USPA Advocates for Clarification of Guidance Concerning New Horse Protection Act Regulations
In a guidance document issued in December 2024, and a webinar on December 9, 2024, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued guidance that included polo among the equine events subject to the Horse Protection Act (HPA), including new regulations which become effective on February 1, 2025. The HPA was enacted in 1970 to prevent the “soring” of Tennessee Walking Horses and other show horses to affect their gait and show performance.
If polo were covered by the HPA, it would place significant and unjustified burdens on the USPA, its members, and the entire polo ecosystem. Under the new regulations, event managers of all covered events will be required to notify APHIS at least 30 days in advance of their event whether event management has appointed a Horse Protection Inspector to conduct HPA-mandated inspections, is requesting an APHIS Veterinary Medical Officer to conduct inspections, or if event management is opting for neither. Thereafter, at least 15 days before any event, the event manager must notify the APHIS Administrator of any changes to the information previously provided. And lastly, the HPA requires event managers to meet many other general requirements in the management of events, including complying with new recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
In a letter dated January 7, 2025 to Dr. Aaron Rhyner, DVM, Assistant Director of APHIS, USPA Chief Operating Officer Chris Green has urged APHIS to revise its guidance to make clear that polo is excluded from the scope of the HPA and, in the interim, to provide assurances that polo game management will not be subject to the reporting requirements outlined in the new regulations set to take effect on February 1, 2025. The USPA urges you to read the letter and to join it in objecting to this misapplication of the HPA.