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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>83863</law_id><section_number>3.2-6200</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>3.2-5901.2</reference><reference>54.1-3303</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="3.2">Agriculture, Animal Care, and Food</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="V">Domestic Animals</unit><unit label="chapter" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="62">Equine Activity Liability</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#x201C;Engages in an equine activity&#x201D; means: (i) any person, whether mounted or unmounted, who rides, handles, trains, drives, assists in providing medical or therapeutic treatment of, or is a passenger upon an equine; (ii) any person who participates in an equine activity but does not necessarily ride, handle, train, drive, or ride as a passenger upon an equine; (iii) any person visiting, touring or utilizing an equine facility as part of an event or activity; or (iv) any person who assists a <span class="dictionary">participant</span> or <span class="dictionary">equine activity sponsor</span> or management in an equine activity. The term &#x201C;engages in an equine activity&#x201D; does not include being a spectator at an equine activity, except in cases where the spectator places himself in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to an equine or equine activity.
		&#x201C;Equine&#x201D; means a <span class="dictionary">horse</span>, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.
		&#x201C;Equine activity&#x201D; means: (i) equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, or parades that involve any or all breeds of <span class="dictionary">equines</span> and any of the equine disciplines, including dressage, hunter and jumper <span class="dictionary">horse</span> shows, grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training, rodeos, driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeple chasing, endurance trail riding and western games, and hunting; (ii) equine training or teaching activities; (iii) boarding <span class="dictionary">equines</span>; (iv) 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; (v) rides, trips, hunts, or other equine activities of any type however informal or impromptu that are sponsored by an <span class="dictionary">equine activity sponsor</span>; (vi) conducting general hoofcare, including placing or replacing horseshoes or hoof trimming of an equine; and (vii) providing or assisting in breeding or therapeutic veterinary treatment.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Equine activity sponsor</span>&#x201D; means any person or his agent who, for profit or not for profit, sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity, including pony clubs, 4-H clubs, hunt clubs, riding clubs, school- and college-sponsored classes and programs, therapeutic riding programs, and operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities, including stables, clubhouses, ponyride strings, fairs, and arenas where the activity is held.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Equine professional</span>&#x201D; means a person or his agent engaged for compensation in: (i) instructing a <span class="dictionary">participant</span> or renting to a <span class="dictionary">participant</span> an equine for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon an equine; or (ii) renting equipment or tack to a <span class="dictionary">participant</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Intrinsic dangers of equine activities</span>&#x201D; means those dangers or conditions that are an integral part of equine activities, including: (i) the propensity of <span class="dictionary">equines</span> to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them; (ii) the unpredictability of an equine&#x2019;s reaction to such things as sounds, sudden movement, and unfamiliar <span class="dictionary">objects</span>, persons, or other <span class="dictionary">animals</span>; (iii) certain hazards such as surface and subsurface conditions; (iv) collisions with other <span class="dictionary">animals</span> or <span class="dictionary">objects</span>; and (v) the potential of a <span class="dictionary">participant</span> acting in a negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the <span class="dictionary">participant</span> or others, such as failing to maintain control over the equine or not acting within the <span class="dictionary">participant</span>&#x2019;s ability.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Participant</span>&#x201D; 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.</p></section></text><history>1991, c. 358, &#xA7; 3.1-796.130; 2003, c. 876; 2008, c. 860.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
