Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

One rider's helmet story

From: Vanessa

Dear Jessica,

I promised myself that when I was released from the hospital, I would write you a thank-you letter. I hope other young adult and young-at-heart adult riders will listen when you tell them that helmets are not just for children or beginners - they are for everyone.

I am the kind of person who would never put a child or a beginner on a horse without a well-fitting helmet. Ever. Period. But I'm older, more experienced - and I don't plan on falling off of the horse I ride. :) So, the other day, I debated whether or not I needed to wear my helmet during an 'ordinary' dressage lesson. More out of habit than sense, I buckled it on.

Less than an hour later, I was in the emergency room.

If I hadn't been wearing that helmet, I would have been in the morgue.

Please understand, I am a good rider. I've been on horses for almost 20 years; I'm a Training level eventer who up until recently was riding three or four young, green horses every day. This time, I was riding a dead-quiet, sweetheart schoolmaster in a lesson.

Unfortunately, that schoolmaster was stung by the King of All Bees about ten minutes into the lesson. He bucked so hard, as I came off, I saw the top of a timer-box that is EIGHT feet above the arena floor.

I don't remember hitting the ground. I don't remember riding in the ambulance or having my clothes cut off me. I don't know what my attending physician told my parents and my boyfriend when no one could say with any certainty if I was going to be all right.

Thank heavens, I ended up with "only" a nasty concussion and (hopefully only temporarily) impaired vision. When I returned to the barn, in my tack closet I found my helmet, with a neat crack running up one side.

Without that helmet, that crack would have been in my head.

I've taken a lot of ribbing for wearing a helmet, but as my finger caught on one sharp, broken edge, the chilling reality of my situation dawned on me. It occurred to me, I'm not a kid anymore. I don't heal as fast or as well, and I have certain responsibilities as an adult. I thought, "How could I have ever explained to my loved ones that I was lying there horribly injured (or worse) because I cared more about what a bunch of strangers said and thought than about how much I meant to them?" I am not immortal -- but I *am* inestimably precious to those who love me. To them, I cannot - I dare not - make excuses.

Please, people need to understand: accidents can happen any time, on any horse. It doesn't matter whether or not you're a good rider. AND, the better the horse, the more sensitive and powerful he is, and will be when the King of All Bees visits YOUR ride.

Riding is a fun, wonderful sport, and while no one needs to be afraid of riding, everyone does need to be sensible. It's one thing to *have* an accident - it's another thing to *invite* one.

I know you believe strongly in rider (and horse and just plain human) safety - I think some people think helmets are for children and beginners. I hope you will continue to educate them otherwise, and if you feel that my experience would be a useful teaching tool, please feel free to use it.

Thank you again for your tireless effort and dedication to the *true* art of riding. And, if it is at all heartening, the more I learn (and live), especially from you, the more I am trying to take it up myself, learn from, and educate others.

Sincerely,

Thankfully A. Live :)

PS: I was an elemetary school teacher, so I'm used to tacking things up on refrigerators - my dad was a mortician, and I ended up with kind of a morbid sense of humor, especially about my own mortality. :) Feel free to change or edit the subject and/or text to suit your audience. But it did happen, and I AM Thankfully A. Live. :)

This letter has given me an idea: Sometime in the next few months, during the next major update of the HORSE-SENSE website, we're going to add a page where you can submit your own helmet stories. I'll post to the list when we're good to go with this. Sometimes advice, no matter how sensible, just can't have the same impact as an "I was there, this happened to me" personal account. Vanessa's story may save some lives - and yours may, too.

Jessica

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