Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Helmets

Easy does it!  So far, not all ride managers have required riders to use
helmets.  AERC has not required them.  AERC has thought about the issue but
stands in favor of the rider being responsible for himself and his horse.
The trouble MAY come if insurance companies demand it.  But after reading
Roger Rittenhouse's story about his health insurance provider, I wonder if
even their requirement will be an improvement.  I too am sick and tired of
various entities trying to shunt the blame onto someone else for accidents
that are sometimes just plain fate.  So who do you sue if your horse steps
into a ground squirrel hole doing 25 mph and throws you head over teacups?
The ground squirrel?  Bah!
Occasionally I entertain an image of our forefathers leaving their homes in
the east and coming west to a new land.  Imagine what it would be like if
our society was then what it is now.  No one would have attempted the
journey without insurance that they were going to make it safely across the
mountains, the desert, and through hostile Indian territory.  Just picture
this.  Isn't is ludicrous?

Barbara McCrary

----- Original Message -----
From: <FASTGraphic@xxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2002 12:01 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] Helmets


> Somehow I knew this was coming.  I knew it was too good to be true.  A
sport
> which actually decided people were responsible for their own heads and
bodies
> just
> couldn't last.  Well........
>
> If a ride manager "requires" helmets, good for them.  I'll just skip that
> ride.  If the AERC does so, I will leave the sport.  I am soooooooo tired
of
> the prevailing attitude of the do-gooders and know-betters in this
society.
> It is why I go out and ride my horse every day - to get away from it.
>
> But if the AERC is going that way, here are a few additional suggestions"
>
> ***Prohibit anyone weighing in excess of their ideal body weight from
riding
> in a sanctioned event, thus preventing possible harm to the horse or rider
> owing to complications arising from said obesity.
>
> ***Prohibit any ride from continuing after the onset of dusk, thus
preventing
> the possibility of a rider becoming lost or injured and being harder to
> locate.
>
> ***Prohibit any ride when the ambient temperature rises above 74.6
degrees,
> thus minimizing the dangers of heatstroke.
>
> ***Prohibit registration or participation of any equine over the height of
12
> hands.  Numerous studies suggest that a fall from higher than this can
cause
> serious injury or even death.
>
> ***Require rider-side airbags on all pommels.
>
> ***Require additional safety equipment to include, but not be limited to:
> shin guards, wrist guards, knee pads, shoulder pads, back braces, and
safety
> glasses.
>
> ***Require that all ride managers line every inch of the trail with OSHA
> approved safety pads in the event of a tumble from that 12 hand pony.
>
> ***Require mandatory drug testing (both urine and blood) from both horse
AND
> rider prior to accepting any entry for any ride.
>
> I'd actually love to go on, but I don't wanna be nicknamed "Howard."
Please,
> people.  If you wanna wear a helmet, wear one and I'll respect your right
to
> do so.  If I don't wanna wear one, leave me the @#$% alone.  Thanks.
>
> "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
>                                  - Benjamin Franklin
>
> Scott & Solitaire
>
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>


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=