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· Przemek · Riding school

Working with children in a riding school: legal duties and safety

What you need to know teaching kids horse riding — legal duties, parent consent, data protection, GDPR, insurance. With document templates.

50-70% of riding school clients are children aged 8-15 (or their parents). Working with minors isn’t just extra care during lessons — it’s specific legal obligations that differ from working with adults. Failing them ends with a dispute with a parent, an insurance problem, or (rare but real) criminal case.

This article shows what a school working with kids must have: consents, documents, terms, data protection and procedures. Plus templates.

Legal requirements — must-haves

1. Parental / guardian consent

Every child under 18 must have a signed parent consent to participate in riding lessons.

Consent must include:

  • Child’s full name, ID number / equivalent
  • Parent / guardian’s full name, ID
  • Address
  • Contact phone
  • Acceptance of stable terms
  • Specifically: consent to horse riding (acknowledging the risks)
  • Consent to first aid / ambulance call in case of accident
  • Consent or non-consent to publishing the child’s image (GDPR)
  • Consent or non-consent to the child leaving the stable alone after the lesson
  • Current health insurance details
  • Chronic conditions / allergies / medications (if applicable)
  • Date, parent signature

No consent — no mounting. Regardless of arguments like “dad’s at work, mom is OK by SMS”.

2. Age requirements

Most schools accept children from age 6 (some from 4-5 with mini lessons).

Below age 6 — usually only with parent on the lunge or in a saddle (not solo). With professional schools — special “Pony Camp” programs only.

3. Riding helmet — mandatory

Every minor child must ride in a riding helmet. Period.

The school usually provides a helmet (sizes for children 50-58 cm). Cost ~€30-100 per helmet. Need at least 5-8 helmets in different sizes.

Helmet must be certified to EN 1384 (European standard) or replacement. Check date of manufacture — replace every 3-5 years.

4. GDPR for child data

Child data is special category under GDPR.

You must have:

  • A privacy policy posted on the website / in the stable
  • Specific consent for processing minor’s data (signed by parent)
  • Photo / video processing rules (when, where, who can publish)
  • Right to deletion of data (parent can request anytime)
  • Data sharing limited to processors necessary for service delivery

For systems like Hovera — check that the SaaS has an EU GDPR Data Processor agreement.

5. Equipment for children

  • Saddles in children’s sizes (kids’ saddle vs adult)
  • Stirrups in children’s sizes (smaller, with safety release)
  • Reins shortened
  • Pony / smaller horse for kids (height 130-150cm at the withers)

Daily safety procedures

During the lesson

  1. Always with an instructor — never a child alone with a horse
  2. In the arena — perimeter under the instructor’s view
  3. Helmet check before mounting (proper, fastened)
  4. Pre-mount briefing (rules: don’t run, don’t stand behind, don’t yell)
  5. Lunge for absolute beginners (first 5-10 lessons)
  6. Group max 4 kids with one instructor in a controlled lesson

After the lesson

  1. Cooling out the horse (kid leads with the instructor)
  2. Hand-off to parent (or written confirmation if child leaves alone)
  3. Health/incident note in the journal
  4. Return equipment (helmet, etc.) to the dedicated location

In case of an accident

Whatever the seriousness:

  1. Stop the lesson for everyone (don’t try to continue with others)
  2. Assess (consciousness, breathing, pulse)
  3. Don’t move if there’s a chance of spinal injury
  4. Call an ambulance if needed (better unnecessarily than too late)
  5. Notify the parent immediately (call, not message)
  6. Witnesses — write their names
  7. Photograph the scene before cleanup
  8. Notify the insurer the same day
  9. Don’t admit fault before legal review
PARENTAL CONSENT — RIDING SCHOOL [STABLE NAME]

Child:
Full name: ________________
ID/birth date: ________________
Address: ________________

Parent/Guardian:
Full name: ________________
ID number: ________________
Phone: ________________
Email: ________________

I declare:
1. I consent to my child participating in horse riding lessons at the above stable.
2. I am aware of the risks involved with horse riding.
3. I accept the stable's terms (received: digital / paper).
4. I consent to first aid being administered to the child in case of accident, including ambulance call.
5. I declare that the child's health does not contraindicate horse riding (alternatively, the medical certificate is attached).
6. Conditions / allergies / medications: ________________
7. Image consent: ☐ YES ☐ NO (publication of child photos in school marketing).
8. Solo departure consent: ☐ YES ☐ NO (child can leave the stable alone after lesson).

Date: ________________
Parent's signature: ________________

For sport classes (jumping, eventing) — extended consent with explicit knowledge of higher risk.

How Hovera helps

Hovera handles digital parent consents:

  • Parent fills out a form online before the first lesson
  • E-signature (with IP, timestamp — legally valid in EU)
  • Stored permanently in the child’s profile
  • Photo consent / health info in same place
  • Updates anytime (parent can change consent)
  • Delete on request (right to be forgotten — GDPR)

Plus child-specific features:

  • Horse profiles marked “kid-friendly” only
  • Lessons separately for kids’ groups
  • Parent-only portal (parents see, kids ride)

Request access →

Further reading