Equine Safety and Success
The Equine Safety and Success Network™ (ESSN) is a professional initiative focused on strengthening safety standards, operational clarity, and consistent decision-making across equine operations.
ESSN addresses the real conditions under which horses are trained, taught, ridden, and managed — including the decision points, pressure patterns, and supervisory gaps that often precede incidents. The network brings together experienced professionals to examine what actually happens in day-to-day equine programs and to translate that awareness into structured, usable guidance.
From this work, ESSN develops discipline-specific safety frameworks designed for real-world application.
The Equine Safety and Success Guide™ (ESSG) is the primary structured framework developed through ESSN. Rather than organizing safety around theory alone, the ESSG is built around how equine programs actually function and where risk most often emerges.
The ESSG includes guidance for:
• Riding Lesson Safety, supporting both private and group lesson programs
• Group Riding Lesson Safety, where risk patterns emerge faster and require heightened management awareness
• Guided Trail Riding Safety, addressing pre-booking, staging areas, mounting control, guest management, and post-ride documentation
• Horse Training Safety, focused on readiness, transitions, and higher-risk decision points
In addition to discipline-specific guides, ESSN develops focused initiatives addressing preparedness and real-time response structure.
The Emergency Awareness Series examines operational decision-making during high-pressure situations and reinforces clarity, communication, and documented follow-through before and after an incident.
Each guide and series is released in structured parts and designed to support clearer staff roles, consistent supervisory expectations, and documentation practices that reflect how equine operations truly function.
Select materials are introduced first as structured member pilot programs through ESSN, allowing experienced professionals to engage with, apply, and refine the framework as it evolves.
Active discussions, pilot participation, and ongoing framework development take place within the official Equine Safety and Success Network™ professional group on Facebook.
Experienced professionals interested in engaging with current materials or upcoming releases may join the network through the ESSN group.
ESSN Founding Advisory Board
The Equine Safety and Success Network™ Founding Advisory Board provides experienced oversight and professional perspective as frameworks, pilot programs, and materials are developed and refined.
The Board supports clarity, accountability, and practical implementation across disciplines and operational settings.
Laura Kelland-May
Founding Advisory Board Member
Equine program and standards consultant based in Canada.
Senior Judge, Steward, FEI Steward, and East Coast Working Equitation Judge.
Laura brings direct insight into how conduct, supervision, and decision-making are evaluated across jurisdictions, particularly in systems operating under duty of care, negligence, and premises liability frameworks.
Darla Walker-Ryder
Founding Advisory Board Member
Professional equine educator with more than fifty years of experience teaching, mentoring, and leading riding instruction and trail programs across multiple disciplines.
Darla’s work spans inclusive rider education, instructor development, and operational leadership. Her long-standing focus on practical systems, documentation clarity, and team communication supports structured programs that serve both horses and people.
Equine Safety and Success Guide™
Current Structured Series
