[Cite as Smith v. Landfair, 135 Ohio St.3d 89, 2012-Ohio-5692.] 

SMITH, APPELLEE, v. LANDFAIR, APPELLANT. 

[Cite as Smith v. Landfair, 135 Ohio St.3d 89, 2012-Ohio-5692.] 

Personal injury—Immunity from liability—Equine activities—R.C. 2305.321—

Definition of “spectator”—One who purposely places himself in location 

where equine activities are occurring and who sees such an activity is a 

“spectator” and hence barred from recovery for injuries as an “equine 

activity participant” under R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(g). 

(No. 2011-1708—Submitted July 10, 2012—Decided December 6, 2012.) 

APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Summit County, No. 25371, 194 Ohio 

App.3d 468, 2011-Ohio-3043. 

___________________

SYLLABUS OF THE COURT

One who purposely places himself or herself in a location where equine activities 

are occurring and who sees such an activity is a “spectator” and hence an 

“equine activity participant” within the meaning of R.C. 

2305.321(A)(3)(g). 

_________________

 LANZINGER, J.

{¶ 1} Ohio’s equine-activities-immunity statute, R.C. 2305.321, provides 

immunity from liability for harm sustained by an equine-activity participant 

allegedly resulting from the inherent risk of equine activities. In this case, we are 

asked to determine when an injured person is a “spectator” and therefore an 

“equine activity participant” whose claim for damages is barred by the statute. 

{¶ 2} Because we conclude that the Ninth District Court of Appeals 

erred in overturning the trial court’s summary judgment based on its interpretation 

of the word “spectator,” we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals. 
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I. Background 

{¶ 3} This personal-injury action arises from a 2007 incident that 

occurred at CJS Standardbred Stables (“CJS”), located in Wayne County. The 

following facts are taken from deposition testimony presented to the trial court. 

{¶ 4} Appellant, Donald Landfair, a licensed livestock dealer for 40 

years, boarded two of his horses, Green Acre Patty (“Patty”) and Green Acre 

Annie (“Annie”) at CJS for breaking and training in harness racing. Annie was a 

young horse, trained to be led, but the extent of her training in other areas, such as 

being loaded and unloaded from a trailer, was in dispute. 

{¶ 5} Appellee, Roshel Smith, the daughter of CJS’s owner, worked at 

CJS from 2000 to 2008, assisting in the care and management of horses. As 

groomer and barn manager, she had the opportunity to work with Annie and knew 

that horses are unpredictable and inherently dangerous. 

{¶ 6} On March 28, Landfair picked up Annie and Patty from CJS for 

off-site blacksmithing. He loaded the horses into the trailer, took them to the 

blacksmith, and reloaded them for return to CJS, by himself and without incident. 

Meanwhile, Smith had stopped by CJS to visit her father. As she was standing by 

the barn doorway watching her father exercise another horse on the track, 

Landfair unloaded Patty from the trailer. Smith said “hi” to him when he put 

Patty into the barn and then saw him return to the trailer to unload Annie. As he 

was preparing to unload Annie, an Amish wagon with two teams of horses passed 

the trailer, spooking the horse. According to Smith: 

First, I heard a commotion and I glanced over and Annie 

had pushed Mr. Landfair out of the trailer and Mr. Landfair was on 

the ground, and then Annie proceeded to jump out of the trailer, 

and she was starting to step on him and he still had ahold of the 
January Term, 2012 

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[horse’s lead] line, and that’s when I ran after and I don’t 

remember very much after that. 

{¶ 7} When she tried to go to Landfair’s assistance, Smith was kicked in 

the head by the horse and received facial and head injuries. She filed a personalinjury complaint in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas alleging that 

Landfair had been negligent in attempting to handle an untrained and unbroken 

horse known to be skittish and in failing to seek assistance in unloading the horse 

from its trailer. Landfair filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that he 

was immune from liability pursuant to R.C. 2305.321. 

{¶ 8} After a hearing, the trial court agreed with Smith that she was not a 

participant in an equine event by virtue of assisting in the control of the horse 

pursuant to R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(e). But the court concluded that R.C. 

2305.321(A)(3)(g) applied to bar Smith’s claim because she was a spectator, i.e., 

she was present at the unloading of Annie and “noticed” that event. Thus, Smith 

was an “equine activity participant” when she was injured. Summary judgment 

was granted in favor of Landfair. 

{¶ 9} Smith appealed, and the Ninth District Court of Appeals reversed 

the summary judgment, remanding the case to the trial court for further 

proceedings. Smith v. Landfair, 194 Ohio App.3d 468, 2011-Ohio-3043, 956 

N.E.2d 915. The appellate court rejected the trial court’s application of the 

immunity statute. It held that Smith was not an equine-activity participant, 

because she was not a spectator as defined by R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(g). Nor was 

she assisting Landfair in controlling the horse within the meaning of R.C. 

2305.321(A)(3)(e). Thus, immunity did not apply. The court of appeals 
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remanded the case to the trial court without ruling on the first, second, and fourth 

assignments of error.1

{¶ 10} Landfair filed a discretionary appeal with six propositions of law, 

one of which we accepted: “A person is a ‘spectator’ and thus an ‘equine activity 

participant’ under R.C. 2305.321(A)(3) if the person is a bystander or observer at 

an equine activity.” We now hold that one who purposely places himself or 

herself in a location where equine activities are occurring and who sees such an 

activity is a “spectator” and hence an “equine activity participant” within the 

meaning of R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(g). We therefore reverse the judgment of the 

Ninth District and remand to that court for consideration of the remaining 

assignments of error. 

II. Analysis 

{¶ 11} In enacting Ohio’s equine-activities-immunity statute, R.C. 

2305.321, the General Assembly declared that 

an equine activity sponsor, equine activity participant, equine 

professional, veterinarian, farrier, or other person is not liable in 

damages in a tort or other civil action for harm that an equine 

activity participant allegedly sustains during an equine activity and 

that results from an inherent risk of an equine activity. 

 

1. Smith’s first assignment of error claimed that the trial court erred in concluding that R.C. 

2305.321 abrogated the common-law rescue doctrine. The second assignment of error argued that 

Landfair's conduct was wanton. The fourth assignment of error contended that the trial court erred 

in finding that Landfair was “controlling” Annie. The fifth assignment of error, which claimed 

that the trial court erred in failing to grant Smith’s motion for leave to amend her complaint to 

plead wanton misconduct, was overruled by the court of appeals as harmless error, because the 

trial court had considered the issue. 
January Term, 2012 

5

R.C. 2305.321(B)(1). “ ‘Equine’ means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, hinny, 

zebra, zebra hybrid, or alpaca.” R.C. 2305.321(A)(1). 

{¶ 12} At the outset, we note that the dissent would hold that R.C. 

2305.321 violates the Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 16. First, neither party 

has raised a constitutional issue in briefs or oral argument before the court. 

Declaring a statute unconstitutional, sua sponte, without notice to the parties 

would be unprecedented. 

{¶ 13} Even when one of the parties has raised a constitutional issue, we 

do not decide on that basis unless and until absolutely necessary. State ex rel. 

Clarke v. Cook, 103 Ohio St. 465, 134 N.E. 655 (1921), paragraph one of the 

syllabus (questions involving the constitutionality of statutes will not be 

determined by this court unless such a determination is essential to the rendition 

of a proper judgment in the case); State ex rel. Herbert v. Ferguson, 142 Ohio St. 

496, 52 N.E.2d 980 (1944), paragraph two of the syllabus (constitutional 

questions will not be decided until the necessity for a decision arises on the record 

before the court); Hall China Co. v. Pub. Util. Comm., 50 Ohio St.2d 206, 210, 

364 N.E.2d 852 (1977) (declining to address constitutional question of 

retroactivity when not necessary); State ex rel. Lieux v. Westlake, 154 Ohio St. 

412, 415-416, 96 N.E.2d 414 (1951) (constitutional validity of ordinance not 

addressed because administrative remedies had not been exhausted); State v. 1981 

Dodge Ram Van, 36 Ohio St.3d 168, 522 N.E.2d 524 (1988) (court of appeals’ 

sua sponte consideration of constitutionality of vehicle-forfeiture statute without 

notice to parties was abuse of court’s discretion). We therefore decline to rule on 

a constitutional issue that is not before us.

Statutory language 

{¶ 14} The General Assembly acknowledged the inherent risks that arise 

when people interact with horses and other animals in the category of equines. 
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“Inherent risk of an equine activity” means a danger or 

condition that is an integral part of an equine activity, including, 

but not limited to, any of the following: 

(a) The propensity of an equine to behave in ways that may 

result in injury, death, or loss to persons on or around the equine; 

(b) The unpredictability of an equine’s reaction to sounds, 

sudden movement, unfamiliar objects, persons, or other animals. 

R.C. 2305.321(A)(7). 

{¶ 15} “Equine activity” is broadly defined in R.C. 2305.321(A)(2)(a) as 

(i) An equine show, fair, competition, performance, or 

parade that involves an equine and an equine discipline, including, 

but not limited to, dressage, a hunter and jumper show, grand prix 

jumping, a three-day event, combined training, a rodeo, driving, 

pulling, cutting, reining, team penning, barrel racing, polo, 

steeplechasing, English or western performance riding, endurance 

or nonendurance trail riding, western games, hunting, packing, and 

recreational riding; 

(ii) An equine or rider training, teaching, instructing, 

testing, or evaluating activity, including, but not limited to, a 

clinic, seminar, or symposium; 

(iii) The boarding of an equine, including, but not limited 

to, normal daily care of an equine; 

(iv) The trailering, loading, unloading, or transporting of an 

equine; 

(v) The riding, inspecting, or evaluating of an equine 

owned by another person, regardless of whether the owner has 
January Term, 2012 

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received anything of value for the use of the equine or is permitting 

a prospective purchaser of the equine to ride, inspect, or evaluate 

it; 

(vi) A ride, trip, hunt, branding, roundup, cattle drive, or 

other activity that involves an equine and that is sponsored by an 

equine activity sponsor, regardless of whether the activity is 

formal, informal, planned, or impromptu; 

(vii) The placing or replacing of horseshoes on an equine, 

the removing of horseshoes from an equine, or the trimming of the 

hooves of an equine; 

(viii) The provision of or assistance in the provision of 

veterinary treatment or maintenance care for an equine; 

(ix) The conducting of procedures or assistance in the 

conducting of procedures necessary to breed an equine by means 

of artificial insemination or otherwise. 

{¶ 16} As this broad language shows, almost every activity associated 

with a horse is an “equine activity.” 2 The General Assembly used similarly 

broad language in defining “equine activity participant”: 

 “Equine activity participant” means a person who engages 

in any of the following activities, regardless of whether the person 

is an amateur or a professional or whether a fee is paid to 

participate in the particular activity: 

(a) Riding, training, driving, or controlling in any manner 

an equine, whether the equine is mounted or unmounted; 

 

2. Horse racing is expressly excluded. R.C. 2305.321(A)(2)(b). 
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(b) Being a passenger upon an equine; 

(c) Providing medical treatment to an equine; 

(d) Conducting procedures of [sic] assisting in conducting 

procedures necessary to breed an equine by means of artificial 

insemination or otherwise; 

(e) Assisting a person who is engaged in an activity 

described in division (A)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section; 

(f) Sponsoring an equine activity; 

(g) Being a spectator at an equine activity.

(Emphasis added.) R.C. 2305.321(A)(3). 

Judicial interpretation 

{¶ 17} The word “spectator” is not defined in the statute. It is undisputed 

that Landfair was involved in an equine activity when he was loading and 

unloading his horses; what is disputed is whether Smith was an equine activity 

participant by virtue of being a spectator when she was injured. If she was, R.C. 

2305.321(A)(3)(g) applies, and her claim is barred. 

{¶ 18} In interpreting statutory language, a court’s paramount concern is 

legislative intent. State v. S.R., 63 Ohio St.3d 590, 594, 589 N.E.2d 1319 (1992). 

Unless expressly defined, the words and phrases contained in Ohio’s statutes are 

to be given their plain, common, ordinary meaning and are to be construed 

“according to the rules of grammar and common usage.” R.C. 1.42; Kunkler v. 

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 36 Ohio St.3d 135, 137, 522 N.E.2d 477 (1988); 

State ex rel. Celebrezze v. Allen Cty. Bd. of Commrs., 32 Ohio St.3d 24, 27, 512 

N.E.2d 332 (1987). Indeed, in the few existing cases construing the equineactivity statute, Ohio courts have looked to common dictionary definitions to 

assist them. In addition to the trial court and the appellate court in this case, see 

Allison v. Johnson, 11th Dist. No. 2000-T-0116, 2001 WL 589384, *5 (June 2, 
January Term, 2012 

9

2001); Gibson v. Donahue, 148 Ohio App.3d 139, 772 N.E.2d 646 (1st 

Dist.2002). 

{¶ 19} In Allison, relying on dictionary definitions, the court of appeals 

rejected the plaintiff’s argument that she was merely a bystander rather than a 

spectator when she was injured while watching the defendant lead a horse into a 

barn. When the defendant turned to close the gate behind him, the horse jumped 

backwards, dislodging a piece of the gate, which flew off and struck the plaintiff 

in the face. The court found no distinction between the plain and ordinary 

meaning of “spectator” and “bystander” and concluded that the plaintiff “was an 

equine activity participant by virtue of being a spectator, to-wit: an observer, 

watcher, or bystander.” Id. at *7. Nonetheless, the court made clear that it was 

not approving immunity in all circumstances in which a person happens to see a 

horse and is injured by it. 

{¶ 20} In the instant case, the Ninth District considered several dictionary 

definitions of “spectator”: 

The common, ordinary meaning of spectator is “[o]ne who attends 

and views a show, sports event or the like.” The American 

Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1981) 1241. See 

also Allison at *5 (examining common dictionary definitions of 

spectator, including “ ‘one that looks on or beholds; * * * one 

witnessing an exhibition[;’ ˮ and “ ‘] a person who watched 

without participating’ ˮ).3

Smith v. Landfair, 194 Ohio App.3d 468, 2011-Ohio-3043, 956 N.E.2d 915, ¶ 14. 

{¶ 21} The court observed: 

 

3. The Allison court attributed these definitions to Webster's Third New International Dictionary 

2188 (1986) and The Random House Dictionary, Concise Edition 840 (1983).
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While one might ordinarily conclude that someone who is a 

spectator is viewing an event or exhibition, such as a horse show, 

the legislature has envisioned that a person can be a spectator of 

any equine activity, including the trailering of a horse and the 

normal daily care of a horse. See R.C. 2305.321(A)(2)(a)(iii) and 

(iv); R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(g). For example, one could be a 

spectator while watching a farrier engaged in the process of 

placing shoes on a horse. Nonetheless, the word “spectator” should 

not be interpreted so that any individual who glances at a horse and 

is thereafter injured by it becomes a spectator of an equine activity 

and thereby an equine-activity participant. Indeed, such a view 

would distort the common and ordinary meaning of the word and 

would require a conclusion that any person, even a mail carrier 

who happens to momentarily glance at a horse or has some 

awareness in his peripheral vision that a horse is engaged in some 

activity, is deemed a spectator. 

Id. at ¶ 15. 

{¶ 22} The court then decided that to be a spectator, one must purposely 

watch the activity in question and concluded that Smith was not a “spectator,” 

because she was not “watching” the equine activity at issue, namely, Landfair 

unloading Annie. Instead, she saw him “only out of her peripheral vision.” Id. at 

¶ 16. 

Parties’ positions 

{¶ 23} Landfair argues that the court of appeals unduly restricted the 

broad language of R.C. 2305.321(A)(2) and (3). He contends that the trial court 

correctly found that Smith was a spectator by “being present at the unloading of 
January Term, 2012 

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Annie and ‘noticing’ the events that transpired leading up to her injury.” Landfair 

emphasizes that by voluntarily positioning herself at the stable area before he 

arrived and remaining at the stable area as he unloaded his horses, Smith placed 

herself in a position to watch, see, or interact with an equine activity and so 

subjected herself to the immunity statute. Landfair finally argues that his 

interpretation is consistent with the General Assembly’s purpose in enacting the 

statute, which is to address “the inherent risks that arise when large, unpredictable 

animals like horses are in close contact with people.” 

{¶ 24} Smith maintains that the court of appeals’ interpretation was 

correct in narrowing the definition of “spectator” to require an intent to see or 

watch a specific equine activity. Otherwise, the immunity statute covers all 

victims of the inherent risk of equine activity, rendering meaningless the 

limitation of immunity to an “equine activity participant.” Smith argues that a 

spectator is someone who has intentionally placed himself or herself for the 

purpose of seeing an event. Because she did not place herself at the barn doorway 

intending to watch Landfair unloading his horses, she was not a spectator of that 

equine activity. Smith also asserts that the court should give this narrower 

interpretation to the word “spectator” to avoid eliminating more tort claims than 

the General Assembly intended. 

Definition of “spectator” 

{¶ 25} The parties have offered us two competing interpretations. On the 

one hand, a spectator is merely a bystander who happens to be in the vicinity of 

an equine activity. On the other hand, a spectator is someone who purposely goes 

to a place where equine activities take place, intending to watch. In our view, the 

first is too broad and the second is too narrow. 

{¶ 26} Being a mere bystander or passerby is not enough. First, the 

characteristics of the other types of “equine activity participants” listed in R.C. 

2305.321(A)(3)(a) to (f) imply that a more active role was intended. All the other 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

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categories of participants describe riding, controlling, treating, and breeding the 

animals. These activities all involve purposeful, active contact with an equine, 

and to interpret “spectator” as extending to a bystander would inject disharmony 

among the subsections. Words in a statute must be read in context, R.C. 1.42, and 

we do not believe that the context in which the term “spectator” was placed 

permits such an incongruous reading. 

{¶ 27} Moreover, given the purpose of the statute, we conclude that a 

person must deliberately put himself or herself in a position of exposure to the 

“inherent risk” of proximity to horses before immunity can apply. The person 

need not be there to watch an equine activity in the classic sense of a spectator at 

a show or event. It is the purposeful placement in an area of exposure that draws 

the immunity. But the element of seeing cannot be completely eliminated, or the 

word “spectator” would be drained of all meaning. Thus, we hold that one who 

purposely places himself or herself in a location where equine activities are 

occurring and who sees such an activity is a “spectator” and hence an “equine 

activity participant” within the meaning of R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(g). 

{¶ 28} Here, the facts encompass one of the situations envisioned by the 

legislature. Smith was injured due to an “inherent risk of equine activity,” which 

includes the propensity of a horse to behave in ways that may result in injury. 

R.C. 2305.321(A)(7)(a). In other words, horses are unpredictable. Although 

Smith was not at the stable that day to work, she voluntarily placed herself in a 

location where equine activities were taking place, saw the attempted unloading 

of Annie from the trailer, and was injured due to the inherent risk of that activity. 

Her proximity to Landfair’s horse was not due to chance. She was at a horse 

stable to see her father, the stable owner, and was standing near the place where 

an “equine activity,” the unloading of a horse from a trailer, was occurring. R.C. 

2305.321(A)(2)(a)(iv). Thus, Smith’s personal-injury claim is barred. 
January Term, 2012 

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{¶ 29} We disagree with the Ninth District in this case. We reverse the 

judgment of the court of appeals on its holding that Smith was not a spectator as a 

matter of law because she was not watching Landfair unload Annie at the time she 

was injured. As we have said, intent to watch is not necessary to be a “spectator.” 

As noted above, the statute at issue in this case is broadly written to address the 

inherent risks that arise when horses are near people, and it is the injured person’s 

voluntary placement in a position of known exposure to that risk that is key. 

Merely glancing at a horse would not render someone a spectator of equine 

activity. Simply being in the vicinity of equine activities is not enough. Rather, 

the person must be there voluntarily, aware that equine activities are occurring. 

{¶ 30} In applying our definition, we hold that there are no material issues 

of fact regarding whether Smith was an equine-activity participant. She stood 

near the barn door at her father’s stable to watch him exercise a horse, an equine 

activity in and of itself. Although she was not specifically intending to watch 

Landfair unload Annie from his trailer, she knew that he was unloading the horse 

and saw it happening. Whether her perception of the unloading was based on 

direct viewing or mere peripheral vision is not determinative. She had voluntarily 

placed herself in a location where equine activities were taking place, thus 

subjecting herself to the potential danger that arises from a horse’s unpredictable 

nature. 

{¶ 31} It is important to note, however, that not every person is a spectator 

when a horse is present. There is a measure of purposefulness needed to place 

oneself in the horse’s vicinity. And so a mail carrier delivering mail at a farm 

who is injured by a runaway horse is not a spectator. One must go to a place 

where equine activities are occurring before being deemed to be a spectator within 

the meaning of R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(g). 

 
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III. Conclusion 

{¶ 32} Landfair is entitled to immunity pursuant to R.C. 2305.321(B)(1). 

Nevertheless, issues remain to be resolved in the court of appeals. Smith 

maintained in her second assignment of error that any immunity from liability 

conferred by R.C. 2305.321(B)(1) was forfeited because Landfair’s conduct was 

wanton under R.C. 2305.321(B)(2)(d). She asserted in her fourth assignment of 

error that the trial court erred in finding that Landfair was “controlling” Annie 

within the meaning of R.C. 2305.321(A)(3)(A). And Smith’s first assignment of 

error claimed that the trial court erred in concluding that R.C. 2305.321 abrogated 

the common-law rescue doctrine. Due to its ruling on the third assignment of 

error, the court of appeals held these assignments of error to be moot. We 

therefore remand the case to the Ninth District Court of Appeals to consider the 

remaining assignments of error. 

 Judgment reversed 

and cause remanded. 

O’CONNOR, C.J., and LUNDBERG STRATTON, O’DONNELL, CUPP, and 

MCGEE BROWN, JJ., concur. 

PFEIFER, J., dissents. 

______________________ 

PFEIFER, J., dissenting. 

{¶ 33} The Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 16 states: “All courts 

shall be open, and every person, for an injury done him in his land, goods, person, 

or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and shall have justice 

administered without denial or delay.” This court has stated, “This section of the 

Ohio Constitution protects the right to seek redress in Ohio’s courts when one is 

injured by another.” Brennaman v. R.M.I. Co., 70 Ohio St.3d 460, 466, 639 

N.E.2d 425 (1994). 
January Term, 2012 

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{¶ 34} The majority opinion states that “Smith was injured due to an 

‘inherent risk of equine activity * * *.’ ” Smith was not injured because of an 

inherent risk; she was injured because she went out of her way to help someone 

she was not obligated to help and was injured in the process. Next time, she 

would be well served to sit back and watch a person get trampled. The upshot of 

this case is to encourage people encountering a dangerous situation involving a 

horse to watch, rather than attempt to help. Of course, even in that situation, if the 

horse walked over to the person watching and kicked her, there would be no 

recovery because that person would be a spectator. 

{¶ 35} The broad scope of R.C. 2305.321 as enacted by the General 

Assembly and as interpreted by this court effectively renders Article I, Section 16 

toothless with respect to equine-related injuries. It is hard to envision broader 

immunity than that conferred by R.C. 2305.321. Even the benighted sovereign 

immunity has significant exceptions. R.C. 2305.321 provides blanket immunity 

to horse owners and, in doing so, contravenes the Ohio Constitution, Article I, 

Section 16. I would adopt the sound reasoning of the court of appeals. I dissent. 

__________________ 

 Reinhardt Law Firm, Ltd., and John K. Reinhardt, for appellee. 

 Hanna, Campbell & Powell, L.L.P., Kenneth A. Calderone, and John R. 

Chlysta, for appellant. 

 Giorgianni Law, L.L.C., and Paul Giorgianni, urging affirmance for 

amicus curiae Ohio Association for Justice. 

 Green & Green Lawyers, L.P.A., and Thomas M. Green, urging reversal 

for amicus curiae Ohio Horseman’s Council. 

__________________________