Riding without a helmet: courage or stupidity

Photo Shoot: https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/

Unfortunately, we still often see videos of riders working without a helmet. For us, safety while riding is a top priority, and we never tire of reminding you that wearing a helmet is not just an unnecessary excess. Charlotte Sunt, who had a very unfortunate fall a week ago, decided to share her opinion. “If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet, everything could have ended very differently,” she said.

Charlotte remembers what happened that day very well: “While training on one of my horses, I lost my balance after a jump and fell. Everything happened very quickly, but I remember very well how the horse’s hoof hit me in the face. I was in shock, but I remained conscious. An employee of the stable, who was present at the incident and saw what was happening, immediately rushed to help and called an ambulance. She realized that the situation was very serious. Because I was in a state of shock, I didn’t feel any pain at all, thankfully! The ambulance arrived very quickly and took me to the hospital,” she said.

“As soon as we arrived at the hospital, they took several x-rays, which showed that the bones of the jaws and chin were broken. My chin was shattered and I had a mild cerebral hemorrhage which thankfully stabilized quickly. The next day I had surgery when the hemorrhage was already under control. After a few days in the hospital, I was allowed to go home, where I am now continuing to restore my health. I still can’t eat solid food, I have a scar on my face, and horseback riding, of course, is prohibited, but I consider myself lucky, ”the athlete continues.

“I really don’t understand why riders keep working without a helmet. I am sure that if I did not have a helmet on, I would not be able to tell you this story. If you look at my scar, you will see that the horse’s hoof touched my face very close to the temple. A few centimeters taller and it would be a completely different story,” Charlotte continued. – The doctors said that I might recover completely, and I’m very happy about that. Yes, I wanted to share this story with you to make it clear that wearing a crash helmet while playing our sport is not an unnecessary excess. At the end of the day, we are dealing with an animal that can behave unpredictably, no matter how well behaved your horse is. I am very sorry that I continue to see videos and photos of riders without protective helmets. I hope my story will make them never do that in the future.”

Source: Equlifestyle.eu