JOCKEY

Two Standards have been developed for testing jockey vests - the BETA Standard or the SATRA Standard.

BETA
The BETA Standard was issued by the British Equestrian Trade Association in 1991. The test uses the techniques of BS 7188:1989 with some modifications. This Standard was designed for playground surfacing and the test method seeks to measure the shock or energy absorbing properties of a surface.

In this test an instrumented missile of hemispherical shape (diameter 215 mm) and mass 5.9 kg is dropped onto the vest placed on a concrete slab. A "critical" fall height, H, is determined, being that height at which the missile experiences a maximum deceleration of 200 G, G being acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s/s) . The shock absorbance rating is then defined as being 10H.

Specification: The body protector shall have a minimum shock absorbance rating of 5.

SATRA
The SATRA Standard uses similar impact testing technology. In this case a missile is dropped onto a vest placed on an anvil. The maximum peak force developed by the impact as measured under the anvil is accepted as an indication of the severity of the impact. Different shaped missiles and anvils are use to simulate the different situations that could be presented to a jockey.

Specifications: the average peak transmitted force shall not exceed 4.0 kN no peak force shall exceed 6.0 kN

Testing Service
The Laboratory offers testing to the specification of the SATRA Test.