Lesson, Horse Rental or Lease, and Arena Use Release - Horse Equine Forms
Tennessee Equine Activity Statutes
44-20-102
Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires
(1) (A) "Engages in an equine activity" means riding, training,
assisting in medical treatment of, driving, or being a passenger upon an
equine, whether mounted or unmounted or any person assisting a participant
or show management.
(B) "Engages in an equine activity" does not include being a spectator
at an equine activity, except in cases where the spectator places such
spectator's person in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to
the equine activity;
(2) "Equine" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny;
(3) "Equine activity" means:
(A) Equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, or
parades that involve any or all breeds of equines and any of the equine
disciplines, including, but not limited to, dressage, hunter and jumper
horse shows, grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training, rodeos,
driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and western performance
riding, endurance trail riding and western games, and hunting;
(B) Equine training or teaching activities, or both;
(D) Riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to another,
whether or not the owner has received some monetary consideration or other
thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective
purchaser of the equine to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine;
(E) Rides, trips, hunts, or other equine activities of any type,
however informal or impromptu, that are sponsored by an equine activity
sponsor; and
(4) "Equine activity sponsor" means an individual, group, club, partnership,
or corporation, whether or not the sponsor is operating for profit or nonprofit,
which sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity,
including, but not limited to, pony clubs, 4-H clubs, hunt clubs, riding
clubs, school and college-sponsored classes, programs and activities, therapeutic
riding programs, and operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities,
including, but not limited to, stables, clubhouses, ponyride strings, fairs,
and arenas at which the activity is held;
(5) "Equine professional" means a person engaged for compensation:
(A) In instructing a participant or renting to a participant an equine for
the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the equine; or
(6) "Inherent risks of equine activities" means those dangers or
conditions which are an integral part of equine activities, including,
but not limited to:
(A) The propensity of an equine to behave in ways that
may result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them;
(B) The unpredictability of an equine's reaction to such things
as sounds, sudden movements, and unfamiliar objects, persons, or other
animals;
(E) The potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner
that may contribute to injury to the participant or others, such as failing
to maintain control over the animal or not acting within the participant's
ability; and
(7) "Participant" means any person, whether amateur or professional,
who engages in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate
in the equine activity.
44-20-103
Limitation on liability for injury or death of participant.
Except as provided in § 44-20-104, an equine activity sponsor,
an equine professional, or any other person, which shall include a corporation
or partnership, shall not be liable for an injury to or the death of a
participant resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities. Except
as provided in § 44-20-104, no participant or participant's representative
shall make any claim against, maintain an action against, or recover from
an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person
for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant resulting from any
of the inherent risks of equine activities.
44-20-104
Applicability - Where liability not prevented or limited.
(a) This chapter shall not apply to the horse racing industry
as regulated in title 4, chapter 36.
(b) Nothing in § 44-20-103 shall prevent or limit the
liability of an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any
other person if the equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or person:
(1) (A) Provided the equipment or tack, and knew or should have
known that the equipment or tack was faulty, and such equipment or tack
was faulty to the extent that it did cause the injury; or
(2) Owns, leases, rents, or otherwise is in lawful possession and
control of the land or facilities upon which the participant sustained
injuries because of a dangerous latent condition which was known to the
equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or person and for which warning
signs have not been conspicuously posted;
(3) Commits an act or omission that constitutes willful or wanton
disregard for the safety of the participant, and that act or omission caused
the injury; or
44-20-105
Warning signs and notice.
(a) Every equine professional shall post and maintain
signs which contain the warning notice specified in subsection (b).
Such signs shall be placed in clearly visible locations on or near stables,
corrals, or arenas where the equine professional conducts equine activities
if such stables, corrals, or arenas are owned, managed, or controlled by
the equine professional. The warning notice specified in subsection
(b) shall appear on the sign in black letters, with each letter to be a
minimum of one inch (1") in height. Every written contract entered
into by an equine professional for the providing of professional services,
instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or an equine to a participant,
whether or not the contract involves equine activities on or off the location
or site of the equine professional's business, shall contain in clearly
readable print the warning notice specified in subsection (b).
(b) The signs and contracts described in subsection
(a) shall contain the following warning notice:
Under Tennessee Law, an equine professional is not liable for
an injury to or the death of a participant in equine activities resulting
from the inherent risks of equine activities, pursuant to Tennessee Code
Annotated, title 44, chapter 20.
