Terms used in this chapter mean:

(1) “Engaging in an equine activity,” riding, training, racing, 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. The term does not include being a spectator at an equine activity, unless the spectator places himself in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity;

(2) “Equine,” any horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny;

(3) “Equine activity,”

(a) Equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, or parades that involve any breed of equines and any of the equine disciplines, including dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping, three–day event, 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;

(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,” any individual, group, club, partnership, or corporation, whether or not the sponsor is operating for profit or nonprofit, which 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, programs and activities, therapeutic riding programs, and operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities, including stables, clubhouses, ponyride strings, fairs, and arenas at which the activity is held;

(5) “Equine professional,” any person engaged for compensation in instructing a participant or renting to a participant an equine for the purpose of riding, driving, racing or being a passenger upon the equine or engaged in renting equipment or tack to a participant;

(6) “Inherent risks of equine activities,” those dangers or conditions which are an integral part of equine activities, including:

(a) The propensity of the animal to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them;

(b) The unpredictability of the animal’s reaction to such things as sounds, sudden movement, and unfamiliar objects, persons, or other animals;

(c) Certain hazards such as surface and subsurface conditions;

(d) Collisions with other animals or objects;

(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;

(7) “Participant,” any person, whether amateur or professional, who engages in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate in such activity.

Source: SL 1993, ch 324, § 1.