Faith Cook's fall at Bramham and Frangible pins???

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MissDeMeena

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Just seen the pic of this in the Telegraph.. and the fence looks like it had a pin? Does anyone know this for sure? As it didn't break!!!

Horse didn't actually land on her, so although it was a true rotational fall, she was very lucky the horse landed to the side of her!!
(Not so lucky to have cracked two bones in her back, but i hear she'll be fine!!)
 
Do you still have your programme? They usually mark them in the programme I think....

It also looks like her point-2 didn't inflate before she hit the ground.
 
I think it was not a Frangible pin as I thought that it should be as I walked the course
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Im fairly sure it did inflate as I heard that the docs said she was lucky to have it on.......
 
I've just checked the programme, there's nothing in there to indicate it was a FP and I didn't think it was when I walked up to the fence before the XC started. Since I saw the fall I have wondered over the past couple of days if it would have helped at all to have had one?

She was def. wearing a Point Two and it did inflate.
 
No it wasnt a frangible pin as Dad commented on this when we walked the course (he is a BE steward). We asked Les Smith why he thought this was, he was on the U25 ground jury and he reckoned it was because the fence was so narrow they didnt deem it necessary. Lets hope they dont ever have that thought again........

I am pretty certain that the Air Jacket did inflate as required, the pic in the Daily Mail was huge & I studied it! On Sat evening Lee from Point 2 Air Jackets was asking permission from all those who fell & were wearing the jackets to allow him to study their DVD's & use the footage if necessary. He is keen to get them right & market them accordingly.
 
The air jacket inflates with in 0.2 sec, so if it had not inflated then it must have been less than 0.2 sec since she ripped the cord off - it is up to us how long we set the cord, it is meant to be so the clip is at the back of the saddle - maybe it was a little to long?!
Some ones did not go off when she fell off there as they had forgotten to screw the cap to the cannister on properly.
I am sure we will hear about it in time
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Having seen the picture in the mail, I think the point two stabilized her spine to prevent a flexion/extension injury, difficult to be sure which as you can't see her head position. I've been critical of the marketing of these devices as in my opinion the "withstands a tonne" claim suggests protection in a direct crush injury of the torso which IMO it can't do fully, although in this sort of situation there was clearly a benefit, and I'm starting to seriously consider one!!!
 
How does the narrowness of the fence make a difference as to whether a frangible pin is used/is needed or not???

In saying that - I walked the WC qual course at Tatts after the finish, and there was a triple bar type fence which had pins on the top rail. The last horse (just as well it was the last) to go in that class had fallen at that fence, and the pole had bounced over the other side of the upright without breaking the pin, which just shows that the pins don't always work - the force has to be down enough rather than forwards.

However I would always use one if the design of the fence (ie not a log or a roller) facilitated this.

Fiona
 
I presume the thinking was that a horse was unlikely to hit it straight on (exactly what Faith's horse did). Maybe they thought that any horse meeting it THAT wrong would run out or would at least not take it on straight. Whatever the thinking was, it wasnt correct was it? I suppose the only saving grace was that horse & rider were not 100% straight because the horse did not fall on her.

I saw this fall & the horse was straight & running out never crossed its mind but it was completely lacking impulsion & made no attempt at all to lift its legs. It hit the fence with nearer its chest than its knees, not nice
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Thanks for the explanation Joss..

What price safety though????

A frangible pin costs a few pounds admittedly, but not thousands!! In my opinion they should be used on all fences apart from the roller or brush types.

Fiona
 
The jacket does look like it is inflating to be around her lower back.

But has it restircted her from rolling?

Did not see it so can only speculate...
 
wow that sequence is amazing, he really didnt pick up at all did he?! I'm not convinced that a frangible pin would have helped much- and you can see clearly in these pics that by the time her body hit the floor the jacket was inflated.
 
Jees - dont know why I looked at them - yuck. I can assure you k9h there was no rolling to be done there. It was an out & out head plant job
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Jees - dont know why I looked at them - yuck. I can assure you k9h there was no rolling to be done there. It was an out & out head plant job
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Sorry just seen the sequence pics. As I said I was not there only just seen the single head landing shot on internet. Which I based my comment on.
You can actually see her start to roll later on. Very lucky lady indeed.
 
A bit of a diversion but: Does anybody know how many of the inflated jackets have been accidentally inflated by the riders forgetting to detach them before they dismount at the end of the course? How much does it cost to have the valve replaced (if that is how it gets "re-charged") so it can be re-used after an inflation?
 
[ QUOTE ]
The jacket does look like it is inflating to be around her lower back.

But has it restircted her from rolling?

Did not see it so can only speculate...

[/ QUOTE ]
I thought exactly the same thing. If the jacket had inflated earlier would she have been able to roll to the side?
 
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