fines for professional riders that remove their hats?

twiggy2

twiggy2

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do you think that professional riders should be fined if they remove their hats whilst mounted and in the public eye?

i think it gives the wrong impression to our younger riders,
 
That depends on if they are doing it in respect to the judge/stewards when receiving their prizes or not.

So long as they do their class/round with their hat on then I have no issue with it being removed for prize givings.
 
no i don't. i understand your opinion but to me they only do it at a prize giving or if they know they've just won a major class. plus, at prize giving they only walk down without it and they put it back on for the lap of honour. its also out of respect, which is a good thing. i think as long as its not removed whilst doing their round i shouldn't see a reason why its that bad :)
 
No. I think younger riders should set an example. Generally, young riders tend to wear hats more diligently than older riders as awareness of health and safety is highlighted in away that it never was a few years back.
 
it is in response to the video of Daniel Bluman jumping 2.20 that is in the horse and hound email i received.

but even in prize givings or saluting do you not think it gives the impression that it is safe to do so when in reality it is not. it seems a bit 'it wont happen to me attitude'
 
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Squiggles on Paper said:
no i don't. i understand your opinion but to me they only do it at a prize giving or if they know they've just won a major class. plus, at prize giving they only walk down without it and they put it back on for the lap of honour. its also out of respect, which is a good thing. i think as long as its not removed whilst doing their round i shouldn't see a reason why its that bad :)
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watch the video of David Bluman, it is not just at prize givings, his horse is fresh and bucking and he takes his hat off then drops it and continues cantering around-it also dissapoints me how many do not have a chin strap
 
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I don't think there is a need for fines necessarily. Just perhaps a new ruling from the governing bodies that helmets must remain in place while a rider is mounted.

If it is a rule, as with other rules of competition and a rider fails to comply, they wave goodbye to their position and prize. It would soon stop happening then.

I do think professional riders have an implied duty of care to the general public in terms of promoting safety when riding and that should be set by example, not lecture.
 
Honestly, if you can't bring up a child to listen to you then that's probably more of an issue than what other people are doing.

Al and I grew up with instructors who go hatless and idols who went hatless, and still wouldn't dream of not putting a hat on. A few of our peers do go without for schooling and it's not because people they look up to do, it's because they can't be bothered...
 
Lolo said:
Honestly, if you can't bring up a child to listen to you then that's probably more of an issue than what other people are doing.

Al and I grew up with instructors who go hatless and idols who went hatless, and still wouldn't dream of not putting a hat on. A few of our peers do go without for schooling and it's not because people they look up to do, it's because they can't be bothered...
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I understand this point. But...show me a child that has never ever done something that they have been told or taught not to do. It doesn't happen.

I don't see there being any problem in asking pro riders to keep their hats on. That won't harm anyone....but by not keeping the hats on, there is a chance harm can come to someone.
 
happyhack said:
nope, its their head. If they take their hat off and get injured, its their problem.
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I agree with that too....or at least I used to. Then a thread on protective clothing came up on the motorbike forum I use and that really got me thinking. When someone falls and is seriously injured, it has a massive impact on many different people and in many different ways. From your family having to support you through recovery (unless you don't recover in which case they have to grieve) to hospitals using up valuable resources to treat someone whose injuries could have been far less severe if only they had been wearing the right protective gear.

It's just a bit naive IMO to say, "their body, up to them" because it is not that person that has to do all the work to get them better and support them through it all. Better surely to just do what you can to minimise risk?

I don't know...work is slow this morning so maybe I'm just overthinking!
 
GG I do see what you mean and I don't deny its frustrating for those who have to pick up the pieces.

I just don't see what fining professional riders is going to achieve. Its a fairly small minority that do it - I have never seen it at BE or local events, which is where most young riders will be competing.
 
twiggy2 said:
watch the video of David Bluman, it is not just at prize givings, his horse is fresh and bucking and he takes his hat off then drops it and continues cantering around-it also dissapoints me how many do not have a chin strap
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i've seen the video and i still think its fine. he knows and accepts the risk and i think younger riders know not to take their hat off when they ride and i think health and safety is more apparent than ever. you could say the same about ben maher when he won the GCT London GP but in both situations they are plenty experienced enough to know the dangers of taking their hat off and younger riders know they shouldnt do it. when i was younger i saw riders take their hat off and it didnt influence me in any way as i knew the dangers
 
twiggy2 said:
do you think that professional riders should be fined if they remove their hats whilst mounted and in the public eye?

i think it gives the wrong impression to our younger riders,
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No I think that's a bit ridiculous. There's no law stating that an adult rider must wear a hat, so how could a fine possibly be introduced.
 
no, I don't think they should be fined. And I don't think they owe any other rider, young or otherwise a duty of care that means they should be setting a good example. Teenagers are surrounded by images of how not to behave - part of growing up is learning to think for yourself and be responsible.
 
happyhack said:
GG I do see what you mean and I don't deny its frustrating for those who have to pick up the pieces.

I just don't see what fining professional riders is going to achieve. Its a fairly small minority that do it - I have never seen it at BE or local events, which is where most young riders will be competing.
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Me too as said in my first post. It needs to be a rule that affects results. Fines will do nothing.

I used to work in the RFU and for Gloucester and Bristol Rugby...I would fine the players for whatever it was they had done wrong that day like be late for training, miss a session, miss a physio, swear, bring the club into disrepute (which was really quite funny as I was usually knew exactly what they had been up to and had to massively edit their antics to be recorded) lol.

The fines could be quite big considering they were on a teeny fraction of what a pro footballer would get but they genuinely didn't care. I'd say to them....if you do that and so and so sees, you're getting fined and they'd shrug their shoulders and just tell me to write it up anyway as they couldn't be bothered to even hide anything.

Fines mean lots of admin, lots of cost and very little benefit most of the time.
 
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