Helmet rules: which standards each body accepts, and from when.

The FEI (international competition)

The FEI made properly fastened protective headgear compulsory for riders mounted on the showgrounds of all FEI events from 1 January 2013, with exceptions set by each discipline, according to Dressage-News; adult dressage riders on older horses could still wear a top hat in the arena. The FEI General Assembly of November 2019 removed that option, and from 1 January 2021 approved headgear has been required for anyone mounted at any time on any FEI showground, Equestrian Trade News reported. Vaulting is not covered because the FEI does not treat it as riding. The helmet rules and history page has more on how the rules developed.

The FEI's current list, "Accepted Testing Standards for Protective Headgear", was published on 1 July 2025 and took effect on 1 January 2026. The FEI's own website refused our requests, so we read the list as reproduced in Equestrian Australia's 2026 jumping rules and in a copy hosted by an Australian campdraft body. It sets two requirements that must both be met: a testing standard marking from its table, and a quality testing marking. The FEI says the aim is for its athletes to use the safest headgear available, and that some standards are being phased out gradually because of manufacturing limits and product availability.

From 1 January 2028 the quality testing marking must be present for at least one of the standards concerned. The FEI's examples of quality testing labels are the BSI Kitemark, the Inspec IC "Certified" mark, SAI Global, SEI and Snell, and it says the list is not limited to these. A law-firm summary by Jones Walker LLP credits the requirements to the FEI Helmet Working Group and says the aim is to reduce concussions.

The discipline rules apply the list. FEI Jumping Rules Art. 207.1.1 (2026) makes properly fastened headgear mandatory for everyone when mounted, and under Art. 207.1.2 an athlete who jumps with the chin strap unfastened is eliminated unless it was unsafe to stop. Under the 2026 FEI Eventing Rules (Annex O), headgear complying with the FEI list is mandatory while riding anywhere on the show grounds, and failing to wear it after being told brings a Yellow Warning Card. Both are read in Equestrian Australia's reproductions.

Equestrian Australia

Equestrian Australia's notice "Progressive Change to Helmet Standards" (4 February 2026) follows the FEI dates for FEI events and gives national competition more time. Under EA's national rules the FEI's 2027 conditions run until 31 December 2028, and the two-standard rule starts on 1 January 2029. EA also gave ASTM F1163:2015 and VG1/EN 1384:2017 helmets one extra year in national competition, when combined with one of the four ongoing standards other than ASTM F1163:23, saying riders had recently bought them. On 22 April 2026 EA added that those two are not accepted on their own after 31 December 2026, and that AS/NZS 3838 (2006) is not accepted in its competitions from 31 December 2026.

EA states that in every case except VG1 in 2026, at least one standard must carry a quality test mark, that the CE mark is not such a mark, and that wearing a compliant helmet is the athlete's responsibility. EA's General Regulations (update effective 1 January 2022) require every mounted athlete at an EA or FEI event in Australia to wear fastened headgear to an approved standard with a current, visible EA helmet tag. EA's summary dates tagging as mandatory for eventing from 1 January 2020, jumping from 1 January 2022, and dressage, driving and endurance from 1 July 2022.

US Equestrian

US Equestrian rule GR801 makes protective headgear compulsory for everyone mounted anywhere on the grounds at Federation-licensed hunter, jumper and hunter/jumper competitions, meeting the standards published on the Federation's website, with the applicable quality tag or label. Rule change 030-22, which added Snell alongside ASTM, shows Board approval on 20 June 2023 and an effective date of 1 December 2023. That date was later changed: US Eventing reported on 26 July 2023 that the Board amended it at a special meeting on 24 July 2023 to take effect on 1 August 2023, and the posted USEF list carries the 1 August 2023 date.

The list, published on the website rather than in the Rule Book, requires at least one of: ASTM F1163-04a (2011 or later) certified through SEI; PAS 015:2011 or later certified through BSI or IC; VG1 01.040 2014-12 or later certified through BSI or IC; or Snell 2016 or later. It also requires corresponding quality testing. US Eventing reported that the Board called the added international standards comparable to or better than ASTM F1163 with SEI. EN 1384:2023 and AS/NZS 3838 are not named on that list. Because the list accepts VG1 "or later", whether US Equestrian treats EN 1384:2023 as a later edition is a question our sources do not answer; US Equestrian or the competition's officials can.

GR801's headgear standards also apply in USEF dressage: rule DR120.1.1 in US Equestrian's 2026 Dressage Attire and Equipment booklet requires headgear compliant with GR801 for anyone mounted on the grounds from the time horses are admitted, including non-competing riders and para dressage. The booklet has no equivalent of an exemption in a USEF rule effective 1 March 2011, which had let riders aged 18 and over on horses competing only at FEI levels (Prix St Georges and above) go without; we did not find when that exemption ended. We found no USEF document adopting the FEI's 2026 to 2028 phase-in for national competition; the Jones Walker summary calls USEF's standards similar to the FEI list but not identical.

The United States Pony Club's safety committee (September 2024) lists only ASTM F1163-15 and F1163-23 as acceptable ASTM editions for its helmet policies, under USPC Policy #0810.

The UK: one rule for three bodies in 2026

For 2026, British Riding Clubs, British Eventing and The Pony Club have unified their hat standards. The BRC Hat Rules 2026 accept PAS 015 2011, VG1 01.040 (2014-12) and EN 1384:2023, each with a BSI Kitemark or Inspec IC mark; ASTM F1163 (2015 or 2023) with the SEI mark; Snell E2016 or 2021 with the official Snell label and number; and AS/NZS 3838 (2006 onwards) with the SAI Global mark. A rider may not ride anywhere at a BRC event in an untagged hat, and no alterations or additions may be made to a hat. For cross country the BRC rules allow only a peakless "jockey skull", with smooth front protrusions of no more than 5 mm.

The Pony Club's hat rule ("no changes for 2026") lists the same standards as acceptable at any Pony Club activity from 1 January 2025. It treats a dual-labelled hat as suitable if at least one standard complies, requires a jockey skull without a fixed peak (front protrusions of no more than 5 mm) for cross country, pony racing and mounted games, bans hat cameras, requires chinstraps fastened whenever mounted, including at prize-giving, and advises checking each sport's own rulebook.

We did not find the 2026 hat standards of British Dressage or British Showjumping in their own documents. BETA's chart of January 2023 shows how much the UK bodies differed then, from EN 1384:2017 accepted by some bodies only with a second standard to RDA allowing alternative headwear by assessment; it is a 2023 snapshot. Off the competition ground, the BHS cites Highway Code Rule 49: children under 14 riding on the road must wear a compliant, fastened helmet.

Elsewhere

Equine Canada (now Equestrian Canada) required approved helmets for all riders at all levels of its national dressage competitions from 1 January 2012, describing this as a first for a national federation, according to the Chronicle of the Horse.

Where the bodies disagree

• VG1 and AS/NZS 3838 after 2026. The UK's 2026 rule accepts both on their own. The FEI limits VG1 to combinations in 2027 and drops AS/NZ 3838 from 2027. The UK rules cover 2026 only, and we found no UK rule for 2027.
• Snell E2016. The US Pony Club says E2016 helmets are out of date; the FEI, Equestrian Australia and the UK 2026 rule accept them.
• Snell E2001 and PAS 015:1998. UK bodies ended them on different dates: British Showjumping at the start of 2022; British Eventing, British Riding Clubs, The Pony Club and RDA on 1 January 2023 (Equestrian Trade News); Endurance GB and British Horseball on 1 January 2024 (BETA chart footnote).

The background to each standard is on the helmet standards page, and what the tags and quality marks mean is on the tags and quality marks page.