that will list the standards and quality assurance marks and will be
used by officials.British Eventing’s Chief Executive
David Holmes said; “Safety in eventing, and all equestrian activity, is
of the highest priority for us and an area that British Eventing has
invested in extensively over many years. This universal hat tag system
is a great step forward in improving rider safety across multiple Member
Bodies, which is not only beneficial for risk management in the sport,
but means a more clear and efficient process for riders, officials and
volunteers.”Head of British Riding Clubs Laura Sanger
added; “We are delighted to be working with BE and the PC to promote the
highest safety standards to all of our members. We are also pleased
that this will reduce the burden on officials and volunteers across all
three disciplines, as the need for multiple tags will no longer be
necessary.”Mary Tuckett the Pony Club Chairman confirmed
that; “We are delighted to have come together with British Eventing and
British Riding Clubs to introduce the universal hat tag system for
2018. Keeping our Members safe is always of great importance to us and
the new ‘aqua’ tag will aid officials and volunteers with a clear and
streamlined process that will help promote hat safety among riders.”
Body Protectors - 2018 Body Protector Standards Information Remember
from 1 January, only BETA 2009 purple labels will be accepted. There is
one exception tot his – Exo Body Cages are only compliant with BETA
2000 purple label, but they will continue to be allowed. See the
attached guide for further information.We have attached
the 2018 hat and body protector guides for you – please feel free to
disseminate these amongst your Clubs and add to your websites etc as
required. New hat tags will be sent out to all Official Stewards before
the end of the year, ready to start re-tagging at qualifiers form
1 st January.