From: Michael
Dear Jessica, horse sense and you are the greatest. I hope you can help with this problem. I'm in 4-H and I ride English (hunter). My sister is in Pony Club and she got me a helmet for my birthday last year. I didn't wear it for a while because we don't have to in our 4-H club. But then one of my sister's friends got bucked off on some rocks and the doctors said her helmet saved her life. I started wearing my helmet! But nobody else in my 4-H club will wear one, and our leader thinks they arent neeeded if we know how to ride. I feel like this is completely wrong and I am being more an adult than she is, but my real question is how can I talk the others into wearing helmets? Our leader says I can do a talk on helmets at our next meeting, and if I convince her she will make them required. Help! This is important and I want to do it right. Can you tell me some thing to say that will really show them why helmets are important?
Thank you very much.
Michael
Hi Michael! What a good idea, and I'm glad your 4-H leader is giving you a chance to make a presentation. I have two suggestions for you: first, take your helmet to the meeting so that the others can try it on and find out how light and comfortable it is. That should take care of the 'comfort' argument! Second -- and do this right away, so that you'll have it before the meeting -- call the Washington State 4-H Foundation in Washington. The number is 1-206-840-4570. Ask them to send you a copy of the video, "EVERY TIME, EVERY RIDE." It costs $15 and it is worth every single penny. I have worn out three copies of this video, taking it around the country and showing it to riders at my clinics. It's a wonderful video and literally a life-saver; if anything can convince your friends to wear helmets, it will be the facts and the pictures and the people they will see onscreen. And I think that your leader may be motivated to require helmets, once she watches this tape.
Good luck, and if you have time, please send me a note after your presentation and tell me how it went.
Jessica
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