There are three height categories:

Small Pony - (up to 10.2hh)
Pony - (10.2hh to 14.2hh),
Horse - (14.2hh upwards).

At present there are five Agility Levels:

Starter – easy obstacles designed to instil confidence and courage into the horse and handler.
First Level – As above but more challenging such as longer bridges and higher A ramps.
Medium Level – As above, against the clock.
Advanced Level – as above against the clock and with one obstacle being a wild card which is not on the official list and which may not have been seen by the competitor before.
Freestyle Agility – As Medium level but with no headcollar or lead rope on the horse. The horse works loose over the course under the direction of his handler.
Wild Agility – a course of 12 natural obstacles over at least 5km, competed against the clock, horse on bridle and light leadrope.

NOTE: People can enter Non-Competitively (NC) into any class which is the correct height class for them whatever level they have qualified for UNLESS the class has been designated a non-NC class for Health and Safety reasons.

Horse Agility Equipment Needed
No equipment other than head collar, lead rope (at least 10 feet long) and protective boots (where necessary) is allowed on the horses (except Freestyle Agility where there is no equipment on the horse at all except protective boots if necessary and Wild Agility where a bridle with a light line attached to the bit may be used). No whips, sticks etc are allowed. All handlers must wear hard hats and suitable footwear in all classes.

The Horse Agility Scoring System

- Each obstacle is given a mark based on effectiveness and style of completing the obstacle. These marks are then added together.
- Each obstacle is marked out of 10 made up of three parts:
- Effectively negotiating the obstacle out of 7 marks.
- Style whilst negotiating the obstacle out of three marks.
- Penalty points for cruelty to the horse or dangerous behaviour by horse and/or handler minus 3 marks.
- These marks are then added together, if the result is negative then the mark is zero.
- Criteria for marking can be found in the Rules and Regulations of the Horse Agility Club of Great Britain Handbook available from www.horseagilitygb.com
- There is no time limit in the first two levels, Starter and First Levels however subsequent levels are competed against the clock. (See rule book for penalties incurred on timings)
- Three refusals at one obstacle gives a zero score for that obstacle. A refusal is deemed to be a horse stepping back, turning away or refusing to move towards the obstacle even when asked by the handler. The competitor may miss out that obstacle and move onto the next one.
- The competitor must attempt every obstacle even if the horse does not show any inclination to complete it.
- The competitor will be eliminated if he makes an uncorrected error on the course.
- A horse may be eliminated if he is deemed unfit to compete, given any outside assistance or found to have been doped in accordance with current rules.
- The competition highlights the high level of training in both the human and the horse required for Horse Agility.
- The course is made up of twelve obstacles with a test of obedience in leading (see below) between obstacle 6 & 7.
- Certain obstacles have contact areas into which the horse must step.
- Each obstacle is numbered and marked with a red flag or marker on the right and white on the left.
- The competitor chooses the gait to suit the part of the course that they are completing unless there is a part of the course in which a gait is obligatory.
- Competitors may walk the course.

The course consists of a number of obstacles from a given list. Advanced level will have at least one ‘wildcard’ obstacle included (one that isn’t on the list!)

1. Tunnel (medium upwards)

2. Seesaw (medium upwards)

3. Jump

4. Passing through a Curtain

5. Weaving poles/cones

6. Hoop (Adv only)

7. Water (Advanced)

8. Crossing a Tarpaulin

9. Roll ball (Medium upwards)

10. Through trailer

11. Carry a light load

12. Pick up feet

13. Step onto a podium

14. Stand still in circle

15. Pass through a narrow gap

16. Back through two poles

17. Back over poles

18. Walk through labyrinth

19. Climb through branches/poles (medium upwards) .

20. Crossing a bridge

21. Loading into a trailer

22. Passing through a gateway.

23. Picking up feet.

24. Crossing over an A frame.

At all levels the lead rope must be loose without any pulling on behalf of the horse or handler.

The handler must lead just in front of the horse or no further back than the horses shoulder any position is acceptable.

Higher marks are obtained if the leading position is maintained, marks deducted if the position of the handler changes throughout the exercise.