Riding Helmets - Why Do We Value Style Over Safety?

Earlier this week I posted on my Facebook this very interesting article where a final year Industrial Design and Technology student at Loughborough Uni has designed a new polo helmet prototype with new and improved safety ideas. You can read more about what he's up to in the article or his blog. But it got me thinking about a variety of safety problems in equestrianism and thought i'd write my thoughts.

Photo by Robin Spicer

 From what I understand the HPA don't require polo helmets to abide by any British safety standards (Kite marks etc) but see it as the riders responsibility to wear a hat that they want and be responsible for their own head.

Also from what I understand (kindly explained by my friend Becx) that UKPA at Polocrosse tournaments check that your hat meets current safety standards and fits properly otherwise you're not allowed to compete. They sticker your hat with a sticker so that you don't have to have it checked each time, great idea!

I am under the impression that British Eventing and British Showjumping associations do 

similar (by all means correct me if i'm wrong as we don't compete under either) in that they check your hat meets current kitemarks and regulations and if you don't then you cannot compete.

I am absolutely all for these regulations. I've heard time and time again people say "but it's my head and I should decide" but have they really thought it through, who's going to look after them and take on that huge responsibility if they were to be paralyzed or suffer brain damage!?

Another thing that came to my attention of safety was back protectors. Recently I read this article from Horse & Hound  after the death of Canadian eventer Jordan McDonalds. The inquest into his deathfound he was not wearing a body protector that would not meet British Eventings standards. 

When this article was posted on the Horse & Hounds facebook I read some comments saying that some riders who are competing at CCI 1-3 levels have been personally adjusting and removing parts of the back protector to make it more stylish and comfortable!

Yup, you read that right, they're adjusting the back protector and in doing so are compromising its effectiveness in doing so. 

Showing is another realm that safety comes into play. Don't get me wrong, I love traditional dress in showing. To me top hats and beaglers looks absolutely awesome, but I would never ever wear one while riding a horse as the risk is just too great and unpredictable to risk my life for the sake of looking cool. 

Same with polo, I think i'd much rather wear a Charles Owen polo hat which is safety regulation compliant than risk a brain injury. Here Horse & Hound published an article in which a study found that nearly 50% of polo players valued look over their safety when buying a new helmet. Yes, we get it, you wanna look hot playing polo but you can still do that safely!

So how does change in values regarding safety happen? Myself and others while discussing it have said that in order to get these things changed it comes down to the manufacturers and the high profile people wearing them to make that transition and lobby for better standards.

Would it take top polo hat manufacturer Casablanca to make a hat that was safety regulation compliant and that reduced the severity of the impact injury? I'd say probably so. And if they did, it would no doubt take the high profile professional high goal players to wear them just to get the amateurs and low to medium goal players following suit. Again, I think it probably would.

Polito Pieres, polo's showman. Would it taking him or another higher goaler wearing a safer helmet to make you change?

Photo by Images of Polo 

But why is that? Well I think it comes down to everyone looking up to and having someone they aspire to be like. At any age we all have someone we'd like to ride like, whether that be a high goaler, an eventer, a dressage rider, or even a top show rider and what they wear does shape (whether consciously or unconsciously) what we want to buy and use. Why do you think manufacturers have sponsored riders and ambassadors? For just that reason..

It took Charlotte Dujardin in dressage to stop wearing a top hat for other professionals and amateurs stop wearing them to. I read that Mary King said she stopped wearing a top hat when performing the dressage stage at three day eventing because she was following in Charlottes example. If both those high profile rider choose to compete at the very highest level of dressage and eventing and not wear the traditional hat then amateurs thought why can't I? and opted for a safe reg hat with a harness.

With all that said, with showing still being so traditional in it's dress, as little has changed in the turn out of a horse and rider for the ring, it's very hard to go against the masses. 

Riders are reluctant to go against that traditional turn out in fear of being penalised and miss out on winning their class. I've known people purposely use a double bridle or pelham on their show horse, knowing their horse goes better in a snaffle for fear that the judge would mark them down for it. So they're compromising on way of going all to suit that tradition. That is how stuck these things can be and that's just one example.

Photo by Nico Morgan

Riders in ladies side saddle hunter are still wearing top hats to compete because they want to keep to that very traditional style of turn out of top hat, veil, habit and tails. Yes, a smaller amount of people are hunting and showing in proper hats as they don't want to compromise on their safety, but should the professional producers stop wearing them, and will that help the masses be persuaded to look after their safety more?

I hope so, but sadly I do not have these answers.

All that associations and governing bodies can do is to put rules into place and enforce them, we cannot physically make someone wear a safety reg hat. But by putting rules into place and making sure people abide by them is one way in making sure that events are as safe as they can be.

I applaud these high profile riders for going against these traditions and choosing to be vocal in their change, as that is how change happens. By someone feeling passionate about that cause and helping to change people's mindsets to ensure better safety.

Photo by Dressage News

I hope I haven't offended anyone reading this post. All the views expressed are mine and if you disagree with them that is fine

Look after your body, bones break and some heal and fix themselves but some things cannot be fixed like a spinal cord or brain stem so I urge you to always wear a proper hat and if jumping, then a back protector too

Sophie x

And this everybody is why you need to always wear high viz out riding

This came up on my newsfeed today, and it took me a moment to realise there were horse riders in the photo!

This is a great visual reminder than everyone when out hacking, no matter what the conditions rain or shine, needs to wear high viz

Horses and riders blend into hedgerows so easily they're easy to miss 

Photo by Wendy Hopper

Riding out on the roads and does there need to be changes to the law?

Morning everyone,

Yesterday lunch time I had a long conversation with my colleagues about horses. They all know that I ride and that my family owns horses and over the time i've been at my job I get asked a lot of questions about all things horse related.
Anyway, so we got talking about horses riding out on the road and a variety of topics came up which I wanted to share with you, the reader and hopefully hear your thoughts..

Also, very sadly, it coincided with Horse & Hound publishing this article Teacher killed trying to remount her horse
This lady had to get off to shut a gate while out hacking with friends, her horse bolted (which was mentioned to have a history of doing when trying to be remounted) and sadly she died from her injuries. My thoughts are with her family and friends, it's so sad. I'm sorry.

It got me thinking though as it was something mentioned while discussing horses on the roads.
So many of you will remember a few months ago that a poll was conducting asking people if they think that horse riders and owners should pick up their horses poo if they do it on the road while out riding. Now if you're a horse owner you'll obviously scoff at this as being ridiculous and completely unsafe!
But many of the people signing that poll were (I assume) non horse riders or owners, and they wouldn't understand how dangerous it would be to dismount a horse on the road, or they're just ignorant. Who knows?

But what really got me thinking during this discussion and also the open admissions that,  a lot of people just do not understand how to interact with a horse they encounter on the road, whether they are on a bike or in a car.
When mentioning that Georgie has to wear a headcam while out riding due to the amount of near misses or just plain silly drivers and cyclists they were shocked. Shocked that people would honestly try to endanger a person and an animal by them getting too close, going too fast or just plain trying to frighten a horse (we've been there with idiot teenagers in a car trying to purposely frighten Beanie but thats for another day). But then it got them asking - "when on a bike, how do you pass a horse safely?" to which I mentioned that it was much like passing a horse in a car. Slow right down, pass nice and wide at least 2 metres, and if you can do so safely and without scaring the horse, let the rider know you're passing.
Which then also got them asking "won't that frighten the horse". My reply  was that you wouldn't shout as loud as you can, but either ring a bell, whistle or just speak up and say "cyclist behind you passing". But what do others think, should cyclists let you know they're behind you? Would that spook your horse, or would you and your horse actually prefer to be aware by a whistle or ring of a bell?
I know that when Georgie and I encountered a cycling club cyclist whizzing past Beanie as fast as he could without so much as a warning we concurred that cyclists on quiet road bikes should make an effort to let you know they're there. Horses are flight animals after all and their instinct is to run away from something they perceive as frightening or a danger to them. So by a cyclist flying past really quietly is going to spook a horse!
Now saying that, some horses are pretty much desensitised to almost everything and anything. They could have a bus go by and let it's air brakes off and not bat an eyelid, or pass roadworks or speeding cars and it not faze them at all. But as you may know, not all horses are like that.
Horses have different personalities, temperaments and have had different experiences which all affect how they would behalf on the road out hacking. Talking of which..

The conversation then steered into them asking did I think that the government or some governing body should assess horses before they are allowed on the road? At the time I wasn't quite sure what to answer..
I mean there are two sides.. Well at first you could answer, yes perhaps that would be a good idea. It could stop horse owners whose horse isn't ready for the road to give it plenty of training etc ready for the assessment and when it's finally ready, be allowed on the road.
But then on the other side, you could say that actually horses don't always react in the same way every time. There could be other factors which could one day mean the horse was absolutely fine on the road, and then another time it be very jumpy. Very windy days for example, as strong winds make some horses jumpy.
I don't have a definitive answer, even after sitting down last night and really thinking about it.

I wrote a comment on the H&H facebook and got some interesting replies -

Obviously my post here is an expansion of my comment on there, but really.. something needs to be done about the lack of awareness and consideration of horse and rider on the road.
There hasn't been a good safety awareness commercial on how to safely pass a horse on the road in a very long time. Years in fact!
And it needs to be put in between prime time tv programmes, not late at night or at some stupid time where no-one is going to see it.
We see a lot of "Think Bike" adverts, but why can't there be a "Think Horses" advert about how to pass a horse properly, and a fictional example of the impact of what an accident will have on people's lives. If a motorist hits and kills a horse and rider they have to live with that for the rest of their live. That is something I just cannot fathom people haven't thought of when driving inconsiderately on the road!
Plus also the impact a death would have on the the family and friends of the killed rider.


Here are a few photos which I found on a horse and rider road awareness group on facebook.
Follow them here

Use these pictures to put on your facebook to educate drivers by this simple picture of how much space you need and how slow they need to go.

And always always where your high viz! Us horse riders may look completely uncool but i'd rather look uncool than injured!