Helmets - Courtney King Dye Video

Very interesting and thought provoking.

"He was never naughty" how many times have we seen this mentioned on the numerous 'hat/no hat' debates on here, just doesn't hold water as an excuse really does it?

I also think her comments about everyone is role model for someone are also very true. Thinking about that, I felt that there are probably a few people on HHO who are, perhaps unaware, that they are role models for others and by not wearing a hat might influence others not to.

I don't buy the "my head/my risk" argument either. What about all the time and money spent by nurses/doctors (let alone the impact on family and friends) rehabilitating someone who chose not to make themselves as safe as possible - time spent that could be used by someone who was in a motor accident or some other incident which was totally out of their control? Wearing a riding hat is in your control, just don't understand why people wouldn't want to do it.
 
Very very moving....brought a lump to my throat, I never ride or lunge/longrein without a hat and gloves on. I do hope that those that go hatless, be they professional, amateur or whatever, watch these two videos and listen intently.

What a brave lady Courtney is, thank you LEC for sharing and posting these.
 
Courtney is the sole reason why I started wearing a helmet at all times, even on my experienced, super-safe, virtually bombproof 11yo. She and Myth used to be one of my very favourite combinations and I was so distraught when he died - and even more so when, only a few months later, she had her accident. She is such a talented rider and a lovely lady.

I remember watching the last video shortly after her accident, I don't think I ever cried so much!
 
Extremely moving, brave lady to voice her feelings like that.
Her words are so true about being a role model, hopefully watching that will help some people change their opinions about wearing hats.
 
Ludi-doodi said:
Very interesting and thought provoking.

"He was never naughty" how many times have we seen this mentioned on the numerous 'hat/no hat' debates on here, just doesn't hold water as an excuse really does it?
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I think the point that she is trying to make is the horse doesn't have to be naughty for a bad accident to happen and that even on a reliable horse you can still have a bad accident and the horse may still have not done anything wrong, just tripped up like her horse did.

Such a tragic thing to happen and what a brave lady
 
Wow, thank you for posting that.
I really hope people sit up and take notice. Somehow the "it's my choice to not wear a hat, I know the risks, my horse is bombproof" etc arguments just doesn't wash when you have seen this.
 
The second video won't work on my phone.

I'm glad she made the video and hopefully it'll make everyone think twice when it comes to safety.
 
So glad she is coming along in her recovery and it is vrilliant that she has the courage to speak out on this issue. Hopefully she will inspire others to put their hats on.
 
This video is very emotive - I'm glad it's been posted - completely heartbreaking to watch.

HOWEVER! In the 2nd video, there are quite a lot of photos of her sat on a horse without a hat, which does make me wonder about when she says she always normally wore a hat - it was just on this one occasion. Maybe the photos on the 2nd video were just from a photo shoot, hence no hat - but IMO if these were just photo shoot photos (which they do look a lot like it) - should be all the more reason that every picture should have a hat on her head.

She's obviously fought hard to get back to where she is after such a horrific injury, and I really hope that her accident can make a difference to people's attitudes to hats.
 
"Safety has nothing to do with level of skill" as she so poignantly says.

This needs hammering home to everyone. A silly trip and that was all, horse wasn't being naughty or silly. :( :( :(
Thank you so much for posting this Lec, very moving video. I know she's improved hugely since the accident but I didn't realise her speech was still so affected (possibly may always be?) Very very brave of her to make this video, I'm going to link to it on fb. What a brave lady she is, I hope her recovery continues.
 
For me the 2nd video I posted shows how much that accident has wrecked her life - physically, mentally and emotionally.

I thought it seemed slightly incongruous between what was stated and what was shown but we will never know the full story especially in the light of insurance?
 
It certainly shows how much this accident has affected her life.

I'm sure, as with a lot of things that happen, we will only be fed the facts chosen to be released my management / media / PR type people. But I do think that it is a good thing that she is using her accident to promote the wearing of hats. She is brave to come out and speak about it I think.
 
What a brave young lady to post this video.

having worked for many years with people with learning difficulties (some of whom were brain damaged due to accidents) wearing a hat is something I feel very strongly about.

Did anyone else notice the peice about the olympic art expo in H&H this week, featuring an unknown dressage rider hatless, perhaps we should send this link to the people that are hosting the exhibition.
 
What an incredibly brave lady. I didnt know much about her, but did hear about her accident on HHO, and I do hope she continues to improve. I have to say though, having seen some posts on here about riding without hats, and some of the crass comments (my head, my risk, what I do on my own land is my busines,my horse is 100% safe etc), maybe they should be asked to watch this video. Thank you LEC for posting it, I do hope it at least encourages one of the silly non hat wearing brigade to wear theirs at all time when riding.
 
I have had the pleasure of knowing Courtney for years - both pre and post accident. I was one of the first non-family members to see her in hospital, and doing so changed my life forever. Sure, I *usually* wore a hat to ride, not on Rossi or Safari though, I thought that I'd never fall from them, plus dressage, not exactly a risky equine sport is it? Well I was wrong.
Since seeing her lying there, and later throughout her rehab, it's really brought home of brief and fleeting life is, and how much we need to seize the day - but also protect it; for our family and friends, for ourselves. Since the accident I've become involved in Riders for Helmets (as has she!) campaigning for tougher regulations on wearing hats, and more awareness of the risks.

Fun fact: talking to Mathias Rath (gosh I'm lucky!) in Germany, he stated that since seeing Courtney's accident and the impact it had on her life and her family/friends, he is now a lot tougher on hat use, including with his students, staff and himself!

http://www.riders4helmets.com/ Also, just to add on that website, there is a facility to make a donation towards Courtney's medical bills, which I'm sure you can imagine are rather large!
 
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soulfull said:
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I think the point that she is trying to make is the horse doesn't have to be naughty for a bad accident to happen and that even on a reliable horse you can still have a bad accident and the horse may still have not done anything wrong, just tripped up like her horse did.

Such a tragic thing to happen and what a brave lady
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I think you misunderstood me. I meant that using "he was never naughty" is a poor excuse to not wear a hat. Sorry I think it my poor description.
 
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