What safety gear must I wear?

Q: What safety gear must I wear?

Under Rule 58 of the NHA Rules of Racing: Skull cap: anyone riding a horse must wear a serviceable skull cap of a type approved by the NHA Chief Executive, with the chin strap securely fastened whenever mounted (Rules 58.9.1 to 58.9.3). Starting-gate handlers must wear one too. Body protector: every rider must wear an approved body protector in all races (Rule 58.11), and when galloping at work on a racecourse or training track (Rule 58.12). The clerk of the scales checks you have a serviceable approved skull cap before weighing you out (Rule 59.1). Penalty guidelines (May 2026): no skull cap R500; no chin strap R500; not wearing a body protector R2 500. Because body protectors are compulsory, your riding weight is treated as 1.0 kg less than the scale reading (Rule 59.8).

Question

Accepted Answer

Under Rule 58 of the NHA Rules of Racing:

Skull cap: anyone riding a horse must wear a serviceable skull cap of a type approved by the NHA Chief Executive, with the chin strap securely fastened whenever mounted (Rules 58.9.1 to 58.9.3). Starting-gate handlers must wear one too.
Body protector: every rider must wear an approved body protector in all races (Rule 58.11), and when galloping at work on a racecourse or training track (Rule 58.12).
The clerk of the scales checks you have a serviceable approved skull cap before weighing you out (Rule 59.1).

Penalty guidelines (May 2026): no skull cap R500; no chin strap R500; not wearing a body protector R2 500.

Because body protectors are compulsory, your riding weight is treated as 1.0 kg less than the scale reading (Rule 59.8).