Equine Law | Equine Lawyer

Three students have been chosen for this year’s Studentship: Sophie Phillips, Emma Green and Lee Cooper.  Senior Partner, Michael Dalton, said that the firm had received a large number of applications of a high calibre but the three students chosen were clearly passionate in their desire to specialise in equine law.

The lucky winners spent the day learning core elements of equine law, including equine contracts, equestrian property transactions and equine disputes. 

The students thorougly enjoyed their day with leading equine lawyer, Sarah Jordan.  Sophie Phillips, who traveled from Stratford to Petersfield for the day said, ‘My studentship day at Daltons was a really fantastic opportunity to explore my passion for equine law further.  I was able to engage in all kinds of equine legal matters from property sales to purchase disputes and ultimately realise what it would be like to practice as an equine lawyer.  The staff at Daltons were exceptionally friendly and welcoming and made me feel completely at home, allowing me to optimise my learning experience.  I really would like to thank Sarah Jordan and Daltons for taking the time to create this unique experience for those who, like myself, are interested in such a specialist area of law.’

Sarah was delighted with the enthusiastic approach the students took with the tasks set them and as a result Daltons are planning to make this an annual national award.

Freestyle dressage may be something you do on a regular basis, something you are intending to try or you might be wanting to host a competition.  In any form you must consider the requirements of a music licence for the music to be played.  British Dressage (BD) already holds a licence and will require competitors to complete various forms before they can take part in affiliated competitions.  Namely, a sub-licence music agreement and a music record form on which you list your music: title, artist, release date, record label and length of time using.  You will then be sent a set of licence stickers to put onto your CD boxes, which must be clearly visible when handed in to the show.  Ultimately, BD is aware of the requirements and will ensure you are compliant prior to the competition.  However, organisers of unaffiliated events must not be caught unawares and must ensure the requisite music licences are obtained by competitors so as not to fall foul of licensing laws.

Three lucky students between the age of 17 and 21 will be given the opportunity to spend a day training with leading equine lawyer, Sarah Jordan, at her office in Petersfield, Hampshire. 

An intensive eight-hour schedule has been devised to ensure the students obtain a good basic understanding of equine contract law, equestrian property transactions and equine dispute law.  In addition Sarah will take students to lunch where they can quiz her about life as an equine lawyer and a career in law in general.

Sarah comments: “I regularly receive requests from students who want to be an equine lawyer … the Equine Law Studentship has been designed to satisfy these requests subject to application.  I intend this to be an annual award giving students the opportunity to learn about this specialist career path.”

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Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council was required to pay out £12,000 in damages for injury to a lady who was thrown from her horse when it fell on on a bridleway in poor condition.  Mrs Goodall broke her arm in the accident.  The Tameside Bridleways Association supported Mrs Goodall’s claim and confirmed that the bridleway was in disrepair and required maintenance work.  The horse Mrs Goodall was riding stumbled on some boulders that had been swept down the hillside by rain.  Local Authorities should be aware of the potential claims they face by not keeping their public rights of way networks in good working order.

This new welfare code came into force yesterday (6 April 2010) and outlines basic equine welfare responsibilities for owners of horses, ponies or donkeys.  These include details on equine health, equine diet, equine behaviour and horse passports.

The Code is designed to act as a tool when bringing evidence in prosecution cases.   In particular, it will make it clear to any ‘non-horsey’ judge / lawyer exactly what should be done in practice, which will aid them when making a decision on any particular welfare case in hand.

The Code should also be a starting point for anyone wishing to report a welfare case as this will aid the investigating charity (such as the RSPCA).

Two interesting cases have come to light in 2010 regarding planning law and equestrian / agricultural buildings:-

1.  Welwyn Hatfield Council v. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another [2010] EWCA Civ 26.  The Court of Appeal allowed a landowner’s appeal and held that the landowner was entitled to a certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development (CLEUD) for a dwelling house the landowner had hidden within a hay barn he had permission for.  The landowners waited the requisite four years before applying for the CLEUD and by this stage the planners were told by the Court of Appeal that they were too late and the development had acquired immunity from planning enforcement action.  This was the case, even though it was proved that the landowner had deliberately deceived the Council in this respect!

2.  In conflict, Fidler v. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2010] EWHC 143 , did not get away with deceiving the Council.  The landowner built a house without obtaining planning permission and concealed it behind bales of straw covered with a tarpaulin.  After four years, the landowner removed the straw bales and tarpaulin to reveal the house.  The High Court in this instance held that the erection and removal of the bales and tarpaulin were not building operations in their right and that the landowner had always intended to remove the bales and tarpaulin so, as a matter of fact and degree, their removal was part of the building operations when the totality of the operations as originally contemplated and intended was considered.  Therefore, the property was not immune from enforcement action by the Council  and an order for the demolition of the house was granted.

Sarah Jordan seeks to remind all readers that under European equine tranport regulations all horse boxes over 7.5 tonnes and horse trailers over 3.5 tonnes will need retro-reflective strips on the back of the vehicle (2.5 inches thick) and amber stripes on the side of the vehicle.  The deadline for this currently stands at 10 July 2011.

Sarah Jordan has recently contributed to two Horse & Hound reader questions on their guest expert equine legal question and answer page. See Horse & Hound editions dated 24 December 2009 and 21 January 2010. Sarah’s equine law advice related to the legal responsibilies surrounding hay production and change of planning use issues. Contact Sarah if you would like more details (sarahj@daltons-law.co.uk).