Fla. Stat. » 773
Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 773.01 (2025)

Definitions.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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773.01 Definitions.—As used in ss. 773.01-773.05:
(1) “Engages in an equine activity” means riding, training, assisting in veterinary treatment of, driving, or being a passenger upon an equine, whether mounted or unmounted, visiting or touring or utilizing an equine facility as part of an organized event or activity, or any person assisting a participant or show management. The term “engages in an equine activity” does not include being a spectator at an equine activity, except in cases where a spectator places himself or herself in an unauthorized area.
(2) “Equine” means a horse, pony, mule, or donkey.
(3) “Equine activity” means:
(a) Equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, or parades that involve any or all breeds of equines and any of the equine disciplines including, but not limited to, dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training, rodeos, riding, driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and western performance riding, endurance trail riding, gymkhana games, and hunting.
(b) Equine training or teaching activities or both.
(c) Boarding, including normal daily care of an equine.
(d) Riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to another by a purchaser or an agent, whether or not the owner has received monetary consideration or other thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective purchaser to ride, inspect, or evaluate it.
(e) Rides, trips, hunts, or other equine activities of any type, no matter how informal or impromptu, that are sponsored by an equine activity sponsor.
(f) Placing or replacing horseshoes or hoof trimming on an equine.
(g) Providing or assisting in veterinary treatment.
(4) “Equine activity sponsor” means an individual, group, club, partnership, or corporation, whether or not the sponsor is operating for profit or nonprofit, which sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity, including, but not limited to: pony clubs, 4-H clubs, hunt clubs, riding clubs, school and college-sponsored classes, programs, and activities, therapeutic riding programs, stable and farm owners and operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities, including, but not limited to, farms, stables, clubhouses, pony ride strings, fairs, and arenas at which the activity is held.
(5) “Equine professional” means a person engaged for compensation:
(a) In instructing a participant or renting to a participant an equine for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the equine;
(b) In renting equipment or tack to a participant;
(c) To provide daily care of horses boarded at an equine facility; or
(d) To train an equine.
(6) “Inherent risks of equine activities” means those dangers or conditions which are an integral part of equine activities, including, but not limited to:
(a) The propensity of equines to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them.
(b) The unpredictability of an equine’s reaction to such things as sounds, sudden movement, and unfamiliar objects, persons, or other animals.
(c) Certain hazards such as surface and subsurface conditions.
(d) Collisions with other equines or objects.
(e) The potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant or others, such as failing to maintain control over the animal or not acting within his or her ability.
(7) “Participant” means any person, whether amateur or professional, who engages in or any equine that participates in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate in the equine activity.
History.—s. 88, ch. 93-169; s. 1182, ch. 97-102; s. 29, ch. 2000-354.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1997–2016 · leading case: McGraw v. R & R Investments, Ltd., 877 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004).
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McGraw v. R & R Investments, Ltd., 877 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). · cites it 7× “" § 773.01(4), Fla. Stat. (2002). [2] Defined in part as an amateur or a professional who engages in an equine activity.”
Raveson v. Walt Disney World Co., 793 So. 2d 1171 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). · cites it 5× “See Fla. Stat. § 773.01 (5), (6), & (7) (1997).”
McNichol v. South Florida Trotting Ctr., Inc., 44 So. 3d 253 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). · cites it 8× “§ 773.01(6), Fla. Stat. (2004). The facts of this case uniquely satisfy all but one of the inherent risks identified in the statute.”
Dilallo v. Riding Safely, Inc., 687 So. 2d 353 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). · cites it 4× “Bar-B moved for summary judgment, asserting, inter alia, that it was immunized from liability by section 773.01 et seq., Florida Statutes (1993), relating to equine activities, and that Cara had expressly assumed the risk of injury and consented to same by signing the release…”
Germer v. Churchill Downs Mgmt., Etc., 201 So. 3d 721 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). · cites it 7× “§ 773.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). (emphasis added) B.”
Germer v. Churchill Downs Mgmt., Etc. (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). · cites it 5× “§ 773.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). (emphasis added) B.”
— 773.01(1) — 2 cases
Germer v. Churchill Downs Mgmt., Etc., 201 So. 3d 721 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). “§ 773.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). (emphasis added) B.”
Germer v. Churchill Downs Mgmt., Etc. (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). “§ 773.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). (emphasis added) B.”
— 773.01(4) — 1 case
McGraw v. R & R Investments, Ltd., 877 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). “" § 773.01(4), Fla. Stat. (2002). [2] Defined in part as an amateur or a professional who engages in an equine activity.”
— 773.01(6) — 4 cases
McNichol v. South Florida Trotting Ctr., Inc., 44 So. 3d 253 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). “§ 773.01(6), Fla. Stat. (2004). The facts of this case uniquely satisfy all but one of the inherent risks identified in the statute.”
Raveson v. Walt Disney World Co., 793 So. 2d 1171 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). “See Fla. Stat. § 773.01 (5), (6), & (7) (1997).”
Dilallo v. Riding Safely, Inc., 687 So. 2d 353 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). “Bar-B moved for summary judgment, asserting, inter alia, that it was immunized from liability by section 773.01 et seq., Florida Statutes (1993), relating to equine activities, and that Cara had expressly assumed the risk of injury and consented to same by signing the release…”
McGraw v. R & R Investments, Ltd., 877 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). “" § 773.01(4), Fla. Stat. (2002). [2] Defined in part as an amateur or a professional who engages in an equine activity.”
— 773.01(6)(a) — 1 case
McGraw v. R & R Investments, Ltd., 877 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). “" § 773.01(4), Fla. Stat. (2002). [2] Defined in part as an amateur or a professional who engages in an equine activity.”
— 773.01(7) — 3 cases
McGraw v. R & R Investments, Ltd., 877 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). “" § 773.01(4), Fla. Stat. (2002). [2] Defined in part as an amateur or a professional who engages in an equine activity.”
Germer v. Churchill Downs Mgmt., Etc. (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). “§ 773.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). (emphasis added) B.”
Germer v. Churchill Downs Mgmt., Etc., 201 So. 3d 721 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). “§ 773.01(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). (emphasis added) B.”
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