Houston, we have a problem. And I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks so…. There is little room at the shows for those of us who cannot afford the VIP experience and step up as sponsors. I can’t write a $5,000 check for anything without wincing. Tax time makes me cry. Paying the household bills makes me anxious and causes the occasional panic attack. Read on if you feel my pain.   I grew up horse showing. I was a barn rat (some might say barn brat..but I digress). During my teen years, we horse showed almost every day of the summer. Growing up on Long Island, we would ship into one ..read more

 A California appellate court has set aside a jury verdict of $46,000 awarded to the purchaser of a horse that turned out to have a bone cyst. The purchaser sued the veterinarian who performed the pre-purchase examination of the horse on the theory that the veterinarian was negligent in his evaluation of the horse, and had its full veterinary history been disclosed to her, she never would have bought it. The appellate court reversed the judgment upon concluding that the purchaser’s expert witness had only testified that she disagreed with her colleague, not that he had breached any appli ..read more

 A number of years ago there was a lawsuit in California that was brought by the parents of a junior (Mia Eriksson) who was killed when her horse fell on her while competing in the cross-country phase of an event at Galway Downs. Their lawsuit was initially dismissed, but they appealed and it was reinstated. This procedural turn of events led trainers and parents alike to question whether a trainer is legally responsible for the safety of a young student. As usual, there are no easy answers.  Don’t we all know that riding is inherently dangerous?  Horses are big. Kids fall off ..read more

Is your horse activity a business, or just an expensive hobby? The real test comes if you claim your horses as business expenses, and then the IRS audits your federal income tax return and challenges the deductions under what is known as the “Hobby Loss” rule. The Hobby Loss rule prohibits a taxpayer from claiming the expenses of a hobby as business expense deductions.  Whether you run your horse activities through a “company” of any sort doesn’t matter to the IRS. In order for company expenses to be deductible as business expenses, the company must be a “business” by IRS standards. For ..read more

USEF’s Hearing Committee has recently issued a number of decisions that shed light on a trainer’s liability for signing, or not signing, an entry blank. One complication to the entry process is that some circuits (like WEF) have you complete one official entry to get a back number at the start of the circuit, and then permit a weekly declaration, or “add” sheet, for entering specific classes each week. So a horse will be issued a back number based on an entry signed by Trainer #1, and may still be using that back number later in circuit despite having been transferred to the care, custody and ..read more

 The Supreme Court of Iowa ruled that a spectator injured by a runaway horse at a county fair gets her day in court, and that a trial court’s dismissal of the case on the basis of Iowa’s equine activity liability act was improper.  A woman who was working a church concession stand at a county fair was headed toward an exit on a pedestrian walkway when she was run down and injured by a runaway horse. The horse was pulling a buggy, and the owner/driver of the horse had screamed for people to get out of the way when she lost control of the horse as it bolted. The unsuspecting church wo ..read more

 A rider, injured while taking a lesson when her horse spooked and bolted, can sue the owners of the facility, but not her trainer. Meanwhile, the owners of the facility can sue the trainer for failing to get a signed release from the injured rider, as was required by the lease pursuant to which the trainer was on the property giving lessons.  According to the court, the injured rider’s horse spooked when the son of the facility’s manager shook a vinyl tarp alongside the riding ring, creating a “loud crackly” noise. The injured rider filed suit against her trainer, the facility owne ..read more

Once upon a time, “Mary” wanted to take her family on a beach vacation. Thanks to some internet research, she located a lovely beach home that was available for a week. She spoke with the owner by phone, signed a lease, and wired the lease fee as directed. The owner agreed to meet her and her family at the property upon arrival. Mary and her family drove many hours to the beach and were very excited when they pulled up to a beautiful, beach-front residence. Unfortunately, the family in residence at the house was not so excited to see them. Turns out, Mary had been scammed. The woman Mary had c ..read more

 I get calls every day from horse people — professionals, amateurs and owners alike — who are stunned at the situations in which they are finding themselves. And most of these situations are arising out of handshake deals.  The horse industry likes to do business on a handshake. While this is not a practice that I, as an attorney, recommend, it happens and I am frequently asked how handshake deals can be salvaged or enforced. The reality is that our legal system contemplates that some people will choose to do business on a handshake, and there are general rules that apply. Without a ..read more

 A rider, injured while taking a lesson when her horse spooked and bolted, can sue the owners of the facility, but not her trainer. Meanwhile, the owners of the facility can sue the trainer for failing to get a signed release from the injured rider, as was required by the lease pursuant to which the trainer was on the property giving lessons.  According to the court, the injured rider’s horse spooked when the son of the facility’s manager shook a vinyl tarp alongside the riding ring, creating a “loud crackly” noise. The injured rider filed suit against her trainer, the facility owne ..read more