Timothy Wood Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as Blazing Saddles, was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates' Court on 8 August after pleading guilty to two charges of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
The company was also ordered to pay $4,451 in costs.
In January 2022, two siblings were injured while on a "learn to canter" ride with their father and another participant in the Great Otway National Park.
A single guide was assigned to supervise the group of four and, prior to the ride, there was no formal assessment of their riding ability, no demonstration or riding instructions provided, and Blazing Saddles did not check that their helmets fitted correctly.
The 10-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy had previously taken the company's "walk to trot" ride but still needed further instruction from the guide before the group began cantering.
As the horses slowed to a trot, the girl lost her balance and slipped to one side before falling off, hitting her head on the ground and briefly losing consciousness.
After the guide and the girl's father dismounted to provide assistance and call for help, leaving the boy and the other participant on horseback, the five horses were spooked and bolted.
The boy fell off almost immediately and two horses went over him. He was airlifted to hospital, where he remained for about a month, suffering a broken jaw and an acquired brain injury.
The other participant escaped injury after jumping from her horse as it approached a road and refused to pull up.
In a separate incident just one week earlier, a 10-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl were injured while taking part in a Blazing Saddles beginners' walk and trot ride with other participants.
The court heard that a short demonstration was given before the ride, but participants' riding abilities were not formally assessed and only some of their helmets were checked.
The eight-year-old, who had never ridden before, was not led by either of the two guides, meaning she had no assistance in trying to control her horse.
During the ride, one of the horses bolted and the children's horses followed, causing both to fall off and sustain minor injuries.
WorkSafe's investigation found the company had no safe system of work for running the trail rides, including risk and riding ability assessments for each ride, and that the supervision ratio of one guide per six riders failed to consider age, riding ability and experience.
It was reasonably practicable for Blazing Saddles to formally assess riding ability and ensure people only participated in trail rides that they could safely complete; to assign a minimum of two guides per trail ride; to ensure each rider wore a well-fitting and properly secured helmet; to limit rides to people aged 10 and over or require any inexperienced younger riders to be led by a guide; and to provide guides with information, instruction and training on what to do if a fall occurred during a ride, including ensuring other participants dismounted and that all horses were secured while the fallen rider was attended to.
WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Sam Jenkin said businesses that worked with animals had a responsibility to protect anyone coming into contact with them from potential harm.
"Sadly, a young boy's life has been turned upside down because of this company's failure to put the most basic of controls in place to reduce the risk to their customers," Mr Jenkin said.
"These incidents show the importance of employers having the systems in place to manage the inherent risks, particularly to young children and the inexperienced, that come from working with animals that by their very nature can be unpredictable."
