helmets

["Annie George" <ageorge@vtc.net>]

RE: all the replies sent to me, I thank you for them.( most of them anyhow) Of course accidents happen.  I am interested in the stats that were quoted for Oklahoma, not allot of endurance rides in OKC, but there are allot of rodeos. How many were endurance riders, and how many miles are done each year compared to actual serious head injuries, or any kind of serious injury. Of course you can always site the exception, the one time she did not wear a helmet, terribly tragic to be sure. We already pay insurance for every thing under the sun, connected with a ride, and insurance rates are based on risk involved, and when compared with the hours in saddle, the miles ridden compared to the actual catastrophic injury, Endurance riding is an extremely low risk sport. So any hike, I feel would be quite minimal . Sure the exception can always happen, but I am just not going to live my life in worry, fear, paranoia, and waste my time on allot of remote what ifs. Well what if I do kill myself, I have lived a great life, I do not fear death or injury, I will live exactly as long as my Creator wants me to. My position of no helmet rule is not because it is uncomfortable, it is because it is my choice. I choose not to wear a helmet because it is uncomfortable, but I am against a rule requiring it because it is my choice not to, regardless of my reasons, and it takes away my "rider responsible for self, and horse"   The fact that AERC is headed in a direction  of ruling us to death is something that allot of us are concerned about, and if the ones concerned do not speak up, and voice our selves as loudly as the ones so set on forcing their opinions on us, we will be involved in a sport that is UNRECOGNIZABLE to the sport we joined up with so many years ago. What happened to "rider responsible for self and horse."  I am interested in a real factual concise assessment of the truth of how much benefit we would actually get out of a helmet rule. if 86 out of 110 are already wearing helmets, because they CHOOSE to, and we are riding how many miles a year, about a jillion,(somebody out there can add up the rider miles ridden each year) we sign waivers, and pay fees, and drive 30k rigs with 40k trailers, we pay for drug tests and whatever else is on the list. Insurance is a part of the cost of everything .  I just do not think it is worth the addition of more and more rules.  I do not like paying a drug fee because somebody in California or wherever, got caught  doping their horse, I don't dope my horses but I pay for it at every ride I do ! I don't  have any friends that dope their horses either, but we all pay for it. I am  not interested in sniping and personal attacks,  or cute quips. We have allot of very serious real issues in our sport today, and smart-alecky remarks are NOT the way to solve anything. Maryben is a great VP, and she is trying to do a good job for all of us, as is Randy, and ALL the rest of our people. Taking an office in AERC is about like sticking your head in a beehive, so lets show a little respect and maturity, stick to the issues and drop the mean spiritedness, in ALL our various topics. Talk about loosing someone with allot to offer. I know several of our really great icons of the sport will not even read RC,do you see their names popping up? NO ! Because of all the hatefulness, and beating a subject to death with clichés, snipes, and unproductive comebacks.  Annie George