PrintLexington, Ky., Jan. 24
In 2010, Courtney King-Dye’s traumatic brain injury made equestrians take note—and helmet rules passed in dressage and eventing at this year’s U.S. Equestrian Federation Annual Meeting with little muss or fuss.
Effective March 1, 2011, DR 120 requires all riders at fourth level and below to wear ASTM/SEI-approved helmets at any time while mounted on competition grounds. Additionally, all riders under 18, all para-equestrian riders and all riders on non-competing horses must wear helmets. When a horse is competing at both the national and FEI levels, its rider must wear a helmet at all times, including in any FEI tests.
“It’s a step in the right direction even if we think they don’t go far enough,” said Malcolm Hook, co-vice chair of the USEF Safety Committee, which approved the rule with a notation that they support requiring ASTM/SEI helmets for all riders.
In eventing, EV 114.1 is even more strict. It mandates helmets be worn by anyone on a horse at all times, to be effective immediately. As this is a USEF rule, FEI rules allowing top hats would take precedence at FEI competitions.
Eventing and dressage are likely just the first of the USEF breeds and disciplines to move toward stricter safety mandates.
“The time is now for a lot of these things,” said David O’Connor, president of the USEF. “The hunter/jumper guys are going to be next. I think you could write a rule, have everyone scream for two weeks, but then you won’t hear about it. It’s a longer time away for some of the breeds, who haven’t shifted their culture. As an industry, we’re the third largest head injury group there is. It’s hard to argue we still want our personal freedoms."
Hook, an eventing official from Aurora, Ore., and O’Connor emphasized the importance of educating breeds officials so that they decide to require helmets rather than being forced by the Federation.
Safety First
Rules regarding safety didn’t stop with helmets. According to rule EV 113.2, any rider with even brief symptoms of concussion, without loss of consciousness, will be suspended for seven days from competition. Any loss of consciousness will require a 21-day suspension.
Riders who have established a baseline cognitive skills level (e.g. through an IMPACT test) may return to competition upon submitting to the Federation confirmation that they have passed this exam and have no impairment of their baseline cognitive skills.
The computerized IMPACT testing (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is used by all National Football League and National Hockey League teams, as well as 31 Major League Baseball teams.
Although it wasn’t added to the rule, Hook suggested that USEF require High Performance riders get a baseline cognitive study. “You can take the test and get back to competing with the medical assurance that you don’t have serious damage,” he said. “This would be a step toward educating the general membership.”
Jumping For (How Much?) Money
A heated debate took place over the issue of prize money, thanks to a proposal from the Jumper Committee that would require competitions with a jumper rating of 5 and 6 to increase the percentage of prize money as the difficulty and height of the course increases.
The proposal was tabled until the summer meeting in August.
