Overview
Some events can only take so many horses. A one-arena dressage day has a finite number of ride times; a grounds has a finite number of yards; and a governing body may cap how many tests a single horse can do in a day. Horsify gives you three independent limits so you can set those rules once and let the platform enforce them fairly at checkout — no oversold events, no manual counting.
- Total capacity — the most entries the whole event will accept.
- Most classes per horse per day — how many divisions one horse can enter on a single competition day (for example, the EA rule of three dressage tests a day).
- Most nominations per order — how many entries one checkout can contain.
When an event reaches its Total capacity, entry is closed and riders are offered the waitlist instead.
Who this is for: Event organisers setting up and running events with limited places.
Key Features
- 🔢 Total event capacity — cap the total number of entries across the whole event
- 🐴 Per-horse, per-day cap — enforce rules like "max 3 tests per horse per day"
- 🧾 Per-order cap — stop one checkout swallowing an unfair share of places
- 🔒 Fair enforcement at checkout — places are counted under a lock, so two people checking out at once can never both take the last spot
- 📝 Automatic "join the waitlist" — when the event is full, riders are pointed straight to the waitlist
- 🛠️ Organiser override — you can still add late or phone entries yourself, even when an event is full
The Three Limits
1. Total capacity
What it does: Sets the maximum number of class entries (horse-and-rider nominations) the event will accept across all of its classes combined. Once the event reaches this number, online entry closes and riders are offered the waitlist. Leave it blank for unlimited.
Capacity counts class entries, not people or tickets. If a rider enters three classes, that's three of your capacity. Non-competition items such as camping or spectator tickets have their own separate quantity limits and don't count toward event capacity.
Where to set it:
- When creating an event: in the Registration section of the event form, the field "Total capacity (optional)". The hint reads "Leave empty for no limit, or cap the total entries across every ticket type."
- When editing an event: the same field in the Registration section of the Edit event page.
Capacity stays editable after publishing. Raise it at any time to open more places. Lowering it below the entries already taken removes nobody — the event simply shows as full until entries drop below the new number.
2. Most Classes Per Horse Per Day
What it does: Limits how many divisions a single horse can be entered into on one competition day. This exists for governing-body rules — for example, Equestrian Australia allows a horse a maximum of three dressage tests in a single day, so a value of 3 caps any one horse at three classes on any one day. Leave it blank for unlimited.
Each class's "day" is taken from the competition day it's scheduled on (its event session). Classes that aren't yet scheduled to a day are treated as one shared group.
Where to set it: On the Edit event page, under Nominations in the Registration section. The field is "Most classes per horse per day", with the hint "Counted per competition day. EA dressage, for example, allows a horse three tests a day. Leave blank for no limit."
The nomination caps only appear when How people take part is Competition with classes and "Riders nominate a horse for each class they enter" is ticked. If you don't see them, check those two settings first.
3. Most Nominations Per Order
What it does: Caps how many nominations a single checkout may contain — useful when you want to stop one person entering a whole team in a single transaction, or to keep orders manageable. Leave it blank for unlimited.
Where to set it: On the Edit event page, under the same Nominations heading, the field "Most nominations per order".
What Riders See When a Limit Is Reached
All three limits are enforced at checkout (and flagged earlier, in the cart, as a helpful heads-up). The messages a rider sees are:
Event full:
"This event is full (maximum {N} entries). You can join the waitlist to be notified if a place opens up."
The rider is then shown a "Join the waitlist" button (see Waitlist below).
Too many entries for one horse on a day:
"A horse can be entered in at most {N} division(s) per day ({day}) for this event. Please remove the extra nominations for this horse and try again."
Too many entries in one order:
"This event allows a maximum of {N} nominations per order. You already have {X} in your cart."
💡 Pro Tip: Because the final check happens at checkout under a lock, Horsify never oversells. If the last place is taken while a rider is still filling their cart, they're stopped cleanly at payment with the message above rather than being charged for a spot that no longer exists.
When an Event Is Full: the Waitlist
When your event hits its Total capacity, entry is blocked and the rider is offered the waitlist. Joining is a one-tap action the rider chooses — Horsify doesn't add anyone automatically. On a full event they'll see a heading like "This event is full" and a "Join the waitlist" button; once they join, they see "You're on the waitlist for this event." Horsify never emails them on your behalf — you contact riders yourself.
This whole-event queue is separate from any session waitlist. A rider already waiting for a sold-out session hasn't asked for a general place, so they still need to join here — and both entries show as separate queues on your waitlist page.
You manage the list yourself from Organiser → your event → View Waitlist (/organiser/events/{event}/waitlist), which shows everyone in join-date (FIFO) order. Offering a freed-up place is a hands-on step you control — when a place opens, you contact riders starting from the top. For the full workflow, see Event Waitlist.
Adding Entries Yourself (Organiser Override)
The limits above apply to public, online self-service entry. When you add an entry from the organiser side (Add Registration), Horsify treats you as the authority:
- Total capacity is bypassed — you can always add a late or phone entry, even to a full event.
- The per-horse-per-day cap is checked, because it usually reflects a governing-body rule — but you can tick to override it and add the entry anyway. You'll see: "{Class}: this horse would exceed the limit of {N} division(s) per day ({day}). Re-submit with override to add anyway."
Where You See the Numbers
- Riders see live availability on the event page — for example "{entered} / {capacity} entries (full)" — and how many people are on the waitlist.
- Organisers see the event's Capacity as a column in your event lists and dashboard.
- Per-class limits are separate. If you also set a capacity on an individual class, riders and organisers see "{X} of {Y} spots left" (or "Full") for that class. That per-class limit is distinct from the whole-of-event Total capacity described here.
Best Practices
✅ Set Total capacity before you publish, and revisit it. You can raise it at any time to open more places; lowering it below the entries already taken just shows the event as full.
✅ Use the per-horse-per-day cap for governing-body rules. If your discipline limits tests or rounds per horse per day, set it and let Horsify enforce it — you won't have to reject over-entries by hand.
✅ Remember capacity counts entries, not people. If your grounds hold 60 horses and riders average two classes each, your capacity is closer to 120 entries than 60. Think in entries.
✅ Have a waitlist plan. Because promotion is manual, decide up front how you'll contact waitlisted riders when a place frees up. See Event Waitlist.
✅ Use per-order caps sparingly. They're great for fairness on popular events, but on a normal event they can frustrate a parent entering two children — leave blank unless you need it.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Issue: I can't find the per-horse or per-order fields
Problem: The nomination caps aren't in the Registration section of your Edit event page.
Solution: They only appear when How people take part is Competition with classes and "Riders nominate a horse for each class they enter" is ticked under Nominations. Tick it and the two fields appear beneath it.
Issue: I lowered the capacity but the entries already taken still show
Problem: You reduced Total capacity below the number of entries already taken.
Solution: Nothing is removed. The event shows as full until entries drop below the new number; raise the capacity again to reopen places.
Issue: A rider says the event is "full" but I still have room
Problem: The rider is blocked at checkout although you believe places remain.
Possible Causes:
- Capacity counts entries, not horses or people — several riders each taking multiple classes fill it faster than a head-count suggests.
- Places are counted at the moment of checkout, so entries in other people's carts don't reduce the number until they pay — but a burst of completed checkouts can fill the event between the rider adding to cart and paying.
Solution: Check the live entry count on the event. If you want to admit more, you (as organiser) can Add Registration directly — organiser entries bypass the capacity limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does Total capacity limit tickets, or entries? A: Entries (class nominations). Camping, stabling and other tickets have their own separate quantity limits and don't count toward event capacity.
Q: Can I change capacity after the event is published? A: Yes. Raise it at any time to open more places. Lowering it below the entries already taken removes nobody; the event shows as full until entries drop below the new number.
Q: What happens to a rider when the event fills up? A: They're blocked at checkout with a clear message and offered a Join the waitlist button. Nothing is charged, and nothing is entered until you promote them from the waitlist yourself.
Q: Are riders added from the waitlist automatically when a place opens? A: No. Promotion is a manual step you control, so you decide who comes in and when. See Event Waitlist.
Q: Does the per-horse-per-day cap count classes across different days separately? A: Yes. The cap is per competition day, so a horse can do up to your limit on Saturday and again up to your limit on Sunday.
Q: Can I still add a late entry to a full event? A: Yes. Organiser Add Registration bypasses the event capacity, and you can override the per-horse-per-day cap when you need to.
Related Features
- Event Waitlist — manage riders who join when an event is full, and offer freed-up places.
- Create Events — where you first set Total capacity.
- Edit Events — where the per-horse and per-order caps live.
- Competition Class Horse Nominations — how horse nominations work, which capacity counts.
- Running an Event, Start to Finish — where entry limits fit in the event lifecycle.
Support
Need help setting entry limits for your event? We're here to help.
- In-app help: Click the Help link in the top navigation.
- Email: support@horsify.com.au
Set your limits once and let Horsify keep the count. Capacity, per-horse and per-order caps are all enforced fairly at checkout — so your event fills to exactly the number you planned, and everyone after that lands on the waitlist.\n\n---\n\nSource: wiki/features/EVENT_ENTRY_LIMITS.md \nLast synced: 2026-09-07 11:51:37 UTC