Professional riders riding without hats...?

[Mike007]

When it was made compulsory for employees in Racing to wear crash hats(back in the mid 70,s)everyone moaned ....... for about six months . Once they had all had a few near misses,no one moaned and no one would not wear one.But then these are real profesional riders.

 

[Puppy]

that and the fact that I think my lovely mum did quite enough wiping drool from my mouth and wiping my bum when I was a baby, so I'd really rather not risk her having to do it again in her dotage because I was selfish and didn't wear a hat and ended up a vegetable (or, worse, not a vegetable but unable to do anything about it.)

Gosh, yes, being bathed by your mother, when in your mid 20s - NOT cool!

 

[MissTyc]

Please bear in mind that some of the people who've posted on this thread are, like me, not regular readers & posters on the forum and couldn't possibly have known or thought that certain comments had anything to do with certain members. All due respect to NM and PS but I have no idea who either of you are, and I for one was paying more attention to the actual topic of conversation (pro riders) than to the very brief comments that you have taken offence to.

Ditto.
This thread is very strange and very unpleasant in places.

Professional riders do seem to go without hats, esp on own yard. I think it's lunacy given horses are their livelihood - if a head injury put them out of action, the horses would need to find new riders, etc. Income insurance might not pay out.

I had a very minor head injury a few years ago. My horse was no spanner. She took an extended stride and ... her legs disappeared and we went down. I have no memory of the event but many people watching saw her just trip over herself and fall on me. Hat was crushed ... head injury was "minor". Horse had never tripped before and never tripped again afterwards, so who knows what happened there. Bad luck. Thanks, hat.

 

[Brigadoon]

I have no idea why they do it!! I have heard many reasons and none really stand up for me!
But I feel unless they have the cash to pay many thousands of pounds to our cash strapped NHS when they blooter their brains over the place then they should put an approved hat on.

 

[Pheme]

I don't think it's very professional to ride without a hat, if it's your livelihood, why wouldn't you do all you could to protect your ability to continue doing it? I liked that in the newest Horse and Pony (I'm in NZ) all the pics of Matthias Rath on Totilas he had a hat on. People say they're hot and uncomfortable, but they're just wearing the wrong hat or one that doesn't fit. My mum always said that 'people without brains have no need to protect them'.

 

[DragonSlayer]

I don't care, because it has fook all to do with me. I get on withy own life and don't spend time thinking about what others should be doing .

 

[DragonSlayer]

...and before anyone asks, yes, I always wear a hat, even when doing western! OH wears one, son wears one, our choice, but other people? Up to them, nowt to do with me...

 

[milz88]

I always wear a hat for riding and would never not do so... To add to the point that horses are unpredictable in any instance.. Even if you do own an 'angel' I was at a show once when I was only 9 holding my pony by our lorry she was stood sweetly and calmly until another horse was kicking up a huge fuss and got loose charging towards us which spooked my pony who leapt out of the way and I was then flat packed by said loose horse... Ended up in the ambulance and with large hoof marks on my hat!! Yes it was only chance I was wearing it at the time but like I said head injuries can occur from any instance at any time and from any horse.. Not even your own if you in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Baggybreeches]

I wear a hat for lunging and long reining, but only because dear old Emerald was excellent at testing my reaction speeds....
I must admit I am not really bothered what other people get up to on their own property, as long as they aren't setting an example to my children (not that I have any) it's their lookout. I just prefer to wear my hat all the time in the same way I always wear my back protector when I go to ride a new horse (generally because they have been doing XY orZ behaviour).
I must admit I do cringe when I see pictures of people jumping without a hat.

 

[Saucisson]

My personal opinion is that professional or otherwise, what others want to get up to in their own private facility is entirely their business.

I suspect that pros sometimes don't wear hats is because they spend hours and hours riding different horses - and working hard. I can imagine that whatever hat they have that it can get really hot, sweaty and uncomfortable which I guess, may distract them from their riding.

But they do miss out on the sheer pleasure of removing it after (same as sweaty sports bra removal - can someone please bottle that utter pleasure sensation?)

I did think of HHO the other day at our yard when, after finishing their lesson, two young lasses took their saddles off and wandered round the village with no hat and no saddle - having a jolly trot at one point. While, admittedly, I'm not exactly living in the metropolis, there are cars/tractors/trucks coming up and down the road (which is tarmaced btw for anyone who knows the South of Belgium ).

I think what did actually shock me a bit was one of the girls' mother's giving her a leg up on the horse

 

[DifficultMare]

I can't help thinking that if people are silly enough to risk their lives in any way - hatless, smoking, drugs etc, etc. Then the fact that they're like to die early is possibly a good thing - as in, far less likely to add to the gene pool. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dream of trying to tell anyone else what to do - in fact, in some cases I'd be actively encouraging them........

And yes, before anyone asks, I am feeling particularly grumpy and intolerant today

 

[wednesdayadams]

I havent read all replies - But when this topic comes up the pro hat brigade get so wound up - I understand you may be being empathetic but it always seems to get so emotive? If someone doesnt want to wear a hat they dont want to wear a hat - its their choice dont let it bother you

 

[Shutterbug]

Having been on the receiving end of a serious head injury (I was scalped) as a result of being dragged whilst bring a horse out of the field, on foot, I would never in a million years get on a horse without a hat on.

There were witnesses to my accident who have since told me that it took them a long time to come to terms with what happened to me - I remember nothing as I was knocked out but my scalp was hanging off my head, not pleasant for anyone who was watching or had to deal with it/arrange ambulance and so on. One girl went home and broke down for days afterwards, another was physically sick. Everyone was worried, I almost died and my family were left with the prospect that the might lose me, my kids would have been motherless. It took 7 surgeries and years of pain for me to heal and its taken me 4 years to get back to where I was previously with my riding - it was 4 years yesterday in fact. All this and I wasn't even riding. Anyone who gets on a horse without a hat is a bit selfish in my view, professional or otherwise, and clearly does not give a lot of thought about those around them and how it will affect them. I always have my hat glued to my head these days, you just never know.

 

[POLLDARK]

It's their choice & their head, I wouldn't impose my view that wearing a hat is essential on someone who is old enough to know the dangers & their own mind. Perhaps they have had so many bangs on their unprotected heads that they are a bit addled now !!

 

[Naryafluffy]

I wear one because I would feel odd not doing, like driving a car without a seatbelt. I also lunge in one having seen a near miss where horse bucked and shoe flew off. Mainly I wear one because the digs from my colleagues if an ambulance wad called for me and I wasn't wearing one wouldn't be worth the aggro!!
Each to their own, but I think my head and brain are very precious but honestly if someone didn't wear a hat and got badly injured, I'd just think oh well their loss. But then my job makes me a cynical old bag ;-)

My friend always said after hacking out with me she wouldn't consider not riding without a hat on.
Had big long stretch that the horses always gallop'd up, my horse doing her roadrunner impression and was out front, heard the friend behind yell out, looked back, hat was sitting rather oddly on her head, my mares shoe had came off and hit the front part of her hat and basically torn it off, would have killed her if she hadn't been wearing a hat, although come to think of it we did ride home with half a hat and didn't actually occur to us to get off and walk as there wasn't adequate protection.

The people who pay £400 for a hat and then only wear it at competitions, that's crazy, at £400 I'd be wearing it to bed to make sure I got my money's worth out of it!!!

 

[kerilli]

My friend always said after hacking out with me she wouldn't consider not riding without a hat on.
Had big long stretch that the horses always gallop'd up, my horse doing her roadrunner impression and was out front, heard the friend behind yell out, looked back, hat was sitting rather oddly on her head, my mares shoe had came off and hit the front part of her hat and basically torn it off, would have killed her if she hadn't been wearing a hat, although come to think of it we did ride home with half a hat and didn't actually occur to us to get off and walk as there wasn't adequate protection.

cripes, that must have been very scary, ditto the 'shoe flying off while lungeing' incident described up there.
i think i'll be wearing mine even more now... have already started wearing it to load tricky horses, and to lunge new horses, and of course for clipping.

 

[tristar]

where there's no sense there's no feeling!

 

[SO1]

i have not read all the posts but I do think as a nation we are good at wearing hats compared to the majority of other countries. We should encourage safety but we will never get 100% compliance.

Some people are just bigger risk taker than others. i see some really scary cycling in London rush hour traffic and am surprised there are not more accidents. Sadly i think it will take a fatality or serious injury of a professional due to non hat wearing to change the mind of many who take the risk.

I am not a big risk taker and do wear a hat when riding, however yesterday it was boiling hot and i was wearing a fleece in my lesson - it went from rain to sun and to take the fleece off i needed to take my hat off but i did not get dismount to change which was a bit risky.

 

[Dutch1horse]

I use to ride without a hat in dubai as it was too hot, it's their choice so I don't see why other people get upset when it doesnt effect them

 

[animal]

Proffesional riders could put their whole career at risk by falling while not taking precautions, that would be a great shame and also a complete embarrasment.

 

[nononsense]

I am all for personal choice of which hat to wear whether competing or otherwise however I do not like double standards so if as recently, a few professionals start wearing them at competitions ( for what ever reason, although I think we are going to see a big sponsorship deal come out of the woodworks soon) then they should set an example to their clients at home. Its no good preaching the BD rules and then riding young horses without a hat on. Thats just madness ! And yes you are right about insurance.