Disputes, Objections & Appeals
Any person wishing to make an Objection (other than an Objection made under Regulation 82) must submit their Objection in writing in full to the PRA clearly stating the reason for their Objection and their evidence. This must be accompanied by a £150 deposit, payable to the PRA, which will be refunded if the complaint is upheld. Complaints received in any other way will not be investigated by the PRA.
Any Objection arising out of an occurrence during a Pony Race must be lodged in writing on the day to the PRA Steward or Organisers with a £50 deposit clearly stating by whom the objection is made and signed by them, detailing when the event took place and the reason for the objection being placed.
(ii) An Objection cannot be withdrawn once lodged.
Any objection made under Regulation 87(i) shall be dealt with wherever possible on the day by the Stewards and/or Official representative in attendance and where necessary referred to the PRA Board.
Any Owner or Rider of a Pony in a race the subject of an objection shall be entitled to appeal to the PRA Board once the outcome of the objection has been announced.
The appellant shall lodge a Notice of Appeal with the PRA Board within seven days. On all occasions when an Appeal is lodged a deposit must be made at the same time of £250. Such deposit shall be returned in the event that the appeal is upheld.
(i) The Notice of Appeal must be signed by the appellant and state the grounds of appeal.
(ii) In the event of an appeal by submission of written evidence the appellant must within seven days of the Notice of Appeal being lodged submit to the PRA such written evidence and representation as they wish to be considered. The Executive Members of The PRA may request the Stewards and Officials whose decision is subject to appeal to submit written evidence and representation as they wish to be considered. The PRA Board at its sole discretion may request that the PRA provides a writtem response to appelant's submission of written evidence. All questions concerning the admissibility of evidence shall be for the PRA Board to determined at its discretion and the PRA Board shall not be bound by any enactment or rule of law relating to the admissibility of evidence before a court of law or statutory tribunal. The applicable burden of proof shall be the civil standard.
(iii)The Appeal shall be considered by The PRA Board and the appellant may or may not be required to be present.
In the event that the PRA Board has fined, suspended or disqualified an individual(s) the individual(s) has the right to Appeal the PRA Board's decision in writing detailing their reasons in full within seven days of the penalty being issued. This must be accompanied by a deposit of £500 which will be refunded if the Appeal is upheld. The Appeal Panel shall consist of three people, including one member of the PRA Board (who for the avoidance of doubt will be a designated Appeal Panel Steward and who will not have sat or otherwise have been involved in the decision of the PRA Board being appealed), and be chaired by an independent person. The Appeal Panel will be notifed within 10 working days that an Appeal to the PRA Board has been lodged and the independent Chairman shall then conduct their Enquiry into the matter with their Panel members at their discretion and within a timescale reasonable to themselves. The outcome of the Appeal Panel shall be notified to the PRA Board in writing and the Appelant notified of the findings in writing by the PRA within four working days. The matters relating to the admissibility of evidence and applicable burden of proof set out in paragraph 92 above shall apply to Appeals heard under this paragraph.