Earlier this year, a California judge issued a summary judgment in favor of a horse trainer in a lawsuit brought against her by a deceased rider's parents for wrongful death and infliction of emotional distress. During the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event, the rider was killed after a rotational fall on the cross-country course.

In the findings, the Court of Appeal held that:

• the mother's signature on the release of liability between coach and rider precluded the mother from disaffirming the release
• the mother was not contractually bound by any promises in the release
• the release unambiguously released coach from liability to rider
• the release effectively extinguished the coach's duty of ordinary care to the rider such that the coach could rely on the release as a defense to wrongful death claims
• the coach did not owe a duty of care to the rider's parents for purposes of emotional distress claim
• the parents had the burden of establishing that the coach was grossly negligent once the coach proved the validity of the release

The judge's decision included: "In its most basic sense, 'assumption of risk' means that the plaintiff, in advance, has given his express consent to relieve the defendant of an obligation of conduct toward him, and to take his chances of injury from a known risk arising from what the defendant is to do or leave undone; the result is that the defendant is relieved of legal duty to the plaintiff, and being under no duty, he cannot be charged with negligence."

In conjunction with a signed liability release/waiver, many people post signs on their property.

The decision reaffirms the need for a Liability Waiver/Release Form, which is typically used to protect a business or person from liability for dangerous activities when the participant signs the release before participating. 

To read more about Liability Releases, please click here.

 EMO Meet Our Client: The Taymar Ranch

Owners Mark and Tammy Dyer operate the Taymar Ranch in Pilot Point, Texas, on a simple credo: a deep and abiding love of the American Quarter Horse and American Paint Horse. Their daughter, Sharnai Thompson, shares their passion for horses and is a multiple World Champion winner herself. She earned her first All American Quarter Horse Congress championship at age 7 and continues to rack up titles in the amateur and non-pro divisions.

Taymar Ranch offers one of the industry's hottest stallions: Hot Ones Only. He began his career by storm, winning at the historic Quarter Horse Congress as a 2-year-old. Then, in 2011, as a 5-year-old, he broke the record for the most World Championships won by a stallion in American Quarter Horse Association history. In total, Hot Ones Only won nine World Championship and 13 Congress Championships during his illustrious career. Hot Ones Only currently stands at High Point Performance Horses in Pilot Point, Texas and has sired multiple champions.

Taymar Ranch's Hot Ones Only

Sharnai, 28, currently competes a variety of horses in various disciplines, including the get of Hot Ones Only. More recently, Sharnai won the 2014 National Snaffle Bit Association Horse of the Year honors with Rock County Kid (Good I Will Be-JDZ Madison County) and the 2015 Amateur Western Pleasure World title, her ninth AQHA World Championship.