My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Teaching horse safety for kids (and for adults) is one of the ways we can minimize the risk of enjoying horses. As a mother, I had one of those “uh oh” incidents years ago when my daughter was about four and I had just brought home a new horse. The first day I turned my […]
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A study published in Applied Sciences suggests that current riding helmets do not prevent skull fractures in adults when crushed from the side, as may occur if a horse falls on its rider. The study team comprised Connor, Michio Clark, Pieter Brama, Matt Stewart, Aisling Ní Annaidh and Michael Gilchrist, variously affiliated with University College […]
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The FEI’s Eventing Frangible Device Working Group has introduced updated standard for frangible cross-country fences. The team spent six months reviewing slow-motion video of horses jumping fences, and took into consideration testing performed by British Eventing, MIM at Chalmers University (SWE), and the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). A frangible/deformable fence is a fence that is […]
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Some lessons stick with you a long time. This one, I didn’t even have to learn the hard way. Instead of living though the experience myself, I watched it happen. When I was about 12, I was trail riding at the barn where I took lessons. It had been a long ride and the horses […]
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Scott Linklater, the husband of late Canadian eventing rider Katharine Morel has started the Katharine Morel & Kerry On Eventing Safety Fund to raise $250,000 to help horse trials organizers in Canada fit Mim or frangible safety equipment to fences. So far, the GoFundMe campaign has raised $20K.Morel and her mare Kerry On both died […]
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After a rider dies from a rotational fall, one of the top questions is whether protective vests really work. When I first started riding after my accident, I pulled out my Charles Owen protective vest. Sometimes you want to have a little extra padding if you have an unscheduled dismount. When I started eventing, back […]
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Every time there is a rotational fall where a rider dies, the headlines across the equine media proclaim it’s time to make eventing safer. I think the first time I saw the headline, “Eventing in Crisis” was back in 2008. Unfortunately, over the weekend there was another rotational fall. Another death. This time it cost […]
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The days of the traditional top hat are numbered. Dressage riders must wear protective headgear at all times, in the show ring and out, at FEI events as of January 1, 2021. In addition, helmets are required during the marathon phase of combined driving events. The delay in implementation is to allow time for education […]
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