THE British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) has confirmed that back protectors made to a new safety standard will go on sale on October 1st.

Organisations will continue to accept BETA 2009 standard back protectors as well as the new BETA 2018 standard. This means there is no pressure on riders to upgrade their back protector.

The start of the 2018 marked the end of organisations accepting BETA 2000 standard back protectors, with the majority of equestrian bodies promising there will not be any changes to the standard required for another six years.

For cross country in both the Irish Pony Club and in Eventing Ireland back protectors must be Level 3 (purple label).

The new BETA 2018 level 3 standard will no longer have a purple label, which it has had for over 20 years. It will now have a Cambridge blue label.

In a statement on the BETA website, the organisation said: “The disciplines that set a minimum standard for body protection have now changed their rules to only accept garments marked 2009 for next year and all have indicated that they will accept the 2018 version when available.

“They will continue to accept 2009 garments for years to come as was the case with the 2000 version but no time limit has been set. It is likely however that they will continue to allow the 2009 version for at least the next six or more years which equates to the typical life of a garment.

“BETA continues to advise all riding organisations to accept both 2009 and 2018 BETA standards for the foreseeable future in their rules.”