BMRC Rules & Constitution
Rules and Constitution of
Blackdown Mendip Riding Club
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TITLE
1. The Club shall be known as Blackdown Mendip Riding Club
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Club shall be:
2. To encourage riding as a sport and recreation, to promote good fellowship amongst riders and to improve and maintain the standard of riding and horsemanship.
3. To organise instructional meetings, lectures and competitive events and other activities to further the objects.
4. To be affiliated to the British Horse Society and to support and co-operate with recognised organisations interested in the breeding and use of all breeds and types of horses and ponies.
5. To support the subject of bridle tracks and rights of way with a view to opposing those that have been closed and maintaining and more clearly defining those that are in existence.
6. To concern itself with any object which will benefit the horse and horse user in the district.
MEMBERSHIP
7. This shall consist of persons who have attained the age of eighteen years (and persons aged seventeen years and under if a junior section is formed) and, having been accepted by the Committee, have paid the due subscription for the current period. Honorary membership may be conferred by the Committee upon any person deemed by them to have rendered notable service to the Club. No junior member may be a voting member of any Riding Club. However, Clubs with a junior membership may appoint a Junior Committee to discuss matters relevant to the junior membership. This Committee, through the Chairman of said Committee, may make recommendations to the Adult Committee for their consideration.
8. Any member whose membership has not been paid will be ineligible for any Club activities at the discounted rate.
9. In the event of membership cancellation no refunds can be given
10. Each member should be willing to volunteer and help with at least one BMRC event during the year. The Riding Club shall provide a voucher to members who have helped for four or more hours at any BMRC event
11. All breaches of club rules, matters of discipline and objections shall be referred to the BMRC committee (at least five committee members). Their decision shall be binding, final and notified direct to the person(s) concerned.
12. In accordance with British Riding Clubs, the Committee may expel from membership, and subsequently refuse to accept back into membership, any member that it considers has seriously breached the rules of the Club or who has been guilty of conduct derogatory to the character or prejudicial to the interests of the club or who has been guilty of serious dishonesty, provided that the Committee set up a fair procedure in each case to allow any Member accused of such behaviour to give an explanation and answer any allegations.
13. New rules may be added or amended for the benefit of the Club at the discretion of the Committee.
14. The Committee’s decision is final.
LESSONS AND EVENTS
15. Members should use email in the first instance or text message to book on to lessons in first instance. If no email or text is available then members should call the lesson coordinator but should be aware they may have to leave a message or call back at a more convenient time if lesson coordinator is otherwise engaged with work or personal commitments.
16. No telephone calls should me made to lesson coordinators between the hours of 8pm and 8am unless it is an emergency
17. All no shows and if less than 5 day’s notice for a lesson cancellations is given then the lesson will be charged in full. Lessons are arranged for the enjoyment and progression of club members – please do not exploit fellow members or the Club by booking and not attending or cancelling late except in exceptional circumstances.
18. Any member owing money to the club, such as non payment of missed lessons, will not be allowed to book on to any future lessons and will not be offered membership the following year until monies owed have been paid to the club.
19. It is the responsibility of the member to check if they have been booked onto lessons, if they have been places on a wait list or if they have been moved from a wait list into a lesson. Members can check lesson bookings by, in first instance, checking the website lesson blog, in second instance, contacting a lesson booker and in third instance, contacting a Committee member.
20. Members may only be contacted about their bookings if a lesson have been cancelled or changed. However, although every attempt is made to contact members about lesson cancellations/changes, it is the responsible of the member to check the website blog to make sure the lessons/clinic is taking place and/or lesson details have not changed.
21. Members shall be correctly turned out at all mounted club events. Hard hats must be worn to at least the minimum standard with harness properly adjusted and fastened.
Please note the change in hat standards from 1st January 2023 - riding hats with the safety standard PAS015 1998 and SNELL 2001 are no longer permitted at British Eventing, British Riding Club, Pony Club and Riding For Disabled events.
The riding hat standards which will be allowed are those hats marked:
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PAS015 2011 and MUST HAVE BSI Kitemark or Inspec IC Mark
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VF1 01.040(2014-12) and MUST HAVE BSI Kitemark or Inspec IC Mark
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ASTM F1163 (2015 or 2023) and MUST HAVE SEI mark
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SNELL (E2016 or 2021) and MUST HAVE official SNELL label and number
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AS/NZS 2828 (2006 onwards) and MUST HAVE SAI Global mark
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EN1384(2023)and MUST HAVE BSI Kitemark or Inspec IC Mark
If you are unsure, please see the BRC website for further clarification
22. No fixed peaked hats should be used for any Cross Country training or event
23. Body Protectors are advised for Show Jumping and compulsory for Cross Country. Medical armbands are strongly recommended for any type of cross-country competition including Arena Eventing and Combined Challenge. If worn they must be worn on the arm and not the leg. They should be filled in with the relevant competitor’s details.
24. New Body protectors standards also came into force from 1 January 2024, these should be at least BETA Level 3 displaying a Blue 2018 label*. The ruling is as follows:
Where the use of a body protector is mandatory, Air Jackets are permitted but MUST be worn
over a permitted Level 3 body protector.
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Air Jackets may be worn without another body protector underneath only where the use of a body protector is not mandatory for that phase.
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Hybrid Air-Jackets (a manufactured Level 3 Body Protector with an Air Jacket all-in-one) are permitted.
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Blouson jacket type air jackets are permitted in accordance with point 1 above.
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Exo Body Cage body protectors continue to be permitted* (see below) but the competitor MUST inform the Secretary at the event, who must then inform the paramedics and XC Control.
* The ONLY exception to the requirement for a BETA Level 3 2018 label is that Exo Body Cages will continue to be accepted, provided they have a BETA Level 3 2000 purple label.
If you are unsure, please see the BRC website for further clarification
25. Stallions are allowed at riding club lessons and events by prior arrangement with the committee and must be bitted and competently handled/ridden by someone who is 14 years and over. If they misbehave they may be asked to leave the lesson. Stallion discs should be worn on bridles as in accordance with British Riding Club rules
26. Cruelty to any animal shall not be tolerated. Excessive use of the whip, cruel use of the spurs or excessive use of the bit to admonish or punish an animal shall result in disqualification from BMRC events and offenders may be asked to leave the BMRC Events/Lessons.
27. Members should always behave appropriately and any offensive or abusive manner displayed, reported or investigated, at any BMRC event, may be subject to suspension or dismissal from the Club. No member shall behave in offensive or abusive or unpleasant manner to any person at any BMRC event.
ADMINISTRATION
The Committee – who shall be made up from volunteers
28. All powers of management shall be vested in the adult Committee consisting of the Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and other Committee members, 3 shall form a quorum.
29. At the Annual General Meeting each year, one third of the members of the Committee shall retire, the members to retire being those who have been longest in office. Those who have been in office for the same length of time shall determine retiring members by lot. Retiring members shall be eligible for re-election.
30. The Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall be elected annually by the Committee from amongst their number.
31. The decision of the Committee shall be final unless over-ruled at a General Meeting by a majority of members present
32. The Committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of the rules and for anything relating to the club not provided therein and their decision shall be final and binding on the members.
33. The Committee may formulate bye-laws for the detailed running of the Club and elect sub-committees for any special activities of the Club which the Committee may authorise.
34. The Committee shall have the power to fill any casual vacancy arising amongst members of the Committee, but any person so co-opted shall retain office only until the next following Annual General Meeting and then shall be eligible for re-election.
35. The financial year of the Club shall commence on the 1st January in each year.
36. The annual subscription shall be due on 1st January each year or such other sum as shall from time to time be determined by the Committee.
37. The Committee may appoint annually a President and Vice-Presidents. They shall not by virtue only of such appointment become members of the Committee.
38. The Annual General Meeting shall be held between 1 January – 31 March, of each year. The purpose of the AGM is –
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To receive and if approved to adopt a Statement of the Club’s Accounts to the end of the preceding year.
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To fill vacancies on the Committee
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To appoint a suitable qualified person for verifying the accounts
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To deal with any special matter which the Committee may desire to bring to the members and to receive suggestions from the members for consideration by the Committee.
Notice convening the General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 7 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with.
39. A special General Meeting may be called by the Committee, or by a request signed by not less than five members specifying the business to be discussed. The Secretary shall give all members ten days notice of the date of such a meeting and shall specify in such notice matters to be dealt with at the meeting.
40. The Accounts of the Club shall be verified each year. The person should be experienced in accounting matters and not a member of the club.
41. Notice may be given to any member by sending it by email or if no email available then post to him at his address in the United Kingdom registered in the records of the Club. If any member has no address in the United Kingdom such member shall not be entitled to receive any notice. The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any member shall not invalidate the proceedings of the meeting.
42. In the event that the Club is dissolved but either merged with another riding club or its activities transferred to a successor Club, all assets of the Club shall be transferred, after all liabilities have been met to the merged or successor riding club
43. In the event that the Club is dissolved and not merged with another riding club nor its activities transferred to a successor riding club, all equipment shall be sold where possible and the proceeds together with all other monetary assets of the Club after all liabilities have been met shall be donated to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. All equipment that cannot be sold shall be offered without charge to a local riding club or RDA branch
44. If you have any issues or complaints with the riding club or any of its members you should first contact Chair of Blackdown Mendip Riding Club by email . If you wish to log a formal complaint then you should do so in writing and send to the chairperson of Blackdown Mendip Riding Club.
Escalation of complaints can be done through the following channels;
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First contact: Email the Chair of Blackdown Mendip Riding Club
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Second contact: Contact the Chair of Area 12
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Third contact: British Riding Clubs
45. These rules may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual or Special General Meeting, provided that no such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless carried by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present and voting thereon, and provided that prior notice has been sent to all members stating the proposed amendment.
Updated 7 Oct 2019