First Substitute S.B. 123

Senator Beverly Ann Evans proposes the following substitute bill:

1 INHERENT RISK OF LIVESTOCK
2 ACTIVITIES
3 2003 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Beverly Ann Evans
6 This act adds livestock activities and professionals to the provisions of Title 78 providing
7 limitations on the liability of equine activities and professionals.
8 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
9 AMENDS:
10 78-27b-101, as last amended by Chapter 257, Laws of Utah 1999
11 78-27b-102, as enacted by Chapter 126, Laws of Utah 1992
12 REPEALS:
13 78-27c-101, as enacted by Chapter 76, Laws of Utah 1993
14 78-27c-102, as enacted by Chapter 76, Laws of Utah 1993
15 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
16 Section 1. Section 78-27b-101 is amended to read:
17 78-27b-101. Definitions.
18 As used in this chapter:
19 (1) "Equine" means any member of the equidae family.
20 (2) "Equine activity" means:
21 (a) equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, racing, sales, or parades that
22 involve any breeds of equines and any equine disciplines, including dressage, hunter and
23 jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping, multiple-day events, combined training, rodeos,
24 driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeple chasing, hunting, endurance trail riding, and western
25 games;

26 (b) boarding or training equines;
27 (c) teaching persons equestrian skills;
28 (d) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine owned by another person regardless of
29 whether the owner receives monetary or other valuable consideration;
30 (e) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine by a prospective purchaser; or
31 (f) other equine activities of any type including rides, trips, hunts, or informal or
32 spontaneous activities sponsored by an equine activity sponsor.
33 (3) "Equine activity sponsor" means an individual, group, governmental entity, club,
34 partnership, or corporation, whether operating for profit or as a nonprofit entity, which
35 sponsors, organizes, or provides facilities for an equine activity, including:
36 (a) pony clubs, hunt clubs, riding clubs, 4-H programs, therapeutic riding programs,
37 and public and private schools and postsecondary educational institutions that sponsor equine
38 activities; and
39 (b) operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities, stables, clubhouses,
40 ponyride strings, fairs, and arenas.
41 (4) "Equine professional" means a person compensated for an equine activity by:
42 (a) instructing a participant;
43 (b) renting to a participant an equine to ride, drive, or be a passenger upon the equine;
44 or
45 (c) renting equine equipment or tack to a participant.
46 (5) "Inherent risk" with regard to equine or livestock activities means those dangers or
47 conditions which are an integral part of equine or livestock activities, which may include:
48 (a) the propensity of the animal to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or
49 death to persons on or around them;
50 (b) the unpredictability of the animal's reaction to outside stimulation such as sounds,
51 sudden movement, and unfamiliar objects, persons, or other animals;
52 (c) collisions with other animals or objects; or
53 (d) the potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to
54 injury to the participant or others, such as failing to maintain control over the animal or not
55 acting within his or her ability.
56 (6) "Livestock" means all domesticated animals used in the production of food, fiber,

57 or livestock activities.
58 (7) "Livestock activity" means:
59 (a) livestock shows, fairs, competitions, performances, packing events, or parades or
60 rodeos that involve any or all breeds of livestock;
61 (b) using livestock to pull carts or to carry packs or other items;
62 (c) using livestock to pull travois-type carriers during rescue or emergency situations;
63 (d) livestock training or teaching activities or both;
64 (e) taking livestock on public relations trips or visits to schools or nursing homes;
65 (f) boarding livestock;
66 (g) riding, inspecting, or evaluating any livestock belonging to another, whether or not
67 the owner has received some monetary consideration or other thing of value for the use of the
68 livestock or is permitting a prospective purchaser of the livestock to ride, inspect, or evaluate
69 the livestock;
70 (h) using livestock in wool production;
71 (i) rides, trips, or other livestock activities of any type however informal or impromptu
72 that are sponsored by a livestock activity sponsor; and
73 (j) trimming the feet of any livestock.
74 (8) "Livestock activity sponsor" means an individual, group, governmental entity, club,
75 partnership, or corporation, whether operating for profit or as a nonprofit entity, which
76 sponsors, organizes, or provides facilities for a livestock activity, including:
77 (a) livestock clubs, 4-H programs, therapeutic riding programs, and public and private
78 schools and postsecondary educational institutions that sponsor livestock activities; and
79 (b) operators, instructors, and promoters of livestock facilities, stables, clubhouses,
80 fairs, and arenas.
81 (9) "Livestock professional" means a person compensated for a livestock activity by:
82 (a) instructing a participant;
83 (b) renting to a participant any livestock for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a
84 passenger upon the livestock; or
85 (c) renting livestock equipment or tack to a participant.
86 [(5)] (10) "Participant" means any person, whether amateur or professional, who
87 directly engages in an equine activity or livestock activity, regardless of whether a fee has been

88 paid to participate.
89 [(6)] (11) (a) "Person engaged in an equine or livestock activity" means a person who
90 rides, trains, leads, drives, or works with an equine or livestock, respectively.
91 (b) Subsection [(6)] (11)(a) does not include a spectator at an equine or livestock
92 activity or a participant at an equine or livestock activity who does not ride, train, lead, or drive
93 an equine or any livestock.
94 Section 2. Section 78-27b-102 is amended to read:
95 78-27b-102. Equine and livestock activity liability limitations.
96 (1) It shall be presumed that participants in equine or livestock activities are aware of
97 and understand that there are inherent risks associated with these activities.
98 [(1)] (2) An equine activity sponsor [or], equine professional, livestock activity
99 sponsor, or livestock professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant
100 [engaged in an equine activity] due to the inherent risks associated with these activities, unless
101 the sponsor or professional:
102 (a) (i) provided the equipment or tack; and
103 (ii) the equipment or tack caused the injury;
104 [(b) (i) provided the equine; and]
105 [(ii) failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine whether:]
106 [(A) the participant could engage safely in the equine activity and safely manage the
107 particular equine; or]
108 [(B) the equine could behave safely with the participant;]
109 [(c)] (b) owns, leases, rents, or is in legal possession and control of land or facilities
110 upon which the participant sustained injuries because of a dangerous condition which was
111 known to or should have been known to the sponsor or professional and for which warning
112 signs have not been conspicuously posted;
113 [(d)] (c) (i) commits an act or omission that constitutes negligence, gross negligence, or
114 willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant; and
115 [(ii)] (3) that act or omission causes the injury; or
116 (e) intentionally injures or causes the injury to the participant.
117 (2) This chapter does not prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor
118 [or], an equine professional, a livestock activity sponsor, or a livestock professional who is:

119 (a) a veterinarian licensed under Title 58, Chapter 28, Veterinary Practice Act, in an
120 action to recover for damages incurred in the course of providing professional treatment of an
121 equine;
122 (b) liable under Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays and Trespassing Animals; or
123 (c) liable under Title 78, Chapter 15, Product Liability Act.
124 Section 3. Repealer.
125 This act repeals:
126 Section 78-27c-101, Definitions.
127 Section 78-27c-102, Junior Livestock Show liability limitation.