NOTICE OF INTENT TO CHANGE - 1 AUGUST 2023 

25 March 2022. 

Following our January 2022 press release in regard to VG1 helmets being required to also have a third-party quality testing label, considerable feedback has been received. As such, ESNZ and NZPCA have had a  complete review of helmet standards, and our tagging policy. As a result, we will be changing the tagging  policy and procedure from 1 August 2023, with best practice health and safety for all in mind. This will  have an effect on all helmet standards and not just VG1, as we look to update the standards to bring them  in line with international standards and other organisations. This will ensure that all standards of helmets  allowed at ESNZ and NZPCA are both up to date and undergo continuous third-party testing to ensure  maintenance of product quality and safety. 

The existing red helmet tags will continue to be used and accepted up until 31 July 2023. From 1 August  2023 approved helmets will need to be fitted with a new yellow helmet tag to be worn at an NZPCA or  ESNZ rally, venue or event. Existing red tagged helmets need to be reinspected and re-tagged yellow if they  meet the updated standards, to be used in competition from 1 August 2023. 

The updated table on the following page states which helmets with applicable helmet standards will be  able to be fitted with a new yellow helmet tag and we will start producing these tags from April 2022 to  allow over 12 months to ensure all helmets, meeting the new standards, have time to be tagged. Red tags  can also still be fitted to helmets that don’t meet the new yellow tag standards, but can only be worn up  until 31 July 2023. 

Helmets can continue to be tagged by an approved NZPCA or ESNZ helmet tagger – either in your own time  or at a rally or event, prior to your competition. 

Please note, because health and safety is paramount to both NZPCA and ESNZ, all members must wear a  helmet that meets our current criteria at all times when mounted at our events/activities. A rider wearing a  helmet where a tag is not visible may be required to dismount and have the helmet checked before being  allowed to continue. Helmets which do not comply with an accepted standard will not be tagged under any  circumstances. 

It is the competitors’ responsibility to ensure they arrive at an event or rally with a helmet to the correct  standard. It is therefore imperative that you check your helmets before you get to the event or rally, in  order to avoid disappointment. To do this: 

1) Use the following information or the ESNZ or NZPCA websites 

2) Check that your helmet clearly displays one of the accepted standards 

3) Check that the standard also shows the correct corresponding date 

4) Check that your helmet also displays the correct corresponding quality assurance mark 5) Make sure that you do not remove any labels from inside your helmet which may hold the relevant  information, as a helmet will not be tagged without all of the required information visible and  attached. 

Only helmets which comply with all of the above steps will be accepted for tagging. If you’re in doubt,  please contact the ESNZ or NZPCA office for further advice. If your helmet cannot be tagged, you will not be  allowed to ride wearing that helmet under any circumstances.

• The British Equestrian Trade Association have produced the following guide to choosing a helmet  https://www.beta-uk.org/media/safety/download/42364- 

BETA%20Guide%20to%20Riding%20Hats%20v1.pdf 

A helmet must show on a label that it meets at least one of the below standards with the appropriate  quality mark, but may bear multiple standards, in which case at least one must also bear the applicable  quality mark. 

Helmet Standard 

Safety Mark 

Allowed at the following activities:

PAS 015:1998 or 2011 (or later) with  BSI Kitemark or IC mark

or

All Activities

VG1 01.040 (2014-12 or later) - Must  carry BSI kitemark or IC mark from  August 2023

or

All Activities

Snell E2001, E2016 (or later) with the  official Snell label and number

All Activities

ASTM-F1163 2004a (or later) with the  SEI mark

All Activities

AS/NZS 3838 1998, 2003, 2006 (or later)

All Activities

Standards underlined and in red will not be allowed from 1 August 2023 and cannot receive a yellow tag. 

The EN1384 standard is currently being revised. Once it has been published and harmonised, helmets to  this standard will be accepted providing they bear the Kitemark. 

CE and UKCA – these are not quality marks but rather an indication in Europe and the United Kingdom that  the product meets the requirements of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) regulation in terms of  basic health and safety requirements. 

Any athletes competing in FEI competitions must also comply with the FEI helmet standards (effective from  2019).