PrintAs riders begin choosing to wear approved helmets into the ring, the scenery of dressage is changing.
There are certain benchmarks in the world of dressage, subtle signs that a rider has advanced to a certain level. Showing in a double bridle and riding flying changes in the ring are both goals to which riders aspire.
But nothing else carries quite the weight of the first time a rider puts on a top hat and tailcoat, or shadbelly, to show at the Fédération Equestre Internationale levels.
That’s why Canadian rider Jackie Brooks created quite a buzz when she rode down the centerline for her Grand Prix and Grand Prix freestyle tests at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W (Fla.) on March 6 wearing an ASTM/SEI-approved helmet with her tailcoat. It was the first time a high-profile international rider had made such a statement with her headgear.
And a month later, U.S. Olympic rider Sue Blinks joined Brooks in the ranks of the approved-helmet wearers when she sported a helmet at Grand Prix at the Del Mar CDI (Calif.).
Brooks’ decision stemmed from a tragic accident—she chose to wear her helmet into the ring just a few days after fellow Grand Prix rider Courtney Dye suffered a fall while schooling. She was not wearing a helmet and was in a coma for more than a month.
Many dressage riders wear approved helmets while riding at home, and—especially after Dye’s injury—many also wear helmets in the schooling area at shows, then switch to a top hat before they enter the show ring.
Historically, approved helmets haven’t been the fashion in the dressage ring, but that precedent might be changing.
Making A Good Decision For Myself
Brooks categorically stated that she won’t show again without her helmet.
“I think everyone knows in their heart that it’s a good idea to wear a helmet. I think the struggle people have with it is the tradition of the uniform and altering that tradition,” she said.
“It’s interesting how many e-mails and messages I get from juniors and young riders who have already been grappling with the idea that when they finally got to be able to put on that shadbelly, that they would also have to put on a top hat,” she continued. “They’ve always ridden in a helmet. Those are the people I’m finding are most excited about the possibility now that it will be acceptable for them to wear the helmet in the ring.”
Brooks emphasized that she in no way wants to impose her decision upon others.
“I think I’ve made a good decision for myself in wearing the helmet. I think my colleagues and fellow riders are smart, intelligent people making good decisions in their lives, and I applaud any decision they want to make—this is just the decision I want to make,” she said. “But if I can inspire someone who maybe wasn’t sure they could make that decision to put a helmet on, then I’m happy.”
Before this spring, Brooks had been one of the many dressage riders who faithfully wore a helmet at home and in the warm-ups but reverted to a top hat for FEI competition.
But at the Palm Beach Derby she changed her mind.
“I was warming up in the helmet, and I thought, ‘Why would I take it off?’ It’s not like it’s a safer environment in the show ring—it’s not,’ ” said Brooks, of Cedar Valley, Ont. “It just didn’t make sense to me, so I didn’t take it off.
