Bicester Riding Club Constitution
The Club shall be known as the Bicester Riding Club (referred to herein as the Club).
The objectives of the Club shall be:
• To encourage riding as a sport and recreation, to promote good fellowship amongst riders and to improve and maintain the standard of riding and horsemanship.
• To organise instructional meetings, lectures, competitive events and other activities to further knowledge and enjoyment within the Club.
• To be affiliated to the British Horse Society via British Riding Clubs and to support and co-operate with recognised ancillary organisations.
• To support local bridleway groups with a view to assisting in the opening those that have been closed and maintaining and more clearly defining those that are in existence.
• To concern itself with any matter which will benefit the horse and horse rider/owner in the district.
Membership
Persons who have attained eighteen years of age are eligible to join the Club and, subject to acceptance of their application by the Committee and payment of the due subscription for the current period. The Committee may confer honorary membership upon any person deemed by them to have rendered notable service to the Club.
The current annual subscription, as agreed by the Club’s Committee shall be payable on the first day of January each year. Any member whose subscription is more than one month in arrears shall have their name removed from the membership list following written advice of such arrears. Subscriptions are for the full year (1 January to 31 December).
All members will be subject to the regulations of the Constitution and Code of Conduct and by joining the Club will be deemed to accept and abide by these regulations as adopted by the Club.
The Committee may refuse membership only for good cause, such as conduct or character likely to bring the Club, the sport or The BHS into disrepute. Appeal against refusal may be made to the members. However, limitation of membership according to available facilities is allowable on a non-discriminatory basis.
Likewise, the Committee, on agreement, may seek to expel any member of the Club who has breached any of its Rules and who, in the opinion of the Committee, has been found to exhibit conduct incompatible with the aims and Constitution of the Club. Such member shall be informed of the Committee’s decision and they shall be called upon to provide an explanation of their conduct and to have the opportunity to answer the claim.
Administration of the Club
• All powers of management shall be vested in the appointed Honorary Committee consisting of the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and two other Committee members. A quorum shall be formed by any four officers of the Committee.
• At the Annual General Meeting each year all members of the Committee shall retire. Retiring members shall be eligible for re-election.
• The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected annually by the Committee from amongst their number.
• The decision of the Committee shall be final unless over-ruled at a General Meeting.
• The Committee shall be the sole authority for the interpretation of the Rules and for anything relating to the Club not contained in the Constitution and Rules. Their decision shall be final and binding.
• The Committee may formulate resolutions for the detailed running of the Club and elect sub-committees for any special activities of the Club which the Committee may authorise.
• The Committee shall have the power to co-opt members for specific roles on to sub committees, any person so co-opted shall report directly to the appropriate Committee member within the Club and shall retain office only until the following Annual General Meeting.
The financial year of the Club shall commence on 1 January in each year.
The income of the Club shall be used solely for furthering its objectives and for no other purpose.
The Annual General Meeting shall be held in January of each year to transact the following business:
• To fill vacancies on the Committee
• To receive and if approved to adopt a Statement of the Club’s Accounts to the end of the preceding year
• To deal with any specific matters which the Committee may desire to bring to the attention of the members.
Notice convening the General Meeting shall be sent to the members not less than 14 days before the meeting and shall specify the matters to be dealt with. Members may advise additional items for inclusion to the Committee within 7 days of the Annual General Meeting and these will be included at the Committee’s discretion.
An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Committee or by a request signed by not less than five members specifying the business to be discussed. The Secretary shall give all members 10 days’ notice of the date of such a meeting will specify the matters to be dealt with at the meeting.
The Club’s accounts must be kept up to date and be available for review with three days’ notice of any request to view.
These Rules may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution at any Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting. No such resolution shall be deemed to have been passed unless carried by a majority of at least two-thirds of the members present and voting thereon, and provided that prior notice has been sent to all members stating the proposed amendment.
The Committee shall, from time to time as deemed necessary by law or change of regulation from the British Horse Society and/or British Riding Clubs, update the Terms and Conditions of joining, together with the Club’s Data Protection and Privacy Policies. Such changes will be advised to the membership prior to amendment. The Constitution and Rules of the Club may only be amended or repealed by a majority vote by members at the AGM or EGM.
Welfare of the Horse/Pony
All members and non-members attending BRC events and training are required to adhere to the British Riding Clubs Code of Conduct for the welfare of the horse/pony, which can be found here
Any BRC member, spectator, rider, coach or judge must inform the official steward or secretary, immediately at a Club event, or the BRC Chairman (chair@bicesterridingclub.co.uk), if they are concerned about or have witnessed a potential welfare issue or rough or unfair riding or training.
Examples of welfare issues may be (but are not limited to):
• Lameness: Riding any unsound pony/horse
• Tack: Incorrectly fitted tack
• Over-working: Riding or competing on an exhausted, lame or injured pony/horse
• Distress: Ignoring the obvious distress of a pony/horse, whether caused by the rider or other external factors
• Excessive physical force: use of the whip and/or spurs causing unnecessary suffering
• Blood: Any sign of blood on an animal is cause for concern
At all stages whether preparation or taking part in clinics or events, welfare must take precedence over all other demands. This includes good horse management, training methods, farriery, tack and transportation.
Safeguarding of Children
British Riding Clubs, to which BRC is affiliated, is a Member Body of the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and adheres to the BHS Policy on safeguarding which can be seen at
Dissolution of the Club
A resolution to dissolve the Club can only be passed at an AGM or EGM through a majority vote of the membership.
In the event of dissolution, all debts should be cleared with any club funds. Any assets of the Club that remain following this will be given or transferred to another registered British Riding Club, a registered charity or the sport’s governing body for use by them in related community sports.