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There isn’t a helmet on earth that will save you if your horse physically falls on it.
I think this thread is really out of line, personally. The implication that she might be alive had she chosen a different brand leaves a really yucky taste in my mouth.
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QFP… edit: I will remove this if/when the mods make a decision on the flagged post.
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This thread is shameful and offensive.
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This tragedy has really shown people’s true colors.
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I think it’s in large part because the accident victim was 15 and a rising junior star. So I expect reactions are getting a lot of traction among tweens who would look up to her. Tweens is a naturally inappropriate age, you have some of the fluency and publicity and desire for attention of a young adult, but very often you have the emotional intelligence of a 9 year old, totally self centered and blurting out whatever. Speaking as a former tween, watching them now at the barn. I would not judge too harshly anything a 12 or 13 year old says, though it’s unfortunate they can now have their inappropriate blurts and photos preserved for infinity online. I am so glad there was no such thing when I was 13.
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OP’s grammar doesn’t feel like a teen but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she is.
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To the OP. There are many discussions here about safety, particularly in the Eventing forum. Much springing from the recent helmet safety standard articles and reports
Otherwise my flagging the op as inappropriate spring from a place of To Soon
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No it is not too soon. asking about the safety equipment is perfectly legitimate. If only to prompt a discussion of what such equipment can, and cannot, do.
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I agree here. When a person dies in a car accident, it is common and expected for authorities to release whether or not the victim was wearing a seat belt, and if speed or alcohol was a factor.
Nobody is trying to blame the rider here for her choices, but a discussion involving safety equipment - and its limitations - is not inappropriate in my opinion. Despite an experienced well trained horse and a well prepared rider competing in a level where she was more than competent, and wearing approved head gear, the worst can still happen in this sport.
I teach young riders. I had two parents ask me today about this accident and about helmet safety. My opinion, which I shared, was that no helmet would have prevented this fatality, given the description of the event and the trauma involved. It’s a discussion to be expected following something like this.
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Are you in the same area in Florida? Or did they hear about it online somewhere?
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They saw it on Facebook. I’m in Virginia.
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Wow. Thanks.
With all the recent chatter on the subject, I’m surprised not to see speculation around how much prep the horse got before entering the show ring. Of course, there’s a fine line between searching for explanations and frantically looking to lay blame… But if people are floating theories and asking if/how tragedies like this could be avoided in the future, it does seem like a relevant question to ask.
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There is a new helmet on the market that depending on the fall, I think may had prevented death. I don’t know that it would for sure since I do not know the cause of death, but the new Arro helmets are super interesting to me. According to the rep at Land Rover Kentucky 3 day event this weekend, the testing apparatus was unable to crush the helmet. I really liked the helmet, but haven’t yet bought one yet.
Just food for thought. Maybe one day a helmet can prevent this type of death.
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I agree, especially with the point about safety equipment. As we’ve learned, helmets go through a pass/fail style testing as the standard for certification. Additional studies like the Folksam study and the VA Tech helmet lab study show that this doesn’t mean they’re therefore all equal in preventing head trauma in different types of falls. As consumers, we don’t yet have enough information yet to know exactly how individual brands/models might fare, so this is no way laying blame on the rider or her parents—but rather, a way to try to infer more about how well different items of safety equipment might perform in a serious accident. Hopefully testing and rankings will improve and will minimize these questions after accidents.
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This is a horrible question to ask, but are we for sure that the main cause of death was a head injury and not chest or neck? Because if it’s either of those I’m not sure any safely equipment on the market could have helped. Even a vest.
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I saw a debate on synthetic footing this morning as a reaction to this. Having been in a face plant and roll accident due to a stabbed toe and poor footing prep that my horse could not scramble out of (which had been in better condition the afternoon prior and rode much differently), this accident caught my eye for several reasons.
Prep or number of classes the horse already did during the week is also a fair question to have. I know one of the trainers from our junior days, and I wouldn’t assume the horse was over prepped. But footing and shoeing and mileage wear and tear and soreness and tension (I have read on the other thread the weather was suboptimal) and what we (general) are doing to condition our horses on different surfaces and whatever else bad luck are all things for us to think about from a general safety and preventative perspective.
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I’m sorry I think this is gross. Let the investigation unfold. It is so weird how sometimes everyone cannot fathom that a tragedy might be something out of human interference or control. It’s so human to reject the thing we cannot prevent. And to desperately invent what could have happened. Because THEN we could control it because thinking such a tragedy could happen is untenable.
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I’m sorry but have any of you ridden there? Do you know the venue and the footing and the trainers? I do. I completely understand trying to find something to blame. To me … the speculation is gross. The venue , the people involved would absolutely welcome any input into preventing such a tragedy. Mourn the beautiful life lost. Stop inventing scenarios. Trust me. Her coach. The show grounds. Everyone wants to understand why.
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