IGNITE Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 22, 2026
1. Who We Are and What This Policy Covers
This Privacy Policy explains how Equine High Performance Sports Group, doing business as IGNITE for equine athletes ("IGNITE," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, shares, and protects personal data when you visit igniteforequineathletes.com (the "Site"), create a Starter, Student, or Professional membership, register for live or online events, watch on-demand content, make a donation, subscribe to our communications, or otherwise interact with us (together, the "Services").
IGNITE is the data controller for personal data processed through the Services, as that term is used in the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") and the UK GDPR. Our contact details are:
Equine High Performance Sports Group (DBA IGNITE for equine athletes)
General support: nicole@igniteforequineathletes.com
Privacy requests: joop@igniteforequineathletes.com
This Policy does not cover clinical research programs (such as the Equine Clinicians Registry) that are governed by their own participant agreements and consent forms, or third-party websites we link to. Please read this Policy together with our Terms and Conditions.
2. Personal Data We Collect
We collect only the data we need to run the Services. The categories are:
Account and identity: Name, email address, password (stored in hashed form by our membership provider), and membership tier. Source: you.
Professional profile: Profession or role (for example veterinarian, physical therapist, farrier, trainer, owner, student), practice or organization, credentials, license or certification numbers needed for continuing education (CE) reporting, discipline, and areas of interest. Source: you.
Student verification: School, program, expected graduation date, and proof of student status. Source: you.
Payment and billing: Billing name and address, last four digits and type of card, and transaction history. Full card numbers are collected and stored by Stripe, not by IGNITE. Source: you and Stripe.
Event registration: Events attended, ticket type, dietary or accessibility needs you choose to share, and emergency contact (in-person events). Source: you.
Content and engagement: Videos viewed, viewing progress, pages visited, course completions, and CE certificates issued. Source: collected automatically by our membership and video providers.
Communications: Emails, survey responses, contact form submissions, newsletter preferences, and whether you open or click our emails. Source: you and our email provider.
Device and usage: IP address, browser and device type, approximate location derived from IP, referring URL, and cookie identifiers. Source: collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies.
Donations: Donation amount, date, and any dedication or message you provide. Source: you and our payment processor.
Images and recordings: Photos, audio, and video captured at live or online events where you appear or participate. Source: event recordings.
Special category data. We do not ask for health data, racial or ethnic origin, or other special category data under GDPR Article 9. Please do not send it to us. If you voluntarily share accessibility or dietary needs for an event, we use that information only to accommodate you, based on your explicit consent, and delete it after the event.
Animal and case information. Information about horses or other animal patients shared in discussions or submissions is generally not personal data. If it identifies an owner or client, please remove identifying details before sharing it.
3. How We Use Personal Data and Our Lawful Bases
We use personal data only for the purposes below. For visitors and members in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, each purpose relies on a lawful basis under GDPR Article 6.
Create and manage your membership account, grant access to content, and provide customer support. Lawful basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Process membership fees, event registrations, renewals, and refunds. Lawful basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Verify student eligibility and the four-year student membership limit. Lawful basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Issue CE certificates and report attendance to accrediting bodies such as RACE when you request credit. Lawful basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) and legal obligation where applicable (Art. 6(1)(c)).
Send service messages (receipts, renewal reminders, access changes, policy updates). Lawful basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Send newsletters, event announcements, and upgrade offers. Lawful basis: consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) for EEA and UK users; legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) for existing members elsewhere, with an opt-out in every email.
Measure which content members watch, recommend relevant content, and improve the library and Site. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) in improving our educational programs.
Analytics and advertising cookies. Lawful basis: consent (Art. 6(1)(a)).
Run surveys and gather feedback. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)), or consent where required.
Record and publish event sessions in which you appear. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) in sharing educational content, or consent where required.
Acknowledge donations and keep donor records. Lawful basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) and legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)).
Prevent fraud, spam, and abuse, and secure the Services. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Keep financial and tax records, respond to lawful requests, and enforce our Terms. Lawful basis: legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) and legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced our interests against your rights. You may object at any time (see Section 7). Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting processing that took place before withdrawal.
Automated decisions. We do not make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you based solely on automated processing. Content recommendations are suggestions only.
We do not sell your personal data and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising in exchange for money.
4. Service Providers and Integrations
We use trusted third-party providers to host the Site, run memberships, take payments, and connect our tools. They act as our processors (or, for payment processing, sometimes as independent controllers) and may use your data only to provide services to us under written terms, including GDPR Article 28 data processing terms where applicable. The providers we currently use include, but are not limited to:
Squarespace: Hosts the Site, member areas, forms, commerce, and on-site video. Data involved: account, usage, device, form, and order data. Privacy policy
MemberSpace: Manages member accounts, logins, plans, access to content, and event registrations. Data involved: account, profile, plan, billing status, and engagement data. Privacy policy
Stripe: Processes card payments, subscriptions, renewals, and refunds. Data involved: payment card details, billing data, transaction records, and fraud signals. Privacy policy
Zapier: Moves data between our tools (for example, adding a new member to our email list or records). Data involved: name, email, plan, and registration details passed between connected apps. Privacy policy
Mailchimp (Intuit): Sends newsletters and member emails and measures opens and clicks. Data involved: name, email, interests, and email engagement. Privacy policy
Vimeo: Hosts and streams on-demand video content. Data involved: viewing activity, device, and IP data. Privacy policy
Google Analytics: Measures Site traffic and usage (only with consent where required). Data involved: cookie identifiers and pseudonymized usage and device data. Privacy policy
Google Workspace: Email, documents, and file storage for our staff. Data involved: correspondence and records you send us. Privacy policy
Meta (Facebook and Instagram): Social media pages and, if enabled, the Meta Pixel for measuring ads (only with consent where required). Data involved: cookie identifiers and page events. Privacy policy
Video conferencing provider (for example Zoom): Hosts live online events and webinars. Data involved: name, email, attendance, and chat and Q&A content. Governed by the provider's privacy policy.
We may add or replace providers as our operations change. We will update this list when we do, and we require every new provider to meet equivalent data protection standards.
Payments. IGNITE never receives or stores your full card number. Stripe processes payment information under its own privacy policy and the PCI Data Security Standard.
5. Other Sharing
Beyond our service providers, we share personal data only in these cases:
Accrediting bodies. When you request CE credit, we share your name, license or certification details, and attendance with the relevant accrediting body (such as RACE) or the event's accredited provider.
Event partners and sponsors. We share your name, profession, and organization with an event sponsor only if you opt in (for example, by scanning a badge or checking a box at registration). We never sell attendee lists.
Co-hosts and speakers. For co-hosted events, we may share registration details with the co-host so it can run the event, under confidentiality terms.
Legal and safety. When required by law, subpoena, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of IGNITE, our members, or others.
Organizational changes. If IGNITE merges, reorganizes, or transfers its programs, personal data may transfer to the successor, which must honor this Policy.
With your consent. In any other case, we will ask first.
We may publish aggregated or de-identified statistics (for example, the number of members by profession) that cannot reasonably identify you.
6. Cookies, International Transfers, Retention, and Security
Cookies and similar technologies
We and our providers use cookies, pixels, and local storage. Strictly necessary cookies keep you logged in, secure checkout, and remember your cookie choices; they do not require consent. Analytics and marketing cookies (such as Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel) are set only after you accept them in our cookie banner where consent is required, including for visitors in the EEA and UK. You can change your choices at any time through the cookie settings link in the Site footer or your browser settings. Blocking necessary cookies may stop member areas from working.
International data transfers
IGNITE is based in the United States, and most of our providers store data in the United States. When we transfer personal data from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to the United States or another country without an adequacy decision, we rely on:
the provider's certification under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the UK Extension, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, where applicable; or
the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, with supplementary measures where needed.
You may request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us.
Retention
We keep personal data only as long as needed for the purposes in Section 3:
Member account and profile: For the life of the account, plus 24 months after it closes or lapses, then deleted or anonymized.
Payment, donation, and tax records: 7 years, to meet U.S. tax and accounting requirements.
CE attendance and certificate records: As long as required by the accrediting body, typically up to 5 years.
Event accessibility or dietary information: Deleted within 30 days after the event.
Email marketing records: Until you unsubscribe; we keep a suppression record so we do not email you again.
Analytics data: Up to 14 months.
Support and contact messages: Up to 3 years.
Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data, including encryption in transit, access controls, multi-factor authentication on administrative accounts, and providers with recognized security certifications. No system is completely secure. If a breach affects your data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law, including within 72 hours to a supervisory authority under GDPR where applicable.
7. Your Rights and Choices
Rights under the GDPR and UK GDPR
If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have the right to:
Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy.
Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erase your data (the "right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention requirements.
Restrict our processing in certain circumstances.
Data portability, receiving data you gave us in a structured, machine-readable format or having it sent to another controller.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.
Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.
Not be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that significantly affect you.
Lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). We would appreciate the chance to address your concern first.
We respond to requests within one month, which we may extend by two further months for complex requests, in which case we will tell you why. We may need to verify your identity before acting. Requests are free unless they are manifestly unfounded or excessive.
EU and UK representative. [If IGNITE's activities targeting the EEA or UK require it under GDPR Article 27, insert the name and contact details of the appointed representative here.]
Rights under U.S. state laws
Depending on where you live, U.S. state privacy laws may give you rights to know, access, correct, delete, and obtain a copy of your personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling. We honor these requests for all members regardless of whether a specific law applies to IGNITE, and we treat a Global Privacy Control browser signal as an opt-out of advertising cookies. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
Everyday choices
Emails: use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or update your preferences in your account. Service messages about your membership will still be sent.
Account details: update your profile in your member account at any time.
Closing your account: cancel your membership in your account, then email us to request deletion.
Cookies: use the cookie settings link or your browser controls.
To exercise any right, email joop@igniteforequineathletes.com.
8. Children
The Services are intended for adults and students aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 (or under 13 in the United States). If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy as our programs, providers, or legal requirements change. We will post the updated version on the Site with a new effective date and, for material changes, notify members by email or a notice in the member area before the change takes effect.
10. Contact Us
Questions, requests, or complaints about this Policy or our data practices:
Equine High Performance Sports Group (DBA IGNITE for equine athletes)
General support: nicole@igniteforequineathletes.com
Privacy requests: joop@igniteforequineathletes.com