Horse Boarding Rules.

1. Description.
1.1. This is a drag race over a distance of 100 meters between two teams.
1.2. Each team is made up of a Horse, a Horse Rider and a Board Rider.
1.3. The Start Box is 10 meter Length and equal to the width of the lanes.
1.4.There is no Lane maximum width.
1.5. Lane width minimum 10 meters
1.6. Minimum run off 38 meters.
2. Equipment & Safety.
2.1. Both Horse Rider and Board Rider should wear approved helmets.
2.2. All saddles, harnesses, ropes and quick release systems must be approved by the regulatory body; Extreme Horse Riding Association.
2.3. Board Rider to be of standard and competency certified by regulatory body; Extreme Horse Riding Association. 
2.4. Board Rider should wear protective eye equipment; sun glasses/ goggles etc.
2.5. Horse to be deemed fit and able by regulatory body; Extreme Horse Riding Association.
2.6. Horse to be in possession of any required transportation documents and health documents.
2.7. In the event of a horse fall, a full inspection of the horse must be carried out by the onsite officials before being deemed fit to continue. If there is any concern for the horses health a vet will be call in at the expense of the horse owner.
2.8. Both teams must maintain lane discipline at all times.
2.9. The rope length must be no longer than half a meter shorter than the width of the lane, i.e. if the lane is ten meters wide the rope can be no longer nine and half meters. There is no Minimum length of rope; however the Board Rider should not be within kicking distance of the horses’ hind legs whilst being towed.
 
3. The Competition.
3.1. The initial stages of competition will be held in heats.
3.2. Each heat will have no less than four horses in it.
3.3. Each horse races every other horse in the heat at least twice; once in Lane A and once in Lane B.

3.3.1 In heats with only four teams/horses teams my be required to race each other horse four times , twice in each lane

3.4. Each race won is worth 2 points.

3.5. Each race with a visible and a timing draw to 1/10 of a second is worth 1.5 points to each team.
3.6. Each race lost with the Board Rider still on his or her board is worth 1 point.
3.7. There are no points if the Board Rider is not on the board when crossing the finish line.
3.8. The Board Rider must have both feet in the bindings to be considered on the board. The board does not have to be in contact with the floor and does not have to be in a position where the Board Rider can stand on the board.
3.9. The Board Rider must be connected to the horse and still have hold of the handle when the rear wheels of the board cross the finish line.
3.10. There are no points if the Horse Rider falls off, even if the Board Rider is still on the board and connected to the horse at the point the horse crosses the finish line.
3.11. The race winner is decided by the three finish line officials and is based on the first Board Rider to cross the line, giving particular attention to the rear wheels of the board crossing the line.
3.12. The fourth official can be consulted if available. If not available then the majority stands and their decision is final.
3.13. The four highest scoring teams from each heat will go through to the final knock out stage, with the highest scoring from heat one racing the lowest scoring from heat two.

3.13.1 In the event of there being less than eight teams left to go through to the knock out then only the top even numbers will race. i.e If there are seven teams only six will go through to the knock out. With only the top four racing for the first place and fith and sixth racing each other to find their finishing possition. 

3.14. There is a no minimum requirement of teams to have a knock out stage.
 
4. Knock Out.
4. In the knock out stages each team will race their opponent three times, changing lane each time.
4.1. Lane choice to be decided by the flip of a coin.
4.2. Races are decided using the point system from the heats. The team with the most points after the three races goes through to the next stage of the knock out.
4.3. In the event of a draw to less than 1/10th of a scond then “Sudden Death” comes into play.
4.4. Sudden Death Races are run until there is a victor.
4.5. The teams will change lane for each race.
4.6. The Finals are a knock out competition; the highest scoring team from each three races goes through to the next round.
5.  National Championship Points.
5.1.
1st is worth 6 National Championship Points.
2nd is worth 5 National Championship Points.
3rd is worth 4 National Championship Points.
4th is worth 3 National Championship Points.
5th is worth 2 National Championship Points.
6th is worth 1 National Championship Point.
5.2. The Horse, Horse Rider and Board Rider individually retain the points from each event.
5.3. Team changes must be agreed to by the governing body, Extreme Horse Riding Association, and will only be allowed if the team change is due to injury or availability. The governing body will refuse a team change mid-season or mid competition which may be considered tactical.
5.4. Points from Horse Boarding competitions can be added to Extreme Horse Riding Association points and will count to the overall Extreme Horse Riding Champion.
5.5. However points from other classes e.g. National Horse Surfing Championship will not be added to points in the National Horse Boarding Championship.
6. Advantage Rule.
6. This rule states that the first team to call “ready” has the “advantage” if the second team does not call “ready” in the two minute time limit allowed, then the horse with the “advantage” automatically wins that race with no recorded time.
6.1. In the event of the second team calling ready within the time limit but the first team needing to disconnect from the horse though the hesitation of the second team, the first team keeps “advantage” and is given a continuation. Continuation is an added two minutes from the point continuation is called to ready their horse/team. During which time the rider must make good effort to re-connect/ready the team. In the event of the horse not being re-connected by the end of the continuation period then the horse/team with the “advantage” automatically wins. Unless the Start Judge deems that not enough effort was made to re-connect during the continuation period.
6.2. If the Start Judge deems that not enough effort was made to re-connect/ready by the first team the second team gains the “advantage” and wins the race with no recorded time.
6.3. If a race is won with the “advantage” rule the loosing team receive no points as they did not complete the race.
6.4. The Start Judge can call to re-start/time out of the race during the “advantage” or continuation period.
6.5. A re-start/time out is when both horses and teams leave the start boxes and only re-enter when both teams are ready and requested by the start judge.
6.6. In the event of a re-start/time out the” advantage” stays with the team that had the “advantage” at the time the restart was called.
6.7. In the event of a re-start being called and the team with the “advantage” not being able to ready the team within the original two minutes, then a continuation is a called.
6.8. There is not a limit to the number of re-starts a judge can for within the potential four minutes.

6.9. If there is an advantage gained in the start box which results in the team with the advantage getting pulled off the board and being unable to complete the race. The start judge can give an advantage win even if the team with the advantage did not call it.

6.9.1. In this case the team with out the advantage will get a recored time and point if they completed the race.

6.9.2. Ultimetly the advantage rule and any restarts is to the discreation of the start judge.  

7. False Start.
7. This is when any foot of the horse is placed over the start line before the race is started.
7.1. In the event of this happening the Start Judge will call a re-start.
7.2. There is a limit of three re-starts in this process. These re-starts can be caused by either team.
7.3. After three re-starts the team with the least false starts is declared the winner with no recorded time.
7.4. If the Start Judge and Back Line Judge feel that the false starts were coursed by a tactical decision on the part of the other team the non-recorded time victory can be over turned.
8. Officials Required.
8. There must be a minimum of three officials for a competition to be held.
8.1. Back Line Judge.
The Back Line Judge stands at the back of the start box and receives conformation from the Board Riders that both teams are ready. This is indicated by the Back Line Judge to the Start Judge by the raising of the arm closest to the team as they call ready. When both teams are ready the Back Line Judge will have both arms raised at the same time.
8.2. Start Judge.
The Start Judge stands a few meters in front of the start line; the exact distance is left to the judges’ preference. The Start Judge copies the back line judge by raising their arms as each team is ready. This indicates to the competitors and time keepers that the race is about to begin. Once both arms are raised the Start Judge must start the race within 5 seconds, indicate a false start or award the advantage rule to one team. 
8.2.1. A false start is indicated by the Start Judge lowering the arm closest to the team who started falsely.
8.2.2. The Advantage Rule award is indicated by the Start Judge raising the arm closest to the team calling advantage vertical, at this point the other arm must indicate whether the other team is ready to race or not. This is shown by the raising of the arm horizontally to indicate ready or the arm lowered to indicate not ready.
8.2.3. If the Start Judge decides to re-start the race during the continuation period he or she will lower both arms.
8.2.4. To start the race the Start Judge drops both arms quickly to his sides from the ready position.
8.3. Time Keepers.
The two Time Keepers are placed on the outside of the lanes at the finish line.
8.3.1. The Time Keepers take the signal from the Start Judge to start the clocks; stopping the clocks as the rear wheels of the board cross the finish line or once the whole board is over the finish line.
9. Board Rider Competency.
9.1. The Board Rider must show good balance, be able to control the board well enough to stay in line and demonstrate the ability to steer the board both left and right of the horse.
9.2. The Board Rider must be competent at high speed and be able to complete a sub 13 second run of the 100 meters.
9.3. The Board Rider must be able to perform “J” turn.
9.4. The competition officials may withdraw a team from the competition at anytime, or refuse the entry of any team, if they feel the Board Rider does not have the required level of competency.
10. Horse Rider Competency.
10.1. All Horse Riders must becompetent in walk, trot, canter and gallop. 
10.2. All Horse Riders must demonstrate their ability to be able to hold the reins in one hand whilst releasing the tow rope and continue to have full control of the horse at speed if necessary.
10.3. All Horse Riders must be able to control the horse in the start box and stop the horse in the required distance, whilst maintaining lane discipline at all times.
10.4. The competition officials may withdraw a team from the competition at anytime, or refuse the entry of any team, if they feel the Horse Rider does not have the required level of competency.
11. Horse Competency.
11.1. All horses must be trained to except the rope and board before entering a competition.
11.2. Horses must demonstrate lane discipline at all times.
11.3. The horse must be responsive to their rider at all times.
11.4. Horses must not display signs of dangerous, nervous or stressed behaviour.
11.5. The competition officials may withdraw a horse at anytime, or refuse the entry of any team, if they feel the horse does not have the required level of competency.
12. The Extreme Horse Riding Association may withdraw any team, team member or horse at any point in a competition if it feels this is necessary. Reasons for this include but are not limited to:
·         A competitor or member of their support team failing to conduct themselves in a respectful and professional manor at all times.
·         A team not providing full and correct care of their horse.
·         Injury to either competitors or their horse.
Refusal by any team or member thereof to abide by the rules.

13. Advisery and Serious Advisery.

13.1. Adviseries and serious adviseries are given in situations considered to increase danger to any member of a team.

13.2. Adviseries can be given for the following:

         1. Persistantly not approching the board at the same time as the other team.

         2. Not waiting for the start judge to call you in to the start box area.

         3. Not being able to attach your horse and ready your team in the start box in the allotted time.

         4. Not being able to control your horse enough to prevent persistant false starts.

         5. For entering the other start box or lane immedately befor or at any point during the race. Where the entry to the other lane dose not bring the other team in to direct danger.

         6. For releasing the quick release late in the run off zone. Unless clear effort was made to release.

         7. For not making good effort to release the handle and slow the horse once a team has lost their board rider.  

13.3 Serious Advisories are given for the following:

         1. Not being in control of the horse to prevent persistant false starts.

         2. Entering the other lane or start box which puts the other team in direct danger.

         3. stopping the horse befor releasing the handle from the saddle. Unless clear effort was made to release.

13.4  All adviseries are to the discression of the officials on site. The Start Judge may refer to any of his or her officals to advise on any of the situations.

13.5  If a team receives three adviseries or one serious advisery in a heat then the team will be asked to remove the horse from the heat.

13.6   The team will be allowed to enter the following heat.

13.7    A board rider from a team that has been asked to leave a heat can move to a team which has lost a board rider due to injury.

13.8   If any of the officals consider a team is using adviseries to gain tactical advantage over another team. The start judge can remove the team from the heat, knock out and competition.

13.9 Official's can give up to three warnings befor handing out an advisery however an official can also give an advisery or serious advisery on the first infrinegment of the rules.