I am a horseperson. I flaunt that like a hooker flaunts…well…her wares. You get the idea 
Yesterday, a prominent dressage rider, trainer, and Olympian, Courtney King-Dye was in an accident with a horse who tangled its hind legs when asked to move its haunches and went down. She was thrown and ended up with a fractured skull and is in medically-induced coma. You can read about it all over the equestrian world. Nothing in any of the brief articles clarifies whether she was wearing an ASTM/SEI approved helmet or not, but by the severity of the injuries, most of us speculate she was not.
This is a tragedy that all equestrians of all disciplines can learn from.
I learned my lesson long ago, when I was fourteen and practicing barrel racing. Yes, barrel racing. I woke up near the first barrel about 40-45 minutes after I started my run. I’ll never forget seeing it as a dream as if over my shoulder, watching my body heading off my horse near the barrel and then nothing until I woke up. Seeing it happening was just as hazy as my description. I walked back to the corral, grabbed my horse who was waiting at the fence to be unsaddled, and returned to make him run the barrels again. I finished up, put out my horse, and was crossing the farm yard when my mother drove up and saw my scraped up face. She made me go to the hospital, where they kept me overnight for observation, since I had been unconscious.
I was lucky, and I had my warning. Never ride anywhere without a helmet. It took me another year or two before I bought my first helmet–I had to use my 4-H premium money to buy it–but I never went riding without it after that, even while out chasing cattle among cowboys. Sure, I was teased a bit, but not that badly. I think most of them had had enough spills of their own to wish they had the guts to strap one on in front of their friends. It was more acceptable for a girl than for some rough and tumble cowboys.
Before then, I got by. I planned how to take a fall and ended up having to use the method of tucking and rolling when my horse then bucked me off soon after the first time. I discovered he didn’t tolerate spurs.
A few years later, the 4-H council in my state made wearing a helmet mandatory for all 4-H riding events, western and english, in my state. I was so glad. As a judge and camp counselor, I’ve seen kids saved because they wore helmets.
To this day, I don’t get on any horse without a helmet. Others can laugh and say that I’m incompetent, but it’s those who don’t wear helmets that make me cringe–they’re usually the worst riders who can’t control their horses.
Here are some statistics on equestrian activities that I found on the site of the American Riding Instructors Association:
- Between 12 to 15 million persons in the United States ride a horse or pony every year.
- Approximately 20 percent of horse-related injuries occur on the ground and not riding.
- Most riding injuries occur during pleasure riding.
- The most common reason among riders for admission to hospital and death are head injuries.
- A fall from two feet can cause permanent brain damage. A horse elevates a rider eight feet or more above ground.
- A human skull can be shattered by an impact of 4-6 mph. Horses can gallop at 40 mph.
There are many more statistics, which were obtained from the Equestrian Medical Safety Association. No horse sport is 100% safe. It’s when we think we’re safe that we are farthest from it, because we let our guard down.
I wish Miss Dye a full recovery, and I hope everyone learns from this.
If you need further convincing, there is a video available through your local extension office titled “Every Time…Every Ride…” If that doesn’t scare you into strapping that helmet on before you step into the stirrup, you probably shouldn’t be getting on.
3/5/10 UPDATE: “Courtney often wears a helmet, but she was not in this instance. Lendon said that for the last 15 years of her riding career, she wore a helmet and hoped she could encourage others to do the same, but helmets are rarely seen at a dressage show.” More here…
