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There have been changes to the FEI Rules and some changes to the BHDTA Rules - either printed in red in the Rule Book or contained within Annexes to the Rule Book.

We hope to be in a position to issue replacement pages for insertion in your current (2005) Rule Book on 1 March 2006. In addition to correcting some obvious printing errors, and parts of the Index at the back, the following changes have been approved by the BHDTA Council, to come into force on 1 March 2006.

To get the updated pages and amendment list for your 2005 rule book, please send an A5 sized self addressed envelope with 50p postage to the BHDTA office. We aim to send these out at the beginning of March.

The rule changes are listed below. They indicate whether it is an FEI amendment adopted by BHDTA, or a BHDTA change which is at variance with FEI Rules.

Article number / FEI or BHDTA Amendment

900.10.1 FEI with BHDTA amendment
Events are defined as starting one hour before the first competition and ending one half-hour after the announcement of the final results.

901.11.2.6 FEI adopted by BHDTA
Deleted - only of interest to International Competitor.

907.2.21 BHDTA
There is now a requirement for Course Designers to have attended a Course Designers Clinic in the two years prior to the National Event for which they are appointed.

916.3 FEI adopted by BHDTA
Tails (of horses/ponies) may not be tied or attached to the vehicle or breeching.

918/919/920 FEI
There have been changes to Entries, Substitution and Declaration of Horses procedures at International Events - does not apply to British National Events - International Competitors and Chefs d'Equipe should note the changes when published.

922.2.5 FEI
At International Events, a short whip for restraint of stallions and difficult horses may be allowed by the Inspection Panel at the First Inspection.

939.4.3 FEI adopted by BHDTA
When more than one Dressage Arena is in use, decisions regarding marked lameness during Driven Dressage may be made by the Judge at C, instead of the President of the Jury.

947.2.1 FEI adopted by BHDTA
The penalty for wearing shorts on the marathon has been reduced from Elimination to 5 penalty points (per pair of shorts on the vehicle).

947.6 FEI adopted by BHDTA
Defines the number of persons carried on a vehicle during competition, see also Annex 20.

949.4.3.1 BHDTA
When practical, there will be additional small letters on the back of the marked Compulsory Gates within Marathon Obstacles (this follows a trial at the National Championships in 2005).

951.2.1 (and Annex 12) BHDTA
The time limit for all Sections on the Marathon has been amended to the Time Allowed plus 50%. This applies to both three and five section marathons. International competitors should note that this is at variance with 2006 FEI rules.

933.1.3 BHDTA
At National Events, the time on the Cones Course may now be reduced by the Jury after the first three competitors have completed their rounds. This is at variance with the FEI rule which only permits an increase in time.

964.9.7 FEI adopted by BHDTA
The wording has been amended so that there is no difference in the calculation of penalties between manual and electronic timing.

969.1.1 BHDTA
The clearance between cone pairs for Horse Tandems has been corrected to 170cm.

Novice Dressage Test 7 BHDTA
Movement 6 now includes a 20m circle.

Annex 9 and 10 FEI adopted by BHDTA
Removes wording ?on the bit? in Walk Sections in dressage tests 6 and 7.

Annex 20 BHDTA
There is now clarification in 910.1.3 that passengers may be carried in Competition B with the prior approval of the President of the Jury. This has been incorporated to clarify the position for those who may wish to frighten a Sponsor.

Annex 20 BHDTA
There is now a requirement that Competence Cards will need three signatures within a two year period. They will now only be signed if lodged with the Organiser of an event prior to the start of the Marathon.

Annexes 21 and 25
BHDTA The Council have decided not to follow the current FEI requirement for equine influenza booster vaccination at 6 monthly intervals - BHDTA rules will now only require boosters at twelve month intervals. However, anyone considering competing abroad will have to ensure that they comply with FEI requirements on arrival at the Event. The paperwork for those seeking selection for World (or European) Championships will be amended accordingly.

Annex 26 BHDTA
Indoor Rules updated to latest version.