Okay, one more soapbox post about helmets, then I promise that we’ll get back to talking about training. I posted at the end of July about my opinion of riding helmets. I shared an article, including this quote:
“If you think you don’t need a helmet then you should look your son, daughter, spouse, or friend in the eye and tell them: I don’t need a helmet, but if I am wrong it will be your job to care for me.”
Now, here’s a very powerful video that Kate, of A Year with Horses, posted on her blog recently. I think that everyone who rides horses or who has friends or family who ride horses should watch this video.
In the video, Courtney King Dye, a USDF Gold Medalist dressage rider and horse trainer discusses riding helmets. As she says in the video, safety has nothing to do with skill level.
Courtney was in a riding accident in 2010. Purely an accident. The show horse she was riding tripped and fell. She had been in a hurry that day and was not wearing a helmet. I urge you to watch the video and hear Courtney tell the rest of the her story.
On Youtube: Courtney King Dye discusses her riding accident and helmet use.
Embedding is disabled for this video, so you’ll have to click on the link and hop over to youtube to watch it. Come back after you watch it and let me know your reaction to the video.
Good point – going helmetless and taking the risk isn’t really about personal preferences/freedom, it’s about imposing your will on others if you are permanently disabled or die. And none of the excuses people use make any sense when you think about the costs and the benefits.
The main reason I wear a helmet is because I know that no one will love my horses as much as me. . . so what would happen to them if something should happen to me? My worst head injury came from when my horse was running backwards, his back end slipped on some wet grass, his back legs slipped out from under him, and my upper body was slammed into the ground. I was wearing my helmet but I still had a concussion. Can’t imagine what would have happened if I wasn’t wearing one or was wearing my stupid, useless brainbucket from the track.
We in the dressage world are so thankful for Courtney’s progress. I still cringe when I go to Western events and the lack of helmets, especially on children. I have a friend whose small daughter’s horse slipped on the concrete, the child came off w/ a concussion, but she still doesn’t wear a helmet. What makes me shake my head more is that her mother is a nurse. 🙁
Thanks for the comment. I agree with you, I hate seeing kids without helmets. I think helmets should be mandatory for children and youth riders!
So many western riders don’t wear helmets. Not wearing helmets is (sadly) just part of the culture of western riding. I am starting to see more western riders with helmets, so hopefully, slowly, things are changing.
~Mary
I will never understand why people opt to ride without helmets – same goes for motorcycle riders that don’t wear helmets. I’ve been dipping into the “western” world lately with my riding and I always wear my helmet no matter what type of competition. I feel like a lot of it has to do with the “look” – complete western attire has you wearing a cowboy hat – but my life is much more important than whether or not I’m “western” enough looking.
I grew up riding in Montana, and got back into horses a couple of years ago. At first, it didn’t even occur to me to wear a helmet – until I thought about the fact that we insist on helmets for any other sport, for ourselves and our children. How silly to insist on helmets for biking or skating, but not for riding horses! Now I can’t imagine riding without one, and I don’t think it looks silly, I think it looks smart!
I wear my helmet every single time I ride, no matter what. My first ever fall was just this year, on a horse who is very very calm (there was a lot of crazy stuff going on that day), but calm or not, it didn’t stop her from tripping at the canter and pitching me over her head and onto my head.
Thanks to my helmet I didn’t also get my very first ambulance ride that day. My head was the least sore part of my body (my back and butt hurt more).
Your are right, my cousin felt from the horse with no helmet… She is find now but the doctors said that she could have died!