Recording Rules for Equestrian Competitions and Yards

Search for whether you can record while riding and you will find confident, contradictory answers. That is not because the sources are wrong. It is because the rules genuinely differ depending on which of four levels you are riding at.

This article lays out all four, with the governing bodies' own wording, so you can work out which applies to you.

The four levels of rules

The reason this matters is that the most restrictive level always wins. Being compliant with FEI rules is irrelevant if your riding school does not allow cameras.

At FEI level: agreement required

The FEI position is that camera use is not permitted by default. The General Regulations state that the use of cameras on athletes or equipment — explicitly including protective headgear — shall not be permitted unless otherwise specifically agreed by the FEI, and that an athlete's decision to wear a camera while competing is voluntary and at their own risk.

In practice that produces a two-track process:

• At FEI-named events such as World Cups, Nations Cups and FEI Championships, requests go to FEI headquarters in advance — the published guidance is at least 48 hours before the competition.
• At other competitions, the Ground Jury decides.

The practical takeaway is that at FEI level the answer is never "yes by default". It is an approval you seek, and you should expect to seek it well before the event rather than on the day.

At national level: usually organiser discretion

The clearest national example is the United States, where USEF replaced an earlier outright prohibition with a protocol that has been in place since 5 January 2015. It says three things:

1. "The USEF does not prohibit the use of helmet cameras." 2. "A competition organizer may prohibit use of a helmet camera and the competitor must comply with such prohibition." 3. "The decision to wear a camera while competing is voluntary and at the rider's own risk."

It also advises athletes to consult the helmet manufacturer before mounting a camera on a helmet.

Read those three points together and the practical conclusion is uncomfortable but clear: there is no national permission to rely on. The person to ask is the organiser of the specific competition you are entering, and their answer is the one that binds you.

In practice, most riders arrive at the same conclusion: the simplest setup to clear is one that adds nothing to the helmet, because that is the specific thing the advice and the rules keep returning to. A Bluetooth Controller also keeps start and stop away from the head entirely.

Where national bodies are stricter

Not every body follows the permissive model. In the United Kingdom, the British Horse Society's hat rules do not permit head cams at BHS assessments and do not recommend them at Approved Centre activities. Notably, that guidance is drafted broadly — it is not limited to the helmet but extends to devices on the chest, bridle or any other part of the horse or rider.

That breadth is worth pausing on. If your assumption was that the objection is specifically about helmets, a rule written that way covers far more than a helmet mount, and may well be read to cover cameras worn on the face.

Because national body policy changes, and because the wording matters, check the current published rules for your own body rather than relying on a summary. This article deliberately quotes sources that can be verified directly.

Your yard is the rule that matters most

For most riders, most of the time, the governing body is irrelevant. You ride at a yard, and the yard sets its policy.

Equestrian communities have become noticeably sensitive about wearable cameras, and the reasons are usually not about safety. They are about privacy and consent. There is a widespread view that a yard can reasonably require that horses and people other than your own are not filmed and posted without permission, and that sharing footage of other people's property without asking is not acceptable.

Two practical consequences:

• Ask before you assume. A yard that has not thought about cameras may still object once asked. A yard with a policy will tell you.
• A prohibition may not be written down. School horses in particular are often covered by an informal rule that instructors enforce rather than publish.

What this means when you choose equipment

If you are choosing equipment partly for competition use, the rules shape the choice more than the specifications do.

The recurring subject in almost every rule above is the helmet. FEI wording names protective headgear explicitly. USEF advises consulting the helmet manufacturer before mounting anything to one. The BHS guidance covers head, chest and bridle.

A camera worn in the glasses rather than mounted to the helmet does not remove the need to comply with a rule, and it does not make recording permitted where it is prohibited. But it does avoid the specific question that most of these rules are aimed at: whether adding equipment to a protective helmet is acceptable.

That is a meaningful distinction when the answer to your question depends on which device you are asking about.

A short protocol before you ride somewhere new

1. Check the venue's own policy first. It overrides almost everything else. 2. At competitions, ask the organiser. Get the answer in writing if it is a formal event. 3. For FEI events, apply in advance. Expect a deadline measured in days. 4. Confirm your helmet is still correctly fitted with anything you are wearing alongside it. 5. Ask before filming other people, and before posting footage that includes them.

Follow those five and you will rarely be wrong, in any country.

For the equipment side, camera glasses for horse riding covers what to look for, and how to record riding video covers the practical technique.