Australian Equestrian Lighting Standard

Sonaray Australia was on the Australian Standards Committee that developed the Australian Sports Lighting standards to include Equestrian Lighting. This development was fully supported by Equestrian Australia.

It’s been two years since Australian Standards included an official equestrian lighting standard (AS2560.2.2021), elevating the sport to align with international benchmarks.

Recognising the need for comprehensive illumination that goes beyond conventional lighting, new equestrian lighting standards emphasise the reduction of shadows and the mitigation of glare. These guidelines not only reflect a commitment to modernity but also signify a dedication to the well-being of the participants.

AS 2560.2.2021

The sport of equestrian is unique in that there are two different species of participants the horse and the rider.

A horse’s visual system differs from humans in several important ways Having evolved under natural daylight, unnatural shadows can be a critical problem for horses Lighting uniformity, glare control and unidirectional shadows are vital to a horse’s safety The main objectives for equestrian lighting are

The lighting equipment and aiming scheme should be chosen to simulate a mostly sunny sky, horses tend to have better vision under such conditions as opposed to bright sunny (cloudless) skies
Shadows should mimic the presence of the sun being consistent and unidirectional. Many luminaires with cross aiming will create multiple shadows and should be avoided In principle the lighting should be ‘ keeping shadows to a minimum similar to mildly overcast conditions This is especially critical at jumps
Horses have a slowly opening iris (two times that of humans) Rapid changes in brightness are problematic High horizontal uniformity is important because quickly moving from light to dark or vice versa can temporarily blind the horse and make it difficult for the horse to judge what is in front

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