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PRESENTING MATTERS TO THE IEA AND INDEMNIFICATION

  • IEA members have the right to bring matters to the attention of the Board of Directors by submitting a request in writing to the attention of the Zone Administrator. Members who have general concerns, compliments, or suggestions for the IEA should present the matter to their coach, who then should contact their Zone Administrator. The Zone Administrator will then bring the matter to the attention of the IEA Board of Directors (Rule G2901).
  • Any matter that concerns the safety of horses and riders, or the ethics of coaches or riders shall be considered an urgent matter and shall be dealt with immediately by the Show Steward, and such determination and decision will be final during the show (Rule 2901).
  • By making application to, becoming a member of IEA, or competing in any IEA sanctioned event, competition or show, all IEA Members, and the parents, next friend and legal guardians of the Rider Members, agree not to sue, not to bring any claim against, and to indemnify and hold harmless IEA, its officers, directors, members, National Steward, Zone Administrator, employees, show officials, judges, stewards, agents, representatives and assigns against all threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Action”) arising by reason of or from injury, death, or damages of any kind that occurs at, traveling to, around, or near, or training and preparing for, any IEA approved or sanctioned competition, show or event. Litigation expenses, attorney fees and costs incurred in defending an Action maybe paid by the IEA in advance, however, the responsible Team, Coach, parents, legal guardians and member shall reimburse IEA for said expenses, fees and costs (Rule G2902).

PROCEDURES

  • Generally, when encountering an issue at an IEA competition, coaches and officials should first bring their concern to the IEA show steward. If it is a parent or rider that has the concern, the coach for their team must speak on their behalf.
  • If the issue is not resolved at the show, or the issue is related to a rule violation that does not concern an IEA competition, then a coach, steward or show official can file an official Petition and Protest Form available on the IEA website (Rule 9400).
  • The Petition and Protest Form is submitted through the IEA Membership Office and is then sent to the Zone Administrator to be presented to the Zone Ethics Committee.
  • A formal petition regarding an IEA competition must be filed within 10 days of the competition.
  • A formal protest of an alleged rule violation must be filed within 10 days of the discovery of the violation.
  • Hearing procedures are outlined in Rule G9405.
  • If the defendant, or the accuser, disagrees with the verdict, they can file an Appeal Form (available on the IEA website) with the IEA Executive Committee. The Appeal form is filed with the IEA Membership Office and is immediately sent to the President and Executive Committee (Rule 9407).

The specific procedures are set out in the current IEA Rules and Regulations of Membership beginning on Page 50 and are extracted below:

RULE G9400 – JUDICIAL PROCEDURE

G9401 Formal petitions, protests and appeals must be written by a coach member, region president, zone administrator, or show official and submitted through the membership office or national steward on the appropriate form.

Only coach members can submit petitions, protests, and appeals on behalf of their team and individual members (youth and adult).  Contributing members, adult members, and parents may not submit petitions, protests, or appeals.  The national steward will address or forward the petition, protest, or appeal through the appropriate channels.

G9402 Formal Petition – A petition is a request for an exception to a rule or a review of a decision made by a show steward, show manager, or the membership office. The petition must be in writing and addressed to the membership office or national steward within ten (10) calendar days of the incident or show.

G9403 Formal Protest – A protest alleges a rule or ethical violation at an IEA event, or circumstance in direct connection to an IEA event. The protest must be in writing and addressed to the membership office or national steward within ten (10) days of discovery and must state the full name of the accuser and accused and contain a thorough statement of the acts which constitute the alleged violation with specific rules cited. Precise details regarding a violation of the Rules are necessary.

Appeal – Refer to Rule G9407.

G9405 Hearings:

  1. Following receipt of a formal protest, the accused will be notified of the charges.
  2. The accuser and accused will be notified of the date of the hearing.
  3. To conduct the hearing at least four (4) members of the ZEC or a quorum of the executive committee, whichever is adjudicating, must be present.
  4. After providing an opportunity for the accuser and accused to be heard, either verbally or in writing, the ZEC or executive committee will, in closed session within seven (7) days of the hearing, determine if a violation has occurred, and if so, what penalty, if any, should be imposed.
  5. To reach a verdict or impose a penalty, at least four (4) members of the ZEC or a majority or the executive committee present must concur on the verdict and penalty.

G9406 Notification of Verdict and Penalty

The verdict and penalty, if any, will be set forth in writing by the chair of the ZEC or executive committee within seven (7) days of the determination, and sent by email to the accuser and the accused. The director of membership and national steward will be copied on the final email response.

G9407 Appeal of ZEC or National Steward Ruling

G9407.1  If the accuser or accused is not satisfied with the decision of the ZEC and/or national steward, they may bring an appeal to the IEA executive committee. Appeals may only be filed and submitted by an IEA coach, region president, zone administrator, or show official. Coaches must file appeals for their teams and on behalf of individual riders. Contributing members and parents may not submit appeals.

G9407.2 The appeal must be made in writing on the appropriate form within fourteen (14) days of the verdict’s receipt and accompanied by a $250.00 bond to be returned only if the appeal is sustained. In time sensitive matters, an earlier deadline may be required. It shall be sent to the membership office, who will forward it to the president and the executive committee with a copy to be sent to the chair of the ZEC and the national steward.

G9407.3 The executive committee will respond within fourteen (14) days of the appeal’s receipt. The committee may affirm, reverse, or modify the verdict of the ZEC and national steward. Its opinion shall be set forth in writing by the national secretary and sent to the accuser, the accused, the chair of the ZEC, the board of directors, and the accused member’s team coach or other appropriate team authority. The ruling of the executive committee is final.

Also, in addition to the formality of procedures outlined above, please note that ANYONE can submit an IEA Show Evaluation Form.

IEA’s success is dependent on the teams, riders, coaches, and parents who participate with a cooperative spirit and enthusiastically support activities at the Regional, Zone, and National levels. Working closely with other leading national equine associations, IEA is committed to our mission to provide educational and competitive opportunities for middle and secondary school students. Many thanks to those who choose to help us in these worthy endeavors.