New standard for equestrian air jackets on the way

Work has started on a new standard for those products made specifically for equestrians' use

- LUCY ELDER

A NEW standard for equestrian air jackets is in the pipeline, with hopes it will give additional confidence to manufacturers and riders.

Air vests from reputable brands already undergo significant safety testing and product development. All safety products marketed in the EU must be CE certified to show they comply with personal protection standards. The same applied for Britain, where at present, they must be CE or UKCA certified.

But there is not as yet a British or European-wide CE standard specific to equestrian airbags, in the same way as there is for body protectors and hats. The CRITT (Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer) in France published an equestrian-specific standard in 2022 (NF S72-800-2022), which is part of its CE certification testing process for riding air vests.

The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA), as part of a European standards committee, has now drafted a standard specific to equestrian air vests, which drew from a number of sources, including the motorcycle and CRITT standards and British test house Satra Technology's own air vest testing standard, with new input. It will harmonise protocols for testing equestrian air vests and will be an add-on to existing body protector standards, as part two of the European standard EN 13158.

European and BETA body protector standards are closely linked, and air vest standards will work in the same way.