Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

on 4/5/04 3:24 PM, Kristen A Fisher at kskf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> I agree to the [obvious] statements below.
>
> But there are probably some people that have had accidents that would do
> some things differently given a chance. Their input might be valuable to
> help others attempt to avoid the same outcomes.
>
> As my subject line said LEARNING from riding accidents - not eliminating all
> risk.
My last accident led me to becoming the helicopter girl (and a 15K bill from
the airlift-thank you Aetna!), so I will share my humiliation with you all
and will also say that I DID learn from it.
I've fallen twice during rides and while there were lots of reasons I think
many wrecks can be attributed to one thing. I have been riding since I was
2, so that is 33 years. I vividly remember my grandmother beating one lesson
into my skull over and over. Do NOT sit on the horse and be a passenger-RIDE
the horse at all times.
My first wreck happened when Mosh went one way over a large rain crevice and
I went the other. It was at the relative start of a ride-maybe three miles
in. I was riding with a buddy and both horses were fractious. I can almost
bet my mind was not completely on asking that mare with hand, leg and seat
to go left and she went right. The second time was a mile from the vet check
at Cinquenta Anos-the 40 mile mark-and I was coming down a steep shale trail
when Mosh spotted another horse ahead and got strong for a minute. I was
asking her to stop and try to get her weight off her forehand, so I bet I
was braced a bit. Another crevice and a prop stop and over I went. And have
forty stitches to show for it. I bet again, I was thinking of other things,
I see the VC, here is another horse, we are in the top 10 (ah, the ego steps
in to get the better of you:(), I know I took my mind off the task at hand
for a minute and paid for it.
What is the lesson? Generally, even good riders that have ridden for years
and new riders too get distracted once in a while. It may be stress, a
confusing turn, another horse on your tail, whatever. If you take your eye
off the ball, sometimes you strike out. My last two rides I have tried to
really ride and focus and have had no drama. I know this was a long post,
but I really think it is these momentary losses of focus that lead to
accidents and breakdowns in any sport. If you get mad at a ref and take your
eyes off the play you usually get burned. With horses you get hurt. My
grandma was right-as always:)))

Tiffany-boy is it humiliating to admit your screw ups in public, but rides
can be distracting with lots going on and maybe this will help people to be
more focused. 

============================================================
Common sense should also be a part of the decision making process. If you
see someone who doesn't have any, hand them your tool box.
~ Lisa Salas - The Odd Farm

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

============================================================