Terms of Service

When you read words that refer to the names of our website, “us”, “our” or “we”, it means Dressage Institute, Position Institute (ABN: 612 657 637).

When you read the words “you”, “user” or “your” it means you, a potential or subscribed member or customer of ours who has been granted access to our members (paid) area on our website.

Our website means the membership site dressageinstitute.com.

Where it is used in these terms and conditions, the term ‘membership services’ means products, programs or subscription style offerings we offer for sale on our website or we offer for sale elsewhere however provide access via our website. This might include for example, subscription access to our program Dressage Institute.

When you use our membership services, you are agreeing to be automatically bound by these membership terms and conditions as well as our standard terms of use and Privacy Policy.

We encourage you to carefully read and understand these terms and conditions before subscribing, purchasing products or using any of our services. If you don’t agree, your remedy is to stop using our membership services.

‘You’ or ‘Your’ means you as a participant in or as a user of the website. ‘We’ or ‘Our’ or ‘Us’ means Dressage Institute, Position Institute. ‘Our site’ or ‘sites’ means dressageinstitute.com.

This Privacy Policy governs your access and use of the website, including any content, functionality and services offered on or through either website (the “website”), whether as a guest or a registered user.

When accessing the Website, the Company will learn certain information about you, both automatically and through voluntary actions you may take, during your visit. This policy applies to information we collect on the Website and in email, text or other electronic messages between you and the Website.

Please read the Privacy Policy carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website or by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by the Privacy Policy. If you do not want to agree to the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website.

UPDATES

We may update our terms and conditions from time to time and the new provisions will apply from the date they are updated by notice on our website.

FEEDBACK, COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS

If you have any questions, please contact us via [email protected] and we will usually respond to all enquiries within five business days. We welcome the opportunity to talk with you and address any concerns.

NO UNLAWFUL OR PROHIBITED USE

As a condition of your use of our membership services, you warrant that you will not use our membership services:

• for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and conditions;
• in a manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair our membership services or cause harm to our business; or
• in a manner that could interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of our membership services or in a manner that is disrespectful to others.

You expressly agree not to:

• hack into areas of our membership services that are not intentionally made available to you;
• add malicious code to our membership services which may affect us or visitors to our membership services;
• use the website as a lead generation tool for the benefit of your own business, or to manufacture lists or contacts in order to help your own business;
• engage in any internal or external spamming, or other similar actions;
• engage in any unlawful or immoral acts, or acts which are in violation of these terms and conditions;
• decompile, reverse engineer, or try to copy or imitate our membership services or underlying content.

CREATING YOUR ACCOUNT

You must create an account to purchase a product or become a subscriber to our membership program. You must be over 18 years old to create an account and use our services. If you are the parent or guardian of a minor who wishes to access our services, you must set up the account on their behalf, supervise all use they make of our services and supervise any access they make of our social media or other platforms.

When creating an account, you agree:

• to abide by our social media rules of engagement (these can be found at the end of these terms and pinned on our social media pages (where possible);
• to provide true and correct details when you set up your account;
• to keep your username and password secure and confidential and not to share your access with anyone else;
• to accept electronic communications from us (you may unsubscribe from these at any time);
• to keep your contact details up to date;
• not to defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy) of others, including Alicia Dickinson, other members and our staff;
• to make any payments due associated with your account when they are due; and
• to contact us if you believe that your account may be subject to an unauthorised transaction, account takeover or other type of fraudulent activity or security breach.

We reserve the right to suspend, terminate or disable your account if we believe that you are in breach of any of these terms and conditions.

You may use your account on more than one device however we use IP address tracking software that tracks the IP address of every device that accesses our paid content and the email address associated with all active accounts. If we suspect you have shared your log-in details and, as a result of our investigation, we reasonably determine you are in breach of these terms, without limiting any other rights we may have, we reserve the right to close your account with no refund of membership payments, and prohibit you from opening a new account.

PURCHASING PRODUCTS OR SUBSCRIBING AS A MEMBER

We use third party payment platforms PayPal and Stripe as our payment platforms. We do not directly receive or store your credit card or other financial information. Unless otherwise stated, amounts shown on our website are in USD (American dollars).

You may purchase physical products that are listed as available for purchase on our website using the shopping cart. These will be shipped to you and you will be charged the relevant shipping in addition to the amounts shown on the website.

You can purchase access to digital products from our website.

When you join any of our programs with lifetime access on a payment plan, you are agreeing to pay for the program in full. The first payment will give you access to the entire program in full, unless the program is being released weekly/monthly.

There are also some products that are available as membership access to you via the website. Subscribing to the membership programs gives you access to the program content only while you are a current subscriber. Once your subscription ends, you will no longer have access to the content.

As a summary of digital offerings:

Digital Subscription Programs (Lifetime Access)

Digital Products with Lifetime Access	Number of Parts in the Program
Position Institute	7

Digital Membership Programs (Subscription Only Access)

Digital Products with Subscription Only Access	Number of Parts in the Program
Dressage Institute (Annual/Monthly Subscription Only Access)	NA

PAYMENTS AND REFUNDS FOR MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS

To obtain a refund, you must contact us in writing within the money-back guarantee and tell us what the problem is. For example, if you purchase a product on 4 June and it has a 30 day money-back guarantee period, you must contact us in writing on or before 4 July setting out your reasons in order to use the money-back guarantee. If you contact us on 5 July or fail to tell us what the problem is, it will be too late.

We will not refund your money, however, if you have just changed your mind about purchasing the item or your circumstances have changed. We strictly enforce our policy.

For money-back offers – for example receiving 30 days access to Dressage Institute under a money-back offer – after this time you will be charged at the full rate per month unless you tell us to stop. We also offer the guarantee that if you do not see results in the program after 30 days, we will not only refund your initial investment in the Dressage Institute, but give you an additional $50 USD. In order to claim the money-back guarantee, you must prove to the Dressage Institute team that you have used the program during the 30 days – logged into the membership site, participated in live coaching sessions (10 hours), worked through the membership (25 hours of videos and completed the corresponding manuals). Dressage Institute will use their discretion as to what qualifies as adequate usage of the membership. There is no money back gaurentee for Backstage Pass: Diary of Two Grand Prix Riders.

Refunds will not be given on change-of-mind purchases, however you can cancel subscriptions at any time and cease further payments if you contact us before your payment is due to be charged.

After any money-back guarantee period has expired, we do not offer refunds for membership subscriptions or online programs whether you have chosen to use the services provided or not.

All cancellations of subscriptions will need to be initiated via emailing the Dressage Institute Support Team at [email protected]. No other methods of contact will be accepted as a way of starting the process for canceling your membership. Refunds will not be given on subscriptions if you fail to cancel before your membership renewal has been charged. Once you have requested to cancel via the membership website, one of our team members will be in contact to guide you through the process. Please note cancellation of your subscription is not complete until the team have been in contact with you and had any questions answered as part of the cancellation process. For Backstage Pass: Diary of Two Grand Prix Riders any cancellation of sponsorship investment rates will result in only being able to rejoin the program at the full monthly investment rate of $499USD per month. The Backstage Pass: Diary of Two Grand Prix Riders membership can be paused for one month increments twice in a 12 month calendar year.

You agree to pay any applicable surcharges we incur based on your method of payment, including dishonour fees if applicable (for example if you subscribe to a service with a monthly fee and a dishonour fee is charged to us for an attempted payment).

Interest will be charged on any overdue payment, accruing daily from the date when payment becomes due, until the date of payment, at a rate of 8% per annum (compounding monthly).

You agree to pay any costs and disbursements incurred by us in pursuing any outstanding debt (including legal costs on a solicitor and own client basis and collection agency costs).

For physical products, we generally do not offer refunds or returns for change of mind or incorrect sizing, so please choose carefully. We are also not responsible for damage caused to goods in transit. We carefully check items for damage prior to sending and take no responsibility for the item once it has been shipped.

PAYMENTS AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR LIVE EVENTS

Live events refer to and include events such as World Tour Dressage Clinics and Dressage Immersion Seminars.

For in person live events, when you sign up either by paying in full or via a payment plan, please note that by submitting the form and making payment, you are committing to paying in full for the live event.

Due to the nature of these live events, with fixed costs for flights, facilities and catering that are booked in advance, no refunds will be given if you are unable to attend the live event for any reason. We strictly enforce this policy.

If you are unable to attend, you may give someone else your place in the live event – please note that you will be responsible for finding a replacement, and you will need to let us know in writing the details of the replacement by emailing [email protected] as soon as possible.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR HANDLING/RIDING HORSES FOR LESSONS/EVENTS

You acknowledge the risks of injury or damage (to property, personal injury and/or death) involved in participating in horseback riding and/or horse handling. You freely assume all risks, even if arising from the negligence of Dressage Institute and/or the event organizer/official.

You understand that horses are unpredictable and that there is a risk in riding live animals and acknowledge that your participation in this activity is purely voluntary. You assume full responsibility for any bodily injury, accident, illness, paralysis, death, loss of personal property and expenses thereof as a result of any accident to yourself which may occur while you participate in any activity that involves horses. This includes just being present at the property where the lessons are held as a spectator or auditor.

You understand and acknowledge that you are in control of your body and your health. You have advised the Dressage Institute and the appropriate staff members of any information that may be important in determining your ability to ride a horse. You advise that you are in good health and therefore able to undertake the activity of riding a horse. Please note that if you are pregnant you will need to advise Dressage Institute staff as we do not allow lessons or work with horses while you are pregnant.

You can verify that you have advised the Dressage Institute and the appropriate staff members of any mental or physical impairments which may impact on your ability to take instructions or ride a horse, and understand that anything caused as a result of these impairments will be taken at your own risk, and that should you not disclose these impairments before your lesson/ride and damage occurs on Dressage Institute property, horses or staff as a result may result in legal action being taken.

You understand that the Dressage Institute invites all riders of all experience to participate in lessons on their schoolmasters without discrimination. However, in the interest of looking after the health of our horses to the best of our ability, you understand that weight limits will apply – pony lessons will have a rider weight limit of 60kg, other horses have a rider weight limit of 100kg.

In the event that mirrors, sprinkler systems or walls are broken or damaged if by accident or on purpose, the rider must take full responsibility and pay for any/all replacements/fixture fees.

You further agree to abide by all safety instructions, and to wear the current safety approved helmet and appropriate riding boots while you am participating in the activity that involves mounting or riding a horse. You hereby release, acquit and forgive Dressage Institute and any employees, clients and volunteers (“Releases”) from any and all liability of any nature for any and all injury or damage (including property damage, personal injury, illness, paralysis and/or death) to you as the result of your participation in any activity that involves interacting with horses, including those owned by Dressage Institute.

Riders are expected to bring your own helmet and appropriate riding boots – please note Dressage Institute does not have spare gear for you to use if you forget to bring your own, and you will not be allowed to participate without the appropriate gear. If you forget to bring or do not have the appropriate riding gear when you turn up for your lesson, you will not be allowed to ride and no refund will be given for your lesson.

You also hereby expressly waive any claim, lawsuit, complaint, charge, or cause of action against the Dressage Institute, any instructors or coaches and any employees, clients and volunteers for any and all injury or damage including property damage, personal injury, illness, paralysis and/or death, to you as a result of your participation in riding or horse handling while participating in or observing a lesson.

You agree to follow the directions of any organiser or official and that any misconduct or refusal by you to follow any direction of any organiser, official or Dressage Institute staff can result in the cancellation of your participation in the lesson and my immediate removal from your horse no matter where that may occur. You further agree to abide by the Rules and Conditions of the facility. You understand that any such non-compliance may result in injury, death and/or permanent disability and you agree to indemnify the Dressage Institute against all claims made by any person as a result of your failure to comply.

Our professional team prioritizes you, our team and our horses safety and well-being, while we boost your skills or broaden your learning.

While we acknowledge the importance of modern technology in our daily lives, we encourage our visitors to let go of distractions during their time with us and fully immerse themselves in the moment. We request that phones, cameras, and social media be left aside during the entirety of your visit.

We understand that practical learning can be unpredictable and stressful at times, especially when it comes to horse riding. However, we urge you to embrace both the highs and lows as part of the journey. Instead of judging or blaming, we focus on respecting and trusting each other, which is what makes our experience exceptional.

DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

We make no warranties or representations about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness or accuracy of anything contained in our membership services or content on our website for any purpose. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, anything contained in our membership services or on our website is provided “as is” without warranty or condition of any kind.

You use our website, use of our services and your application of any information we provide are completely at your own risk and we are not responsible for any direct or indirect loss, damage or issues you may suffer by using our website, services or any information contained in them or by not being able to access our website or services.

Training sessions, information about technical elements and knowledge shared via the website or services are for information purposes only and are not to be relied on as accurate or professional, medical or veterinarian advice. The information is not customised and is general only. You must use your own common sense and judgment when applying any information and always stay within your own limitations and that of your horse (where applicable). All horse related activities encompass risk. Before relying on any information we provide, you must assess the suitability of the information for your particular circumstance and obtain appropriate professional or independent advice relevant to your circumstances. This may include engaging an in-person trainer to assess your situation.

Where we discuss physical exercises for you and/or your horse, you must ensure they are suitable and within your respective limitations. No exercise or drills should be completed where either you or your horse have an underlying or pre-existing injury without medical or veterinarian clearance. We are not responsible for harm you or your horse suffer if you push too hard or attempt components beyond your skills.

In no circumstances will we be responsible for injury, loss or damage to you, your horse or any third party.

Where warranties are implied by law, our liability will be limited in respect of any claim to, at our option, supplying the services again, or promptly remedying the fault in the service.

You agree that our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to your use of our membership services and/or website is limited to the amount actually received by us from you in the 3 months immediately prior to the date of the claim(s), even if that amount was zero.
This disclaimer applies to the fullest extent permitted by law and survives any termination or expiration of this agreement or your use of our membership services.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT

Content in our closed Facebook group or other social media platforms may be contributed by third parties. The person contributing that content is responsible for what they have provided. If you have any concerns about that content, you should contact the author directly. Views and opinions of third parties are not necessarily shared by us. We may at our discretion moderate our social media platforms, however we are not obliged to do so.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

We own, or have permission to use, the intellectual property rights in the content of the website and our services. You may not use, copy, display, distribute, modify, translate, reformat, incorporate into advertisements and other works, promote, create derivative works, or in any way exploit or allow others to exploit any of our website, program or services content in whole or in part except as expressly authorised by us. You may not use our logos or trademarks without permission. Please contact [email protected] if you require permission to reproduce any of the contents of our website or other materials.

Images and item descriptions posted on this website by third parties are the responsibility of those third parties and may be subject to copyright. You must seek permission from the third party before using any of their content.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Any example companies, organizations, products, people and events depicted on our website or elsewhere are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person, or event is intended or should be inferred.

Permission: You may access, download, or print material from the website, program or services for your personal use only. Sharing without prior permission is expressly prohibited. You are not permitted to use our copyright material for commercial profit of any sort. This means you cannot resell, package or otherwise share our services or copyright material without our express written permission. You agree not to change or delete any copyright or proprietary notice from materials downloaded from our website or any materials.

Except as otherwise expressly granted to you in writing, we do not grant you any other express or implied right or license to use our website, program or services content or our intellectual property.

INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and defend us from any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including without limitation court costs, collection costs, and reasonable legal fees) related to:

• your unauthorised use of our membership services, or products or services included or advertised on our membership services; or
• your breach of these terms and conditions.

TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION

If you have purchased a product with an on-going monthly fee, you will have access to our membership benefits and new monthly content (where this applies) only for the duration of your subscription. You may end your subscription prior to the automatic renewal at the end of each subscription period by contacting us at [email protected]. Please ensure you allow at least 2 business days prior to the automatic renewal or you may be charged for the next month.

We may end your subscription without refund by giving you at least 2 weeks’ notice prior to the end of your current subscription that we intend to end your subscription. You will continue to have access to our services until the end of your current, paid subscription period.

If you have purchased a program (or modules within a program) with lifetime access, we aim to offer lifetime access. As at the date of these terms and conditions we believe we can do this. You acknowledge that circumstances may change in the future where our online services are discontinued or access to particular content is no longer available. As most participants can utilise the resources within 12 months, if we decide to discontinue our services or any specific content, we will provide at least 12 months’ notice that the service or content is coming to an end before disabling access.

APPLICABLE LAW

This agreement is governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. You agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland if there was a serious dispute between us without reference to conflict of laws provisions.

You may provide notice to us by email at [email protected]. We may provide notice to you via email or other electronic means.

Use of our membership services is not authorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these terms of use, including without limitation this paragraph. If you are resident in a jurisdiction where the use of our membership services is unauthorized, it is your responsibility to stop using our membership services.

RELATIONSHIP

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between us as a result of this agreement or use of our membership services.

Our performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process. Nothing contained in these terms can be used to inhibit our right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of our membership services, or with regard to information provided to us, or gathered by us, about your use of our membership services.

VALIDITY

If any part of these terms and conditions is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed replaced by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision, and the remainder of the terms and conditions will continue in effect.

SOCIAL MEDIA RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Our goal is for people to feel safe and included when using our social media platforms. We have a varied community that includes riders and users from multiple countries, those that are just starting out, riders competing at FEI level and everyone in between. Riders of all levels are welcome here.

If you use any of our social media platforms, you agree, as a condition of use, to:

• Not to post or distribute any inappropriate, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or unlawful topic, whether included in your username or in any material or information.
• Not to post inappropriately negative, rude or attacking comments. Don’t be a jerk or make others feel they are not valued.
  Keep your posts on topic.
• Not use ‘pitching’ or lead generation. We have a strict ‘no shopping for customers policy’. This means you may not sell products or services, direct users to blogs, websites or affiliate products or ask members to join other Facebook groups or communities. This applies both as direct posts and private messages. Please view the group as your peers, not your leads.
• If you need a feed-back or review, you will post the direct PDF, document or screenshot. You may not require users to opt-in to be able to view your content.
• You will respect the privacy of others. Content gathered from our social media platforms cannot be collected, repackaged or shared outside the group. Every member of our communities has the right to privacy and to feel safe that their questions, answers and shared experiences remain privy to group members only. This includes information shared by Alicia Dickinson.

We do not endorse any products or services of third parties.

If you partner with another member of our community, we are not responsible for their actions. Do not assume that everyone is trustworthy, make sure you do your own due diligence.

As our communities are large, if you see posts you believe are questionable, please report them to us by email at [email protected] or you can reach out to our community manager directly by private message. We may at our discretion moderate our social media platforms, however we are not obliged to do so.

If we find users breaking our rules and we consider the offence to be serious, we reserve the right to permanently exclude them from our community, including immediately terminating any paid membership they hold. We may also contact the authorities and share the posted content and corresponding user personal information with the authorities if we are concerned about the safety of any person or threat to our business.

If we consider the rule breaches to be less serious, we will:

• Provide a warning that a user has breached the rules.
• If a user receives 3 warnings (for the same or different breaches), they will receive a 7 day suspension from access to the group.
• After the 7 day suspension, the user may re-join the group on a 30 day probation period.
• If a further breach of the rules happens during the probation period, the user will be permanently removed from our community, including immediately terminating any paid membership they hold.

While me may enforce this policy against a user, we are not obliged to do so.