Ride Safe bracelets are one of the many options you can choose!
Without further ado, here’s our best attempt to answer the top three burning questions we received in regards to EV113.3, the new USEF rule that as of April 1 will allow eventers to wear medical bracelets in lieu of medical armbands at competitions. As a refresher, here’s the text of the rule again:
“EV113.3 MEDICAL CARDS/MEDICAL BRACELETS. An approved and completed medical card or medical bracelet is required any time while jumping. Medical cards must be enclosed in a transparent, waterproof carrier. Medical cards must be securely attached to the competitor’s upper arm on the outside of the competitor’s clothing. Medical bracelets must be visible on the competitor’s wrist. Medical cards must include any relevant medical history, injury (particularly to the head), drug allergies and current medication. If wearing a medical bracelet, any relevant medical history injury (particularly to the head), drug allergies and current medication must be included in the online medical form of the bracelet’s vendor website. Athletes are responsible to record all injuries on the card or in the case of a medical bracelet, update their medical information online. Failure to wear one’s own medical card or bracelet shall be penalized by a fine of $100 (payable to the Organizing Committee).”
1. Which brands of bracelets are legal?
Shealagh Costello, USEF’s director of Eventing National Programs and resident rule guru for all things eventing, clarified that “all medical bracelets which meet the criteria prescribed in EV113.1 are considered acceptable.” Note that the rule states “any relevant medical history injury (particularly to the head), drug allergies and current medication must be included in the online medical form of the bracelet’s vendor website.”
That means in order to be legal, your bracelet must be linked to an online medical form AND display the necessary information for emergency personnel to access that form.
For example, RoadID offers two versions of its medical ID bracelets: original and interactive. The original gives you six lines to personalize with your information, but it does not connect to RoadID’s online medical database. The interactive gives you two lines to personalize with information, with the remaining four lines providing instructions on how medical personnel can access the rest online.
NOT legal — Does not provide a way for medical personnel to access your information online
The original version of a RoadID bracelet (shown above as an example) is NOT legal, as it does not connect to the online medical database. But the interactive version (shown below) IS legal, as it provides a web URL for medical personnel to access your information online.
LEGAL — provides a way for medical personnel to access your history online
Here’s a quick list of medical bracelets I’ve found so far that meet the online access criteria in the rule:
Ride Safe ($35 per bracelet, $3 annual fee for online access)
RoadID (interactive version only, bracelet prices range from $17.99-$29.99, $9.99 annual charge for online database)
Medical Alert ($30-55 annual membership for online service, includes free basic ID)
American Medical ID (huge range of bracelet options, one-time $20 fee to activate online access)
TaggCode (scanned via QR code, prices start at $24.99, $5/month membership)
As you can see, it’s not a terribly long list so far, as many bracelets don’t offer the online medical form service. But I’m sure there are many more options out there. Have you found another brand of bracelet that meets the criteria in the rule? Post it in the comments below, and I’ll update the list.
2. What information must be displayed on the bracelets?
Shealagh clarified: “Per EV113.1, there is no requirement to display information ‘on’ the bracelet. The rule states: … ‘If wearing a medical bracelet, any relevant medical history injury (particularly to the head) drug allergies and current medication must be included in the online medical form of the bracelet’s vendor website.'”
So aside from a way for first responders to access your medical history online — which is required in the rule — you can legally put whatever you want on the bracelet. For example, I put my full name, year of birth, emergency contact and NKDA (no known drug allergies) on the first two lines of my RoadID bracelet. The remaining three lines contain the contact information for emergency personnel.
There are numerous medical abbreviations you can list on your bracelet. Click here for a good list to get you started. While the rule does not require you to list any abbreviations explaining your medical history — as your online medical form is meant to contain that information — it’s still a good idea to consider, especially if you have a medical condition.
If you’re like me and don’t have any sort of serious medical history, you can have some fun with what you engrave on your bracelet. EN reader Tiffany Wandy sent in a list of inspirational messages for eventers to consider engraving on their bracelets. Here are some of our favorites she suggested:
- Keep calm and half halt
- Keep calm and ride on
- Keep calm and canter on
- Nothing less than blue
- Equestrians do it better
- Live. Love. Ride.
And, of course, I have to add “Insanity in the middle” to that list.
My RoadID bracelet with the custom “Kick On” badge. Please feel free to text my husband ridiculous things like “The chinchillas are coming!”
RoadID also has a fun option that let’s you add customized badges to your bracelet for an additional $5.99. I ordered one that says “Kick On” for my bracelet. I also emailed the customer service department requesting a “Go Eventing” badge and received a very nice email response back, so fingers crossed RoadID considers adding it!
Here’s Shealagh’s answer: “At this time, there is no provision in the FEI Eventing Rules for the use of medical bracelets, and we are not aware of any consideration of such a provision by the FEI.”
So don’t chuck your medical armband just yet. If you’re currently competing in FEI competitions or expect to at some point in the future, you’ll still need to wear your medical armband.
What other questions do you still have, EN? Post in the comments below or email [email protected]. Disclaimer: This is our best effort to provide clarification. If you have additional questions, please consider reaching out to your TD directly or contacting the USEA and USEF .
Go Eventing.
Update 3:15 p.m. EST: I just spoke to the USEF again for further clarification. The rule is now being passed off to the USEF’s legal team overnight for additional interpretation. I will provide additional answers just as soon as I can. Many thanks to the USEF for being super awesome and helpful!
Update 2:15 p.m. EST March 18: The USEF just sent the following clarification, which confirms that at this time ONLY bracelets that connect to an online medical form are legal.
Presently use of medical bracelets which do not provide access to the information required per EV113.3 on a vendor website are not permissible; only because the current language of the rule requires that the information be stored online. Any member of the USEF may submit a rule change to this effect. Following is a link to the USEF Rule Change Proposal form: http://prc.usef.org/propose.
