School Information
Affiliation
Q. How do I affiliate my school with Equestrian NSW?
A. Simply download and complete an affiliation form and submit with your payment.
Q. Do I have to affiliate my school with Equestrian NSW in order to run an equestrian interschool competition?
A. No. You are able to run an interschool equestrian event without being a member of Equestrian NSW, however you will not be able to enjoy any of the services offered by ENSW nor will you be able to use our rules and regulations, such as dressage tests.
Q. What does my affiliation give me/my school?
A. Affiliation provides entry into the Equestrian NSW interschool program, which includes access and inclusion to our online calendar, access to our rules and regulations, assistance and advice from our friendly office staff, use of EA accredited judges, officials and coaches, risk management guidance. Currently we accept all appropriately competent riders in our state championships but with the development of the program we may consider qualification to the championships to be via results in the affiliated school events.
Getting Started
Q. What form do I need to complete?
A. You must complete the form which you can download from here and send in with payment to the ENSW office along with your school's certificate of currency if you are an independent school. (NB. government schools are not required to provide a Certificate of Currency)
Q. Who do I contact to discuss interschool event, rules and activities?
A. Please contact the ENSW office or send an email to [email protected]
Q. How do I place my event on the ENSW interschool calendar?
A. Once you are affiliated with us you should contact the office and advise the date of your event. Your date will be advertised on our website and can include schedules, programs, entry forms and results.
Q. Do competitors need to be members of Equestrian NSW to compete at school run competitions?
A. Whilst we encourage all riders, especially students, to be members as they then have personal accident insurance, ENSW membership is not a pre-requisite for competing at school level interschool events.
Insurance
Q. What insurance do I need to run an interschool competition?
A. When you affiliate with Equestrian NSW you will need to demonstrate that you have appropriate insurance cover through your school which has 'equestrian sport' as an inclusion on your policy. Affiliation with Equestrian NSW does not mean you automatically have insurance coverage. You must already have your own coverage if you are an independent school, or if you are a government school you should be covered by the government schools' own insurance (please contact the NSW Department of Education for clarification if required).
Q. Can I accept entries from other school's students?
Yes, but if your insurance policy does not cover students from other schools attending your event then you must ensure the originating school's insurance policy will cover its students attending your event. You are encouraged to sight these schools' certificates of currency and get in writing that these students are covered. Simply requesting riders have individual EA membership is not sufficient to ensure your school is covered in the event of a claim involving a visiting student.
Q. Does EA membership (affiliate school or individual) mean I do not require school/event organiser insurance?
A. No, see above. Membership of EA for individuals provides them with personal accident cover and individual public liability options BUT it does not protect the school or event organisers for public liability. You need to take the responsibility for public liability coverage for your event independent of the membership status of competitors.
Remember – all equestrian coordinators and event organisers need to take responsibility for their own insurance and risk management polices. You should read your policy and know its limitations and requirements. While we can assist you with a risk management policy it needs to be lodged with your insurance broker as they are your contact in the event of a claim or incident, not ENSW.
Competitor Information
State Championships
Q. When are the NSW Interschool Championships?
A. These are held each year at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre.
Q. Do I need to be a member of Equestrian NSW to compete in the NSW Championships?
A. Yes. We no longer offer day membership for competitors as this is a State championship all riders must be members of Equestrian NSW.
Q. Do I need to qualify for the State Championships?
A. There is a requirement for the State Championships. Riders must be competetent in their riding ability and have a minimum of 1 result at that level in their chosen discipline/s at an EA affiliated competition, Interschool competition or Agricultural Show. For graded disciplines horses must have the appropriate grading for the class entered. State Championships often host over 600 horses so the atmosphere and competition is highly regarded.
Q. Do I need to be enrolled in a school to compete?
A. You must be a student in the NSW school system, this may include home schooled and distance education students subject to proof of inclusion in the school system.
Q. What disciplines are offered?
A. Combined Training, Dressage, Eventing, Jumping, Show Horse and Vaulting.
Q. Do I need to register my horse/have a competition licence?
A. All horses must have at least EA base registration. If you are competing in official graded classes, horses must be graded at that level.
Australian Interschool Championships - Criteria
Q. How do I attend a National Championships?
A. You must have competed at the State Championships in the class. Placing at the State Championships is NOT an automatic qualifier for acceptance onto the NSW State Team for the Australian Interschool Championships. This will be updated in due course.
The decision of whether a competitor is included onto a state team is at the discretion of Equestrian NSW. There will be no recourse for questioning the decision. The selection is based on the competitors own merit.
Q. How many on a team?
A. There are four competitors per class.
Q. Do I need to sign an agreement to become a member of the team?
A. Yes, all team members are required to agree to a code of conduct for the event including various 'team conduct' issues. There will be mandatory uniform items that have to be purchased as part of the team uniform.
Q. What disciplines are offered?
A. Combined Training, Dressage, Eventing, Jumping and Show Horse
