Are you a rider with a sponsor who wants to put their logo onto your competition gear or do you want to put your own logo on your kit to increase brand awareness?

If so, before getting your kit made up, it is important to know the rules regarding logo placement for affiliated competitions.

British Eventing, British Dressage and British Showjumping all have rules governing the size and placement of logos and it is important to understand these in order to ensure your competition kit is legal.  

Saddlecloths:  

For saddle cloths, the rules are the same across all three bodies, the logo must not exceed 200 sq cm in size, which is approximately 14cm x 14cm for a square logo - as you can see from the NAF saddlecloths below, it is generous enough.  However for non FEI competitions, there are now no restrictions for logo size on saddlecloths for the Cross Country phase in British Eventing, so your logo can be as large as you dare!

When the national flag is displayed on the saddlecloth, the sponsors logo may be displayed above it on both sides unless there is a Team sponsor, then the logo can be on the off side only.  It is important to remember that both the logo and the national flag count as the maximum size, so both together must not exceed 200 sq cm.

Logos on competitors clothing:

The rules on sizing and positioning of logos are strict and vary slightly between disciplines for British Eventing the following is permitted:

In the dressage phase:

You can wear your sponsor’s logo on both sides of a shirt collar — the logo can’t be larger than 16 square cm. You can also wear the logo on each side of your jacket at breast pocket height — these can’t be any larger than 80 square cm.

In the showjumping phase:

The same rules apply in the showjumping as with dressage, but you can also wear your sponsor’s logo vertically in the middle of your headgear — this mustn’t be longer than 25cm or wider than 5cm. You can also wear your sponsor’s logo on the left leg of your riding breeches — this must not be longer than 20cm or wider than 4cm.

In the cross-country phase:

Since the recent rule change, no restrictions apply to the cross-country phase for non FEI competitions, for FEI competitions, the same rules as for the show jumping phase still apply.
British Eventing also require the sponsor to purchase  BE’s supporter company membership. Prices start at £25 and this will mean that a company can sponsor a rider or horse they don’t own and have their logo on their equipment.

It is best to use an embroidery company who understand the rules and are prepared to double check with the governing body of your chosen discipline.