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ARKANSAS CODE OF 1987
TITLE 16. PRACTICE, PROCEDURE, AND COURTS
SUBTITLE 7. PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS AND REMEDIES
CHAPTER 120. IMMUNITY FROM TORT LIABILITY
SUBCHAPTER 2. EQUINE ACTIVITIES
§ 16-120-201 Definitions.
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Equine" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny;
(2) "Equine activity" means:
(A) Equine shows, fairs, competitions,
performances, or parades that involve any or all breeds of equines and any of the equine
disciplines, including, but not limited to, dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows, grand
prix jumping, three-day events, combined training, rodeos, pulling, cutting, polo,
steeplechasing, endurance trail riding and western games, and hunting;
(B) Equine training and teaching activities;
(C) Boarding equines;
(D) Riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine
belonging to another, whether or not the owner has received some monetary consideration or
other thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective purchaser of
the equine to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine; and
(E) Rides, hunts, or other equine activities of
any type, however informal or impromptu;
(3) "Equine activity sponsor" means an individual, group,
club, partnership, or corporation, whether nonprofit or operating for profit, which
sponsors, organizes, or provides facilities for an equine activity; and
(4) "Participant" means any person, whether amateur or
professional, who engages in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to
participate in the equine activity.
§ 16-120-202 Liability.
(a)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2) of this section, an
equine activity sponsor or an employee of an equine activity sponsor shall not be liable
for an injury to or the death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of equine
activities.
(2) Nothing in subdivision (a)(1) of this
section shall prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor or an employee
of an equine activity sponsor who:
(A)(i) Provided the
equipment or tack and knew or should have known that the
equipment or tack was faulty, and that such equipment or tack was faulty to the extent
that it did cause injury;
(ii) Provided the equine animal and failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to
determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine activity or to
determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine activity and to
safely manage the particular equine based on the participant's representation of his
ability;
(B) Owned, leased,
rented, or otherwise was in lawful possession and control of the land or facilities upon
which the participant sustained injury because of a dangerous latent condition which was
known or should have been known to the equine activity sponsor or to an employee of the
sponsor and for which warning signs had not been conspicuously posted;
(C) Committed an act or
omission that constituted willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant,
and that act or omission caused the injury;
(D) Intentionally
injured the participant.
(3) Nothing in subdivision (a)(1) of this
section shall prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor or an employee
thereof under liability provisions as set forth in products liability laws.
(b)(1) Every equine activity sponsor shall post and maintain signs
which
contain the warning notice specified in subdivision (b)(2) of this section. Such signs
shall be placed in a clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals, or arenas where
the equine activity sponsor conducts equine activities. The warning notice specified in
subdivision (b)(2) of this section shall appear on the sign in black letters, with each
letter to be a minimum of one inch (1") in height.
(2) The signs described in subdivision (b)(1)
of this section shall contain the following warning notice:
WARNING
Under Arkansas law, an equine activity sponsor is not liable for an injury to, or the death of, a participant in equine activities resulting from the inherent risk of equine activities.
(c) Provided, the immunity provided for in this section is not
applicable with respect to thoroughbred horse racing as authorized and regulated in §
23-110-101 et seq.
HISTORY: Acts 1991, No. 103, § 2; Amended in 1995..
Reviewed by AAHS in March 2001.
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