"Helmet Girl" - The Barrel Racer Who Campaigns for Helmets

[danceronice]

[QUOTE=Gidget;7648760]
Ugh…I could barely watch. :no:[/QUOTE]

A lot of those, their heads may not be hitting the ground, but I’ve always hurt my back falling more than anything else and I don’t care how deep that footing is those falls have GOT to hurt. (And that one girl in the turquoise shirt who bailed on the way out the gate looks like she got her legs trampled.) Forget a helmet (the skull caps they make for racing and eventing seem wise), I’d buy a crash vest, too.

Though, acknowledging I’ve only done barrels at relatively low speeds, why are some of these falls? In a couple, yes, like that buckskin who just overstretches his legs, it’s just things that happen, but a lot of the “fast” stops aren’t, in some cases they bounce off because the horse slows down a bit, and I’ve sat worse bucking fits in a PDN.

[SLW]

One of my daughters competed in youth rodeo in the heart of rodeo culture country. My rule- you are wearing a helmet, same as you did when you rode hunt seat. The helmet wasn’t a big deal at the Open or Breed shows but when she started doing rodeos she pleaded with me to be released from the helmet. I reminded her of the story that as a 10 year old child I wasn’t wearing a seat belt in the car when my teenage brother was driving me to the barn. By accident the car went off the road and down a 30’ ravine; my head left a bubble in the windshield and a dent in one thigh that is still present 45 years later. I have worn a seat belt ever since that auto wreck, every time. She might ride all her life and never, ever have a serious fall but we were not taking the chance of having her skull unprotected and crushed. She was not mocked because the other families understood our background and the last two seasons she competed there were more and more younger kids from ages 6 to 13 wearing helmets during competition. Seems like she was the only Senior rider a wearing helmet back then but she left a good example behind. She made the best of it and the color of the helmet became the base color for her fun rodeo outfits.

[danceronice]

Heck, in barrels, I’d have fun with it, you not only don’t need a black helmet, you could bling that sucker out like crazy…

[Antaeus]

[QUOTE=Sandy M;7649944]
Ya gotta be SMART to train a mule, so mule riders would seem to be “smarter than your average…” ;o)[/QUOTE]

Well, thank you for the compliment.

[MonterStables]

I did barrel racing in my down time while my jumper was injured for two years and let me tell you- there were so many moments at barrel shows where I wished some of these people would put on a damn helmet! The main reason being the behavior of the horses…

I didn’t wear a helmet on the horse I rode, probably because he was 17 years old and was a been there done that horse. But you could bet on my mom having it at the in gate in case I wanted it… Never again am I going on a horse without it. I told my mom that I got the whole ‘riding without my helmet’ bug out of my system and I am NEVER doing it again!

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=sirbeastmom;7650300]
When I’ve asked why all the vitriol against helmet wearers, the most common answer I get is that it’s disrespectful to tradition. “My family’s been ranching here for four generations and not one of us has ever wore a helmet” type thing.[/QUOTE]

… and that’s why they’re all driving 1940’s era trucks with no air conditioning, right?

[rcloisonne]

[QUOTE=Ocean;7651229]
How sad that common sense does not prevail without any name calling. All disciplines should have minors wearing safety helmets. If an adult wishes to bash their brains out is another thing. Pretty sure that everyone that sustained a serious brain injury when riding without one, would likely vote for helmets.[/QUOTE]
The problem with sanctioning helmet-less adults is who pays when they suffer a serious TBI? Most people aren’t wealthy enough to afford a lifetime of expensive care even if they had great health insurance at the start.

The majority would wind up on medicaid or other government health care program. Why should the tax payers have to provide a lifetime of care for adults who believe it’s their right not to wear a helmet while participating in dangerous sports?

[Alagirl]

Just heard from a seasoned male ER nurse:
lost a 21 year old guy because he wasn’t wearing a helmet, a 32 year old pregnant woman because she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt…
“No matter the saves, the loses stick with you”

it’s not your own hide you are playing with, the people who have to scrape your a$$ off the asphalt/arena floor are traumatized as well.

[charismaryllis]

Piling on, i know, but an instructor at a local barn got on a fractious pony during a group lesson; no helmet; pony flipped on her and she ended up with a fractured skull. I hear she’s going to be OK, but holy how-not-to-set-an-example, batman.